This strange and unpleasant land.
(A subjugated people) Andrew Freshfield 2013.
It is the beginning of 2013 and it seems to becoming obvious the things are not what they should be in the land of the Angles (England). This ancient and mythological land is in the midst of a fundamental crisis, which looks like it will engulf the nation in the very near future.
The reason that England is pinpointed out amongst the countries of the United Kingdom, may not be obvious to some, England above all others in the Union is suffering a crisis of confidence on many levels, from the economic, social, cultural and political. On so many levels the country is struggling to find a direction and platform to establish a sustainable future. The English crisis will however not leave the rest of the Union unscathed. The other members of the Union seem to have a more solid identity. For example the SNP seek to create a new future for Scotland, and utilise the good will which seems to be directed to the nation Of Scotland from many parts of the world. Because of this goodwill and separate identity from England the Scots will pull away from the Union and forge a different path. Alas this goodwill is not readily available to England, which sadly has a different standing in the rest of the World. Hundreds of years of exploitative and damaging foreign adventures have left little room for sympathy, or humility to be directed towards this little nation. And few in the World will offer sympathy for the embattled inhabitants of this country if the excesses of the current and past exploits of the ruling elites of this land unfold into the possible catastrophe that may lay ahead.
England as a nation has many great and amazing people within it, many fantastic scientific and artistic endeavours have been unleashed from the nation, and many people from the past created exciting and amazing inventions and discoveries, which altered and shaped of the very world we all live in today. However the platform to many of these hugely significant events in England’s past were done at massive cost to the country itself, and to the World, as a whole.
England has never seemed able to either face up to or confess for the significant sins of the past. Without dwelling too much on the more negative elements of the exploits of the English of the past, it is obvious that many of today’s problems around the globe can be laid at the folly of the decisions of the past masters of the Empire, from the partition of India, the slave trade, Industrialisation, and the spread of rampant free market exploitative capitalism, a genie let out of the bottle, and spread like a virus, infecting the globe and unleashing both good and massive evil simultaneously depending on which side of the deal you were on.
It may be possible to pinpoint some of the troubles of England back as far as the Norman Conquests, before the Normans landed on the shores of England, the land was mainly made up of agrarian peasant communities, linked through trade, and family, many were ‘Freemen’ and much of the lands were ‘Common’ and shared for grazing and crops. It was no means an idyl that would be a naive assumption to make, but before the Normans arrived people had a level of freedom, which may have not been seen since. When the Normans conquered all land came under their ownership, they then set about dividing the land into fiefdoms and seats for titled Lords from the noble families of Normandy, and their allies, those who served their conquering king in the most loyal fashion were awarded titles and lands. These lands were obviously those which were once the common property of the people and used for the sustaining of the rural communities of England. After the Norman conquest these unfortunate people became serfs and peasants they became the property of, and subject to the will of their Norman Lords who used terror, intimidation, coercion and violence to gain control.
This period of invasion and conquest marked the end of any concept of common land, or Freemen in England, it was a period of terror and colonisation to rival any Nazi ‘Blitzkrieg’ of WWII. After this point in time the whole population became no more than landless serfs/slaves, who’s property and chattels could be confiscated at will by their rulers. These Overlords set about establishing sophisticated taxation and tythe systems which became the main source of the wealth of the new Elite power ruling England. England essentially became one large tax farm for these colonisers, the people were simply there to provide an income for the new Landed Class of Lords.
While various eras of history came and went, gradually this power evolved, and power ebbed and flowed between new systems of governance, which grew out of the Norman system of patronage and landed titles used by William the Conqueror as a means to rule and organise this new landed elite class. This system of organising the power structure of the ruling elites evolved over hundreds of years of wars and revolution, and eventually led to the establishment of what we know today has the Houses of Parliament, a system of governance which has been emulated and exported the world over and may well be one of the things for which England can be justifiably proud.
Sadly however even though England is the seat of a parliamentary system of governance respected the World over, it has at no point in its history sought to establish the concept of ‘Common Land’s’ or confirm the real concept of ‘Freemen’ existent prior to the Norman Conquests. In fact today in England many of the descendants are still in positions of privilege and their systems of patronage are still clearly evident, however diluted. These systems can be seen in the clear and obvious presence of the English ‘caste’ system it is a system beyond ‘class’ it is actually one based on breeding and family lineage, it can be seen in the speech, behaviour, and etiquette, and also the patronage of today’s English ruling establishment.
Many English people still seem to be in deference to this ruling ‘caste’ and will go out of their way to pledge loyalty to a whole sector of society which enslaved and divested their forebears of what was rightfully theirs. The above deference can be seen with the fanfare of royal weddings, jubilees, and other displays of ‘royal’ power. These displays of power are nothing more than visual and cultural communications and transmissions to maintain the illusion of this very English caste system, a system which degrades, undermines, and lays waste to any concept of meritocracy and justice in equality or human dignity. It is infact a display of the most base and terrible instincts prevalent in man, one that seeks control over others, and the appropriation of resources and lands and capital, simply through a system of imagined superiority of one group over another. It is a system of human organisation which seeks to set the course of the individual from birth, and separates the many from the few. It allows one group to wallow in a sense of superiority, which was neither won, nor earned but created from a system of patronage and deference, kept alive through the systematic hamstringing of the very system of governance which England seems so proud of.
This system of very English deference is masked as being just a quirky by product of a ‘long gone age’ something just there for the tourists, but in reality this is a lie. Underneath the propaganda and ancient protocols, and events there is a very real and established network of privilege and power, which only a select few have access to. To maintain this power over the years, the establishment has adapted and modified itself to appear modern, and connected to the people. Perhaps some of the members of this elite caste actually do seek to be connected to the people and seek to be taken seriously as being part of the heritage and history of the nation, but the reality still stands that they are descended from those who sought first to enslave the people of England, then remove them from the land. Some would say that it was a long time ago, and that this is irrelevant to today’s World, well one could reply “why not give back the land to the people” so that they may profit equally from it? If the people are meant to forget the reality that their forefathers were cast off the land and placed in bondage, why do they not admit that the lands they state as theirs were stolen through conquest violence, and murder.
Through the past millennia the English people have been forced to bow and scrape at the feet of the ruling caste, and over this time the spirit of the people somehow became infected and enmeshed, and cowed by their relationship and oppression by elite power. Many from England sought sanctuary in the New World, to take their chances in a place where they might find some kind of personal liberty away from rule by these malign forces. But many remained and a cultural acceptance of this power became the norm, the evolution of the culture normalised a system of inequality, and acceptance of the hierarchy. This was done through a multiplicity of forces including ecclesiastical power, the law, and the manipulation of the cognitive map of the individual, and of course violence. More than any other country in the World Royal power by divine right has managed to cling on in England, while being swept aside in much of the rest of the World.
In todays England people may say that the old ruling classes are just there as show, or they are irrelevant, but this is absolutely and utterly untrue. More than ever elite power serves as the template for all kinds of exploitative social and economic activity perpetrated upon the people of England and also others around the World. The simple fact of the existence of elite castes within our society creates a template which other evolving power groups seek to emulate. Looking back to the creation of the Landed aristocracy by the Normans one sees a similar template emerging in so called ‘Market Economies’ where the new overlords are the corporate elites of banking, commerce, and the media, each one carving out its kingdom with the agreement of the existing elite power caste. Once again the people of England are simply there as a means of wealth creation for the elites. Cast off the land they have no other choice than to play their part in the masters game, for the masters benefit. The overwhelming power of the system of class deference mixed with free market fundamentalism, creates a toxic psychological cosh which many see as simply the “way it is, and always has been”.
Meritocracy can gain little hold in a country that defers to those who are royal by birth, and rich by plunder, however many years ago this plunder was gained. As the ruling caste seek to maintain the status quo in an evolving World, England is caught between the ancient and the modern forms of serfdom, the undeniable storm of change is blowing in. The country is in debt to the tune of 900% of its gross national product, banks are insolvent, and the people are groaning under the weight of the toil of keeping food on the table and servicing personal debts, built up over the credit expansion of the early twenty first century. The message was we could all be wealthy, and realise our dream of comfort, just like those who’s birth lets them presume they are above the people, but this is a lie, and the money has dried up, and the sun is setting on the era of post war growth. England still seeks to sit at the table with World powers, but it is a country running on empty, no amount of deference to elite power, or unleashing the forces of credit capital will save it from the coming future, a future possibly more bleak than many may care to imagine.
The people have been wrung dry over the centuries, England’s dynamism in its past form is long gone, the people have been toyed too roughly with, and they are tired and have retreated to the comfort of the parlour, to engage with the flickering of the lantern in the corner, while the rain raps at the window, and the future beats at the door!. “Whats on ITV Luv”
(A subjugated people) Andrew Freshfield 2013.
It is the beginning of 2013 and it seems to becoming obvious the things are not what they should be in the land of the Angles (England). This ancient and mythological land is in the midst of a fundamental crisis, which looks like it will engulf the nation in the very near future.
The reason that England is pinpointed out amongst the countries of the United Kingdom, may not be obvious to some, England above all others in the Union is suffering a crisis of confidence on many levels, from the economic, social, cultural and political. On so many levels the country is struggling to find a direction and platform to establish a sustainable future. The English crisis will however not leave the rest of the Union unscathed. The other members of the Union seem to have a more solid identity. For example the SNP seek to create a new future for Scotland, and utilise the good will which seems to be directed to the nation Of Scotland from many parts of the world. Because of this goodwill and separate identity from England the Scots will pull away from the Union and forge a different path. Alas this goodwill is not readily available to England, which sadly has a different standing in the rest of the World. Hundreds of years of exploitative and damaging foreign adventures have left little room for sympathy, or humility to be directed towards this little nation. And few in the World will offer sympathy for the embattled inhabitants of this country if the excesses of the current and past exploits of the ruling elites of this land unfold into the possible catastrophe that may lay ahead.
England as a nation has many great and amazing people within it, many fantastic scientific and artistic endeavours have been unleashed from the nation, and many people from the past created exciting and amazing inventions and discoveries, which altered and shaped of the very world we all live in today. However the platform to many of these hugely significant events in England’s past were done at massive cost to the country itself, and to the World, as a whole.
England has never seemed able to either face up to or confess for the significant sins of the past. Without dwelling too much on the more negative elements of the exploits of the English of the past, it is obvious that many of today’s problems around the globe can be laid at the folly of the decisions of the past masters of the Empire, from the partition of India, the slave trade, Industrialisation, and the spread of rampant free market exploitative capitalism, a genie let out of the bottle, and spread like a virus, infecting the globe and unleashing both good and massive evil simultaneously depending on which side of the deal you were on.
It may be possible to pinpoint some of the troubles of England back as far as the Norman Conquests, before the Normans landed on the shores of England, the land was mainly made up of agrarian peasant communities, linked through trade, and family, many were ‘Freemen’ and much of the lands were ‘Common’ and shared for grazing and crops. It was no means an idyl that would be a naive assumption to make, but before the Normans arrived people had a level of freedom, which may have not been seen since. When the Normans conquered all land came under their ownership, they then set about dividing the land into fiefdoms and seats for titled Lords from the noble families of Normandy, and their allies, those who served their conquering king in the most loyal fashion were awarded titles and lands. These lands were obviously those which were once the common property of the people and used for the sustaining of the rural communities of England. After the Norman conquest these unfortunate people became serfs and peasants they became the property of, and subject to the will of their Norman Lords who used terror, intimidation, coercion and violence to gain control.
This period of invasion and conquest marked the end of any concept of common land, or Freemen in England, it was a period of terror and colonisation to rival any Nazi ‘Blitzkrieg’ of WWII. After this point in time the whole population became no more than landless serfs/slaves, who’s property and chattels could be confiscated at will by their rulers. These Overlords set about establishing sophisticated taxation and tythe systems which became the main source of the wealth of the new Elite power ruling England. England essentially became one large tax farm for these colonisers, the people were simply there to provide an income for the new Landed Class of Lords.
While various eras of history came and went, gradually this power evolved, and power ebbed and flowed between new systems of governance, which grew out of the Norman system of patronage and landed titles used by William the Conqueror as a means to rule and organise this new landed elite class. This system of organising the power structure of the ruling elites evolved over hundreds of years of wars and revolution, and eventually led to the establishment of what we know today has the Houses of Parliament, a system of governance which has been emulated and exported the world over and may well be one of the things for which England can be justifiably proud.
Sadly however even though England is the seat of a parliamentary system of governance respected the World over, it has at no point in its history sought to establish the concept of ‘Common Land’s’ or confirm the real concept of ‘Freemen’ existent prior to the Norman Conquests. In fact today in England many of the descendants are still in positions of privilege and their systems of patronage are still clearly evident, however diluted. These systems can be seen in the clear and obvious presence of the English ‘caste’ system it is a system beyond ‘class’ it is actually one based on breeding and family lineage, it can be seen in the speech, behaviour, and etiquette, and also the patronage of today’s English ruling establishment.
Many English people still seem to be in deference to this ruling ‘caste’ and will go out of their way to pledge loyalty to a whole sector of society which enslaved and divested their forebears of what was rightfully theirs. The above deference can be seen with the fanfare of royal weddings, jubilees, and other displays of ‘royal’ power. These displays of power are nothing more than visual and cultural communications and transmissions to maintain the illusion of this very English caste system, a system which degrades, undermines, and lays waste to any concept of meritocracy and justice in equality or human dignity. It is infact a display of the most base and terrible instincts prevalent in man, one that seeks control over others, and the appropriation of resources and lands and capital, simply through a system of imagined superiority of one group over another. It is a system of human organisation which seeks to set the course of the individual from birth, and separates the many from the few. It allows one group to wallow in a sense of superiority, which was neither won, nor earned but created from a system of patronage and deference, kept alive through the systematic hamstringing of the very system of governance which England seems so proud of.
This system of very English deference is masked as being just a quirky by product of a ‘long gone age’ something just there for the tourists, but in reality this is a lie. Underneath the propaganda and ancient protocols, and events there is a very real and established network of privilege and power, which only a select few have access to. To maintain this power over the years, the establishment has adapted and modified itself to appear modern, and connected to the people. Perhaps some of the members of this elite caste actually do seek to be connected to the people and seek to be taken seriously as being part of the heritage and history of the nation, but the reality still stands that they are descended from those who sought first to enslave the people of England, then remove them from the land. Some would say that it was a long time ago, and that this is irrelevant to today’s World, well one could reply “why not give back the land to the people” so that they may profit equally from it? If the people are meant to forget the reality that their forefathers were cast off the land and placed in bondage, why do they not admit that the lands they state as theirs were stolen through conquest violence, and murder.
Through the past millennia the English people have been forced to bow and scrape at the feet of the ruling caste, and over this time the spirit of the people somehow became infected and enmeshed, and cowed by their relationship and oppression by elite power. Many from England sought sanctuary in the New World, to take their chances in a place where they might find some kind of personal liberty away from rule by these malign forces. But many remained and a cultural acceptance of this power became the norm, the evolution of the culture normalised a system of inequality, and acceptance of the hierarchy. This was done through a multiplicity of forces including ecclesiastical power, the law, and the manipulation of the cognitive map of the individual, and of course violence. More than any other country in the World Royal power by divine right has managed to cling on in England, while being swept aside in much of the rest of the World.
In todays England people may say that the old ruling classes are just there as show, or they are irrelevant, but this is absolutely and utterly untrue. More than ever elite power serves as the template for all kinds of exploitative social and economic activity perpetrated upon the people of England and also others around the World. The simple fact of the existence of elite castes within our society creates a template which other evolving power groups seek to emulate. Looking back to the creation of the Landed aristocracy by the Normans one sees a similar template emerging in so called ‘Market Economies’ where the new overlords are the corporate elites of banking, commerce, and the media, each one carving out its kingdom with the agreement of the existing elite power caste. Once again the people of England are simply there as a means of wealth creation for the elites. Cast off the land they have no other choice than to play their part in the masters game, for the masters benefit. The overwhelming power of the system of class deference mixed with free market fundamentalism, creates a toxic psychological cosh which many see as simply the “way it is, and always has been”.
The people have been wrung dry over the centuries, England’s dynamism in its past form is long gone, the people have been toyed too roughly with, and they are tired and have retreated to the comfort of the parlour, to engage with the flickering of the lantern in the corner, while the rain raps at the window, and the future beats at the door!. “Whats on ITV Luv”
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