Overturning hegemony need not be a matter of violent war as in the past. It can be a continuous conversion of society, taking one bridge at a time. In the American democratic culture, we are lucky that many before us have given their lives and livelihoods to change the power structure. We have in place a seasoned democratic system by which financial and cultural imbalance can be restored without bloodshed on a grand scale.

Still, there are warriors today. The battle for cultural reform is active in many areas.

Consider women’s rights, both on the job and Planned Parenthood. Consider the battle between corporate profit and unions. Consider the attack on retirement funds. Consider deliberate underfunding of discretionary programs for support of education, health, financial safety nets. Consider the battle to make each vote count in an election without the corruption of outside money. Consider the battle on tax reform and reigning in the abuses written into law by corporations and opportunists. Consider the battle to rebuild infrastructure for a new age, a new energy program, and a distribution of tax income to local empowerment.

The American citizen is indeed in the midst of an ideological war that has waxed and waned through the centuries in many countries. There is a tendency for the lucky among us to accumulate wealth. While that in itself is not an issue, eventually wealth begets wealth and money begins to accumulate unfairly, debilitating the happiness and wellbeing of large numbers of the society. In terms of today’s society, battles for shared participation in the country’s wealth began with the New Deal and the government controlled modernization and equality until the late 1960’s. Since then, the hegemonic forces have been whittling away at the reforms that had been made. From the time of Reagan’s Presidency, the slide backward has accelerated.

If the United States is to remain a world power, the entire population must be armed with education, financial security, and a controlled distribution both of taxes and corporate reform. To remain the world power that we remember from the middle of the last century, every citizen must be a capably armed warrior.

War can be avoided by using the ballot box. Revisit the post, “How to Restore a Balanced and Fair Economy.” That post is a primer for turning around the direction of the war on hegemony.

Your vote is critical. Give your decision a long thought. Will you help pave the way to a successful future, or sustain the hegemony that grows stronger and stronger with each election?

Ancient Mariner.