During this era, many churches became Republican clubhouses and the Evangelical and Dominionist movements began to infuse politics. These edgy people, like their Islamist cousins, think the world is ending and that it's their job to help it along.
Ronald Reagan was president, and his "trickle-down economics" was being accepted like the cult of the new order. Deregulation was the theme of the day, and it led to problems. The savings and loan crisis, now all but forgotten, created a contained depression, staunched only by federal programs like FDIC insurance on savings deposits.
The Iran-Contra affair came out in 1986, which involved the revelation of the US covertly selling weapons to its enemy Iran (to be used against its then-ally Iraq), then illegally diverting the profits to the Contras in Nicaragua, who bombed schools, hospitals and farming cooperatives. The stock market experienced a serious crash in 1987.
Yet despite these setbacks, what became known as the neoconservative movement continued to grow. Current Middle East wars have their modern origins in this era.
The Score So Far
It would seem that major Pluto transits immediately precede the most chaotic phases of history; they are associated with economic instability or enormous changes to the economy; and they often precede major wars.
The first Pluto square preceded the Civil War, the opposition preceded World War II and the second square arrived with covert wars in Central America and the Middle East, followed by Bush War I, Bush War II and the Obama Drone Wars. It seems like the whole fourth quarter of the Pluto cycle is one endless war, which came on the heels of Vietnam and Korea, which followed World Wars I and II and the nuclear arms race and Cold War.
Excuse me while I scream. There, now I feel better.
Which Leads to the Present
We are now in the Pluto return phase of US history. If the story so far and current events tell us anything, we're at a crossroads. Without any reference to partisan politics, or to whomever might be president, every single issue we face as a society and world community is poised to come to a head.
The most significant one is climate, since that impacts the fate of the Earth. The United States could indeed lead the way to lowering the carbon footprint of the world, but we are not doing so. Then there is the national debt of the United States. Due to the combination of budget deficits, interest on previous debts, and an obsession with simultaneous wars and tax cuts for the rich, the government's debt is ballooning by the day.
Economic problems usually come with social problems, because people are experiencing anguish and, in turn, they need someone to blame. Socially, the United States seems ready to rip apart, but reading about conditions in 1850 made me feel a little better.
It seems the deeper we go into this predicament, the less anyone can do. It's true that under the influence of Pluto transits you will feel powerless until you claim your power. A lot of people have to decide to do that, if we want to get anywhere. I often remind myself of the words of Sting: "There is no political solution / to our troubled evolution." And evolution is indeed what Pluto calls for. Yes, it can seem like grow or die. That's not a difficult choice to make. Or is it?
