Deja vu all over again - business owns government, and more

[Speck Tater]

"Never before, here or anywhere else, has a government been so completely fused with business." --Nations's Business (1925)

Frankfurters are renamed "victory saugages" (1919)

Attorney general arrests 6,000 liberals for the crime of heing liberal (News years day, 1920) saying, "Like a prairie-fire, the blaze of revolution (liberalism) was sweeping over every American institution ... crawling into the sacred corners of American homes, seeking to replace marriage vows with libertine laws..."

"...there had never been an era in American hostory more notable for private greed and public indifference. ... Between satisfied bellies and empty minds there was little room left for idealism." Author and historian Robert Goldston discussing the early 1920's.

"This war has set people back for a generation. They have bowed to a hundred repressive acts. They have become slaves to the government." --Hiram Johnson, former progressive governor of California. (quotation from 1920)

Presidents Wilson's "New Freedom" program aims to "make the world safe for democracy." (1920)

This era also saw the rise of mass-media fundamentalist ranters like Billy Sunday: "Billy Sunday is most noted for his "fire-and-brimstone" approach to evangelism. Holding a strictly fundamentalist view, he would often preach fiery sermons against political liberalism, evolution, alcohol, and so forth. His energy and vitality won many converts. This in turn led to his accumulating a small fortune through contributions at his sermons. He was one of the first prominent preachers to make use of the new medium of radio.
Sunday is noted as being one of the major social influences leading to the adoption of Prohibition in 1919." -- Wikipedia

The US in the years 1915 to 1929 looked very much like it looks today. I'm reading the book "The Great Depression" by Robert Godlston and it just gives me the chills to see the amazing parallels between now, and the time leading up to the great depression. For the younger generation who thinks todays events are unique, better take a look at history. We've been through all this before. And there's a lot to be learned what happened last time.