Is the proposed “stimulus package” an attempt to keep the Great Unwashed in its place, much as welfare is designed to “keep those people in their place” and out of places like Rodeo Drive and Malibu? And, of course, when a “Katrina” should occur you quickly discover whose lives are considered of value and whose are not, and demanding a “Chocolate City” only acerbates matters. But whatever the avowed purpose, whenever those in government express a desire to “help” us we can be excused the resulting cynicism.

Like many including Henry Thoreau, I have generally placed the value of something on the amount of my life I have been willing to exchange for the acquisition of it; but what of the value of life itself? In most cases, it would seem of very trivial value, especially considering the hundreds of millions sacrificed to Mars. And when the “value” is predicated on building things like the pyramids or the monuments of tyrants it would seem the only value is that of slave labor.

In calling into question the doctrine of the sacredness of life, Henry Thoreau remarked of a teamster “… does any divinity stir within him? His highest duty to fodder and water his horses! What is his destiny compared to the shipping interests… How godlike, how immortal, is he?”

While Henry’s comment must be taken within the context of his often quoted remark “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation,” his focus on “Self-emancipation” does call into question the Christian doctrine affirmed in our Declaration of Independence “… that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…”

Most would agree that ideals are fine things; that our lives would suffer and be impoverished by the lack of ideals, among which are “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and this should be accorded to all. But such ideals must often bow to the practical necessities of life; and when these place the emphasis on wealth rather than any quality of life for the masses something must eventually break the cycle of such apparent inequality. In “The Crossing” the point was made to Washington that in the end all kill for profit, though our War for Independence had many worthwhile ideals driving it. However, the subject quickly turns on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness being the domain of the wealthy, not the teamster who because of his life of quiet desperation shows no spark of divinity. In short, his life is of no value compared to the “shipping interests.” His only value is how he best serves those interests.

The World Economic Forum going on in Davos, Switzerland calls to mind how unfair life is. Some like Bill Gates are vowing to do something to end poverty, but the issue of the necessity of birth control before you can realistically address the problems of poverty would seem to be of no consequence at this meeting. The reason being those like Gates understand the necessity of slave labor, as do all the wealthy like the employer of Henry’s teamster and those of the shipping interests. The stock exchanges of nations like America are a fair indicator of how well business is doing, but this is predicated on how well slavery is doing; and the bottom line is derived from the number of slaves serving their masters.

Women according to the religion of Islam only have the position of slaves dedicated to serving men, both in this life and the hereafter. But in the Industrial Revolution it took many women and children serving as slaves in order to reap the profits for the wealthy. The resulting workhouses in England and later in America were places where the barest means of subsistence and existence was the only thought and hope of the workers, a degraded life that despite his abolitionist views led Henry to favor a Southern overseer over a Northern one.

The plight of the poor moved the conscience of those like Dickens and Thoreau, but the dark side remained that of a population without birth control which would have removed the degradation of slave labor. Those noted for a “social conscience” seem to most often miss this point; that without birth control exchanging one form of slavery for another is far short of the ideal, and in most cases where socialism in various forms is encouraged the result is a preponderance of “human weeds” rather than worker slaves put to productive use.

Henry might pity the shepherd whose thoughts rose no higher than the hills about him, but there was a shepherd, David, whose thoughts did rise much higher than the hills about him, and he had a son, Solomon, who built a magnificent temple. This was denied David since he was a man of war with much blood on his hands, but the wars and blood made Solomon’s grandiose work possible, even as Emerson noted concerning the noble families that arose from barbarians. In all these things fields, vineyards, and orchards, flocks and herds are essential, and these require many workers, most of whose thoughts never rise higher than the hills about them.

But let’s educate the masses and enable and ennoble them so their thoughts are encouraged to rise higher than the hills about them. There is still the problem of the fields and flocks needing tending, and there is very little room in the Big House for plantation workers, and the need is comparatively minimal for house servants. If the wealthy are to have their monuments of stone or other, the need is for slaves not the educated masses deceived into believing they were meant for better things.

“Give us this day, our daily bread” is all most honest, working people ask who only want to earn their bread quietly and in peace. But when “bread and circuses” fail of their purpose and the people want for bread, then even the lives of quiet desperation may turn to lives of desperate measures. Here in America for example when so many live as dogs feeding at Caesar’s table in one manner or another the need for slave labor from Mexico “to do the work Americans won’t do” is the real focus of those like Bill Gates, those that know it requires many slaves to support the wealthy, to support their egos and build their monuments. Those at the World Economic Forum realize the “shipping interests” are all that matters, and the bottom line is based on the many millions of slaves whose thoughts are not allowed to rise higher than the hills about them.

History does seem to favor the few over the many, some very few seeming to have a “destiny” of greatness whether for good or evil. But when too many are led to believe their lofty thoughts without labor are supposed to sustain them, they are doomed to disappointment; and when that disappointment turns to anger it has some very unpleasant effects on a society. Here in America where TV leads so many to believe they “deserve” to live lives of “entitlement” without labor we are beginning to suffer from the effects of such thinking. And when “Caesar” is no longer able to deliver on the bread and circuses the portents are grave to consider.

There are far too many now that believe they are “entitled” because of lofty thoughts without labor, or because of race or some other factor. Even Henry was disgruntled about this, believing he should have been given a living by his fellows. And when anyone believes they are not successful because they couldn’t handle fame and fortune and all the while having done nothing worthy of fame and fortune, then you have the disagreeable result of the person feeling cheated in some manner. In this same way, many who have done nothing to get an education but feel they are “above” working in the fields or tending the herds are likely to use force to get what they feel they are being “deprived of.” In too many cases, these are only the human weeds resulting from people rutting like animals with no thought of a future for the resulting babies.

I’m inclined to believe Bill Gates has his sights on increasing the amount of slave labor available to him and his “colleagues” than the welfare of humankind. Otherwise, he and these others would be preaching a doctrine of birth control rather than methods of increasing the means of breeding of more slaves. But whether or not, the net result is the same. And where is the doctrine of the “sacredness of life” or any “spark of divinity” to be found among slaves, whether they be wage slaves or being one of Caesar’s dogs? And I ask myself, just what better than this can we realistically expect of those now posturing and pandering for the White House?