"THIS IS IT'
Our Bountiful Continent
Chapter 12
On the morning of the one hundred and ninety-eighth day of the year, I awoke with the scent of ocean breeze. On walking to the balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean, I saw a number of small marine craft whose sails billowed in the morning breeze. The man-made islands, where palm trees and greenery were ,growing within the confines of the breakwater (which is some miles from shore), made a beautiful sight in the morning glow. Standing thus, I began daydreaming of a bygone era, when there was no breakwater in that area, and of a district, west of the Los Angeles River (which was known as Seaside Park), and of the romantic boardwalk skirting the beach front, and of the inner harbor, the shipyard, and farther on to the mud flats, where I used to dig clams. My mind was so completely immersed in nostalgia that I wasn't aware of Tom's presence, until he said, "A price system penny for your thoughts."
Breakfast was rather uneventful until Frank asked for a suggestion for the day's activity. At Miss Vollnogle's suggestion, it was a unanimous decision to attend, what she termed "The Argue Club." "It is," she said, "surprising and almost unbelievable to me that, in an atmosphere of such tranquility and enthusiastic cooperation among your people, they would have anything to disagree on or argue about." When we approached the amusement zone we saw an area containing seats and a speaker's platform under a canopy. When we were seated, two smartly dressed young men, whose wearing apparel was well tailored of soft gray fabric, trimmed in blue, approached the podium.
When Miss Jensen inquired who they were, Frank informed her that they were peace officers of the Continental Constabulary.
After some time had elapsed, one young peace officer stepped to the microphone and announced that the gathering was for the purpose of speaking publicly on almost any subject, even those of a controversial nature. He said, "No one is to interfere with the speaker so long as he has the platform. By that, I mean no one is to speak out or heckle, so long as the speaker is talking. After the speaker has finished, anyone who desires can come forward and give a rebuttal if he so chooses, or speak on any subject. One can only occupy the microphone by permission, and only for a period of one half hour. Anyone wishing to talk before this gathering, raise your hand, give your name, and state the title of the subject on which you wish to speak."
After a short period of time a hand was raised. A man I judged to be in his late sixties said, "My name is Elmer Williams. I wish to occupy the stand for only a short period. I want to make some comments about some fallacious conclusions made by the youth of America, in the period prior to the inception of our Social Dynamic."
When he approached the microphone he said, "In order to clarify my comments, I will have to give you some qualifying material. In the period dating back to World War II, and lasting until the inception of our Social Dynamic, there developed, among our youth, an attitude of rebellion against conditions that had developed in our society, of which they had no part, and which they detested. There were many things that transpired during that period that were unfavorable to the youth. In that period the emphasis was on the development of technology in the field of consumer goods and war equipment, coupled with planned obsolescence, or built-in short wear of consumer goods, for the purpose of attempting to stabilize the economy and stave off economic collapse. In short, waste was profitable and the order of the day. In the condition I have mentioned, there became, year after year, less demand for human effort in the field of production, and to some extent in the field of services, resulting Controversial and Emotional Outlet in less employment and higher taxes, including higher income tax to support the unemployed, the aged, and the handicapped. "The youth reasoned that, inasmuch as technology had caused an unfavorable condition ' they placed the blame on scientists and technicians for its development. They didn't realize that scientists and technicians were just people like themselves who had to earn a livelihood to support themselves and their families. They didn't realize that scientists and technicians were employed by commercial firms, and were told what to develop, in many instances at the expense of their conscience. If they didn't develop what they were told to develop (which in many instances were nonconsumer items, such as were capable of destroying man's environment), they would have found themselves placed, by the major corporations, on a black list. They were caught up in the same condition as the youth who blamed them. "The fallacy of the youth was in not placing the blame on an outmoded social system, which had its inception in the distant past, when human labor was the only means of producing the necessities of life. They didn't realize that their social system was being smothered and killed by technology. They didn't realize that a price system of monetary consideration is not compatible with technology. "Some of our youth," he said, "desired to retrogress to a period prior to the advent of technology. They didn't realize that in order to do so things and conditions would have to be as they were in the period in which they wished to retrogress, including undeveloped land, forests, work animals, small villages, farmsteads (with a backyard well and an outdoor privy), and a low-density population similar to the nineteenth century. "I thank you for giving me your audience."
When the speaker left the platform, a young man raised his hand and said, "My name is Charlie Effort. I am a student, and I have chosen the Armed Forces Sequence as my vocational service to society. I would like to make some comments concerning the lack of statesmanship and business acumen, insofar as longrange strategy is concerned."
"One only need think in retrospect to a period as far removed," he said, "as World War I to detect state and business blunders. "Even though Russia had been in the struggle against the German armed forces, it was evident that the Western countries had greater fear of the Bolshevik forces than they did of Germany, which is attested by the fact that the United States of America deployed armed forces to Russian soil to quell the Bolsheviks. At that period of history, England was the most advanced industrial country of the world, but short of resources. A trade agreement between England and the Soviet Socialist Republics at that time would have been an asset to both nations, considering that Russia was nonindustrial, but possessing vast resources. Yes, it was Britain's major blunder. "If you consider that a blunder, then think of the United States of America after World War II. For the sake of making a quick 'Yankee Dollar' (today, and tomorrow be damned), some of the industrial firms of the United States of America sold heavy industrial equipment (among which were steel mills) to nonindustrial nations, and taught their people how to operate them, resulting in the loss of markets, for our industrial products (within such a short time). "Now, I have no regrets about what happened, because it was an asset to the people of other nations. I am only pointing out the blunders that were made (businesswise) by people who were supposed to possess business acumen. And that business had no conscience and knew no enemy, while everyone other than big business was expected to be patriotic. "Thinking in retrospect, one can readily understand that
Technology rang the death knell for the price system and its accompanying business activity. "I will have you know that I am not referring to businessmen, but, rather to the mechanics of a social system, that, by virtue of the rules of its game, brings to the fore a baseness in men who otherwise were quite humane. If man was to prosper in the framework of the price system, he had to play the game according to its rules. "I will conclude by saying that human beings can never become completely civilized while operating within the framework of a price system. "Thank you."
When the young man left the podium, a woman of middle age raised her hand. She gave her name as Mrs. Edith Melborn, and said she wished to speak about the lack of religious fervor in our Social Dynamic.After arriving at the podium, she bowed her head in prayer for a short period, then raised her hands to the sky and said, "Praise the Lord! There are some of us who are still devout Christians, who take their trials and tribulations to you, and receive your blessings."
When she was through praising the Lord, she said, "People, I realize that we have a society that makes life easy for us, but I sometimes wonder if it is right for human beings to have things so easy. When we were struggling for a livelihood, everyone was closer to their God, and God was good to those who were asking for his help and his blessings. When we were struggling for a livelihood, there weren't so many things to occupy our time and take our mind away from God. Now that we have a new social order, and so much leisure time, people spend their time at tennis, swimming, traveling, boating, attending theatrical performances, and attending classes (to learn various things), and generally having a good time, but not thinking about God; they think only of themselves and their pleasure. "People are not supposed to have things easy in this life," she said, "they are supposed to struggle and undergo privation to prove their devotion to God so they can receive everlasting life.
To be continued
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This was chapter 12 on to chapter 13