Of, By and For the Billionaires
21 January 2025
In his Gettysburg address, President Lincoln “extolled the sacrifices of those who died at Gettysburg in defense of those principles and then urged that the nation ensure:”
that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom —and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
In her recent blog essay, Jennifer Rubin, now with The Contrarian, writes about how this emphasis has changed:
At most inaugurations, the incoming president makes every effort to put the American people first—from ordinary citizen to heroes—and to reach out to Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life.
. . .
The American people certainly will not be front and center at Trump’s inauguration. It’s all about him and his billionaire cronies, including the media owners who have buckled to his will. “Big-name billionaires are lining up to strengthen their relationships with incoming President Donald Trump during next week's inauguration festivities, as top dogs like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and more are expected to turn up in Washington, D.C.,” Forbes reported. When you add in TikTok CEO Shou Chew, Mark Zuckerberg, and Apple’s Tim Cook—whose combined wealth dwarfs many countries’ GDP’s—you get a vivid tableau of the new oligarchy. We usher into office today a government of, by, and for the billionaires.
. . .
Social scientist and author Bob Putnam has pointed out that the Gilded Age ended only when a spirit of progressive reform “began in ordinary small towns in the middle of America and then spread from there.” Simply put, we cannot wait for someone else to bring Trump, Musk, Zuckerberg, and their ilk to heel. Putnam reminded us: “What we learned from [the Gilded Age] is that history is not determined by something outside. We think that the critical factor is really citizen agency—that the choices that individual people make will, in fact, determine whether we end up on one path or another.” He urged: “Don’t be cynical. Don’t think that this is all determined by somebody else. Working with others, you can make a difference because people exactly like you, people of the same age as you, changed things the last time.”
Our task to recapture democracy begins in earnest today.
If you oppose our new oligarchy, I suggest:
Become more involved politically - even small examples of “resistance” make a difference.
Pick a cause or candidate and volunteer.
Vote Democratic at the State and Federal levels - this is the only way to stop or limit our new oligarchy.
Fight the oligarchy economically - don’t give them or their major supporters your money or attention.
When in doubt, buy from small businesses unless they are very involved in making the world a better place through their charitable activities.
Sell their stock.
Don’t use their social media.
Don’t work for them.
Don’t listen to them live - instead, listen later or read the transcript.
Regarding “fighting” their major supporters, I suggest focusing on Fox News (including the sports programs it supports), New York Post, Wall Street Journal and Elon Musk’s companies. It may be a sacrifice, but it’s minor compared to the dangers of a continuing or expanding oligarchy.
The index to my prior essays (mostly post 5 November 2024) is here.
I have another blog on Cancer and Medicine.
You can also follow me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nat-pernick-8967765/ (LinkedIn), npernickmich (Threads and Instagram), natpernick.bsky.social (Bluesky) or @nat385440b (Tribel).
Email me at Nat@PathologyOutlines.com.
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