My personal opinion on these "clubs" is that there is not really a conspiricy, but there is something to be concerned about.
I think that what happends is that when people become powerful, a kind of fear comes over them. The reason is because anyone can lose their money, and anyone can lose their power. Many people who are very wealthy don't even realize how well off they are because of this fear. So, these powerful and wealthy people become very interested in making sure that they continue to gain more wealth and power, and they become fearful of others who aren't already "there," and fearful of them gaining wealth and power for themselves. The game of attaining wealth, then, has become very elitist in that way because the thought seems to be that there is only so much wealth and power out there; and if people without wealth and power attain it then this will leave less available for those who have it. Plus, the more "strangers" who attain power, the less likely that their interests will be protected. So, before someone becomes powerful, they naturally want to make sure that person will protect their interests.
This drive to stay wealthy and powerful and this fear that others who are "have-nots' may attain wealth and power leads into elitism. What grows is a genuine belief that "I am better" then others in society because of class, accomplishments, wealth, and power. So unless you are accepted by them in these social circles, you are seen as lower class, and a lesser person. You are accepted based on your wealth and success, because success is seen as soley being based of your hard work and abilities. What they don't recognize is the fact that opportunity plays a tremendous role when it comes to wealth and success. If you come from wealth, you are tripping over opportunities so often that hard work and intellect is only a small factor for you. If you don't come from wealth you have everything working against you accept your hard work and ability, and it may be very difficult for you to attain success. Even then, no matter how talented and hard working you are, without the opportunities you will never attain success, period.
This elitism is what leads to the forming of and the membership to these secret societies. Only those who are special enough are allowed in. But, this is not a conspiricy, really. It is a fact of life that "like" people hang out together. "Like" people also form clubs; we have martial arts clubs for those who do our particular style, casino clubs for those that like to play cards and gamble, gardening clubs for those that like to garden, etc. It is natural that if you are successful (never mind how you got there) that you would want to join a club full of like people.
It is the extreme elitism and secretism of these clubs that creates the danger, though. It's not just a gathering of successful people, like a business convention. These societies have a whole philosphy and pseudo-religion to go with them. The idea of doing a mock human sacrifice to Molloch, a stone owl, significantly demonstrates what I am talking about. These philosophies and pseudo-religions revolve around preaching exclusionary practices, elitism, and securing positions of wealth and power. Women are not allowed in many of these organizations. It was only within the last 10 years or so that the Bohemian Club allowed people of color. Many of the Freemasons and The Skull and Bones still do not allow people of color as well.
There are a lot of beliefs that come out of these philosophies that can be very dangerous. The skull and Bones allegedly believe that change for the better cannot occur without a tragedy or war. If this is true, and if Bush adheres to this philosophy, then perhaps this might explain why a war in Iraq was so important to him. Most of these organizations believe in deception as a means to fullfill their agenda. This could range from manufacturing ideas through propaganda, outright lying, or playing two sides against each other. They even do this within their own organazations. An example would be from a book I read from an Ex-freemason who exposed many of the secrets of their society. He said that most people don't go past the first few degrees, and are content there. The initial ceremony involves kissing a bible. In later degrees (all of which are kept secret from the lower degrees) you are told that the kissing of the bible is actually you kissing Jesus and conventional Christianity goodbye for the exceptance of a "higher religion" that not all are privy too. These higher degrees all involve higher dues to be paid, as well as higher social status requirements. Basically, a poor person will never make it up the ranks in one of these societies. These are just examples of how the philosophies of these can be dangerous.
But the worst thing about these in my opinion is that these societies like to fix the opportunities for whom they choose, as much as they can. Just like how the belief about wealth and power and how there is only so much to go around (so they must secure as much of it as they can), the same belief seems to be applied to opportunity. There are only so many opportunities out there, so they need to reserve as much of those as they can for their children, and for others who they feel would be fit. People getting fired after not joining their organization has definatily occured. If 5 people are on the line for a promotion, and one of them is in the same secret society as the decision maker, guess who's getting promoted? If your in business and a part of a secret society in your community, your going to get all the referrals and the business, even if the guy in the office accross from you is better at what he does then you. So not only does a person from a poorer community not have the same opportunities as someone else do to demographics, they have to work against other people actively fixing opportunities, and not in their favor.
And in terms of the Hegelian Dialectic, I believe that this does occur, but more as a natural product of elitist philosophies, not out of some grandious scheme. A prime example is the abortion issue. Every year you have one issue voters who will only vote for a canidate based on one reason; pro-life or pro-choice. That takes a big chunk out of the voting pie who can be manipulated by this one issue. And, while that chunk of the pie is focused on their one issue, they are ignoring the fact that government is working together with business interests to secure the wealth for themselves and the wealthiest 1%. It's hard not to think this way when government officials and big business execs all belong to the same secret clubs, where deals are made and policy is discussed.
So, I think that these secret societies do play a major role in our state of affairs. I do not think it is a conspiricy, though, or that there is some illuminati out their cooking up a grand scheme for world domination. I don't think that is the way it works. I do think that these groups consist of powerful and wealthy people who are fearful of losing their power, who are very elitist, and who are going to work very hard to secure their own interests.
The real question is, though, if I am right, what the heck should we do about it?
PAUL
(hey...what are these guys in black suits and sun glasses doing at my door?
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