Reply #89: I fear that the problem itself may be more international in scope...

[AntiFascist]

and possibly darker than "American exceptionalism at its worst". I just watched The Zeitgeist Movie recommended in Post 51. If you can get past the religious conspiracy theory part (which in and of itself presents some fascinating arguments I've never seen before) it sums things up quite nicely at the end with the well-supported conclusion that basically the world is run by international bankers.

There is some discussion in this and other threads about some of the darker deeds being performed by fascist and Nazi sympathizers in the name of "anti-communism". Ultimtately, their actions work to keep power and money concentrated in the hands of the few. I see the recent neocon militarization efforts as really a last ditch attempt out of desparation to grab the final remaining fossil energy resources on the planet. Really, I am quite optimistic that if we decentralize the sources of energy in the world it will ultimately work to free us from centralized control by energy enriched creditors who ultimately only want us for our interest payments.