Published on the 50th Anniversary of his ascension to the highest office in the world, this is the first installment of our excavation into the life, times, and meaning of the presidency of Gerald R. Ford, Jr.  Ford is an ideal case-study for the consolidation of the Fourth Reich through the vessel that is the quintessential modern American everyman.  In this episode, we first discuss some of the major recurring themes that mark our exploration of Ford's life. Those are: American Exceptionalism (aka American Imperialism) and settler colonialism The "Greatest Generation" and the myth of Good Guys (Freedom & Democracy) vs. Bady Guys (Totalitarianism) Freemasonry, other Secret Societies, and their role in American political life American expansionism and the promise of unending growth We will also explore the early years of Gerald Ford’s biography. We touch on the traumas from Jerry’s early days and the horrific events that indelibly marked his psyche: the fraught relationship between his birth parents, the settler-colonial ideology and pedigree of his forebearers, and his ultimate upbringing in a household striving to ascend the socio-economic ladder in middle America straddling the first world war.