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struggle to attain the equality envisioned in the Declaration of Independence. And the "pursuit of happiness" has been compromised by the pernicious influence of a wealthy overclass that is every bit as oppressive as its counterparts in the British peerage from whom we declared independence in 1776. The so-called American Dream, rather than rooted in the principles of the Declaration of Independence, became a canard promul- gated by Robber Barons in a post-slavery era to coerce the common people into providing more labor for fewer rewards. Horrendous working conditions, punishingly long hours and near starvation wages became the hall- marks of the Gilded Age. By the end of the 1920s, the disparity in income and wealth between the overclass and the rest of the people was unprecedented in the history of the nation. And the unfettered means whereby that wealth was aggregated in fewer and fewer hands unbalanced the economy and plunged the entire world into the Great Depression. The economic policies that were adopted to reverse these excesses — along with the global conflict that was World War II — restored some sense of equity to the rewards borne out of individual efforts in "pursuit of happiness." A great middle class rose up in our nation, and parents could look forward to their children having better lives and greater ease than they did. The struggle for equality among all Americans continued with the Civil Rights movement. Fifty years ago this week, the signing of the Civil Rights Act by President Lyndon Johnson was a turning point in ending the efforts of rac- ist majorities in individual states to oppress African-Americans. Tragically, the overclass — which never relinquished its desire for oligarchic control of the nation — has reasserted itself in the last quarter-century. Using modern means of mass communications and advances in propagandizing, the wealthy few in America have turned the common people against one another. Preying on ignorance and fear, the oligarchs have mobilized a large segment of the population to eschew their own self-inter- ests in furtherance of a political philosophy that benefits only their overlords. And, insidi- ously, the oligarchs have gained control over many of the levers of power in our federal and state governments. Many of the economic protections that were put in place during the Great Depression have been dismantled, leading us into an almost equal economic cataclysm now known as the Great Recession. And despite the crushing blow dealt a large percentage of the popula- tion by that recession, the wealthy suffered little. In fact, their wealth and power grew, so the disparity in income and wealth between the overclass and the rest of the people is greater than at any time since the late 1920s. Latter-day Robber Barons now preside over monolithic corporations that are global in OPINION Sarasota News Leader July 4, 2014 Page 111