How James Fenimore Cooper Foresaw the Twin Nightmares of Obama and Romney

From Cooper's novel Home as Found, which was panned by reviewers as too caustic a political manifesto and not mere entertainment, we have the following pertinent philippic from one of its protagonists:

 '' ...I allude to the very general disposition to confine political discussions to political men. Thus, the private citizen, who should presume to discuss a political question, would be deemed fair game for all who thought differently from himself. He would be injured in his pocket, reputation, domestic happiness, if possible; for, in this respect, America is much the most intolerant nation I have ever visited. In all other countries, in which discussion is permitted at all, there is at least the appearance of fair play, whatever may be done covertly; but here, it seems to be sufficient to justify falsehood, frauds, nay, barefaced rascality, to establish that the injured party has had the audacity to meddle with public questions, not being what the public chooses to call a public man. It is scarcely necessary to say that, when such an opinion gets to be effective, it must entirely defeat the real intentions of a popular government. (...) Instances are to be seen as often as a man is found freeman enough to have an opinion independent of party. It is not for connecting himself with party that a man is denounced in this country, but for daring to connect himself with truth. Party will bear with party, but party will not bear with truth." (My emphasis added)

 Now, dear reader you might have noticed how true these very words still ring especially today. Today, when we have the wretched display nightly of a Hollywood pornographic caricature of an election (and electorate.)

For who, in their right mind, would not be able to see through the charade that both parties are "only in it for the money?" No matter with what obsequious and pious  platitudes their bald face phony rhetoric attempts to woo the gullible Internet or television watching marks with so called biblical morality on one side or women's rights on the other. The game, you see, is all of a piece.

And the game of this political sideshow, dear reader, is to fleece not only the sick and elderly, as if that were not bad enough. The game is to kowtow to the looting depredations of the cabal of high finance that rigs the economy only in its favor. What we very simply have is an illicit creation of speculative debt by an oligarchy. The power behind the creation of  that debt is more sacrosanct to both parties than the very future of our nation (and humanity.) For in reality, both damnable parties agree that pay that illicit debt we must no matter what. And so they squabble furiously in the political muck and mire devouring each other while America burns.

So, had Cooper's America actually heeded what he had accurately limned in his day, we would not be in the pickle we have been in for these many years. At the time, the popular press scolded him for his politics with the hue and cry that the public only wanted pleasure from its novelists. Yes, give the people what it wants cries our latter day would be P.T. Barnums. Ah, but that's entertainment...What you see is what you get.