Propaganda no longer allows for a free and open society, since ultimately it is a form of censorship in the sense that it directs a society in how to think. In short, propaganda is a diversion, and what it is designed to hide is ultimately the biggest challenge to liberty. How can 'the people' make honest decisions when the "facts" they are given have been carefully selected and molded in order so society forms the desired opinions that those in power have carefully prefabricated in order to move forward with their own agendas?
The moment our nation began allowing Propaganda (aka "Public Relations") to dominate it's public discourse, which was roughly the 1920's with Edward Bernays, is the same moment 'the powers that be' began developing higher, more powerful ambitions for this country. They must have realized that in order for them to do what they pleased, they had to be able to direct the public discourse of the people. They had to make the people prioritize their desires over their needs.
When the government found an effective way to direct public discourse, they then were able to march towards their new desire: global dominance. They only needed the right excuse to take their desire for power to the next level, and that excuse was happening right across the "pond".
As Amaury de Riencourt argues in his book "The American Empire", our US empire rose up during World War 2 (he believes it started with the attacks of Pearl Harbor, I personally hold to the erection of the Pentagon - either way, it's roughly the same time period.) Now we are coming to an end to our imperical reighn.
As our empire rose, our liberties were curtailed, and we were given distractions to keep us happy and docile - ultimately. Our discussions were shaped by propaganda, our habits were altered by capitalism, and our beliefs were forced to submit to our desires. All this was done so the power hungry could get what they wanted, and use us as stepping stones, as pawns, as batteries to make their empire move and grow.
I believe our country had been duped, and some of us are just waking up to it, in kind of a drunken stupor.
This is kind of related:
Monday, December 28, 2009
Post America
What exactly does it mean to be "Post American"?
The Post American view is that the traditional idealized America that many hold onto, such as the prospects of living the "American Dream" and living in a state of constant prosperity no longer exists. America is quickly losing it's stand as being the most dominant, and economically stable country in the world. To be a Post American is realize that we, as a nation are standing on the precipice of a new era, one of which this nation, nor the world has ever seen before. To be Post American means that we, as a people need to be able to anticipate what our military and government have been anticipating for several decades now. Americans need to be thinking proactively instead of retroactively. Our society has been put on a short leash by those who no longer are looking out for our best interests (if anyone ever was to begin with that is), and we have to recognize that we are being lead in the direction that will do us a lot of harm. Essentially, the America of the 1950's no longer exists, all those ideals are part of the past and can never be restored.
This view is not something new, it is a view that is often expressed while referring to the current state of our nation, as this Project Syndicate article states:
This country will not remain the 'indispensable nation' for long, and many people are watching it's decline either from the sidelines or victims of the decline itself. Citizens need to be able to look out and see what is happening before they are caught in the decline as well, unable to do anything about it. When this country begins to topple over, there will be nothing to break its fall. Our city on a hill is falling into the sea, it's time to make sure that a life raft is available. This new understanding of the country we inhabit is Post American Objectivism.
Post American Objectivism is looking at where we, as a civilization, are going and be able to recognize that many countries have been on this same exact course in the past. Everything about America that once made it so great is now turning in on itself and destroying it. Everything from capatilism to militarism is rearing its ugly head and draining the lifeblood right out of this late-great USA.
The Post American view is that the traditional idealized America that many hold onto, such as the prospects of living the "American Dream" and living in a state of constant prosperity no longer exists. America is quickly losing it's stand as being the most dominant, and economically stable country in the world. To be a Post American is realize that we, as a nation are standing on the precipice of a new era, one of which this nation, nor the world has ever seen before. To be Post American means that we, as a people need to be able to anticipate what our military and government have been anticipating for several decades now. Americans need to be thinking proactively instead of retroactively. Our society has been put on a short leash by those who no longer are looking out for our best interests (if anyone ever was to begin with that is), and we have to recognize that we are being lead in the direction that will do us a lot of harm. Essentially, the America of the 1950's no longer exists, all those ideals are part of the past and can never be restored.
This view is not something new, it is a view that is often expressed while referring to the current state of our nation, as this Project Syndicate article states:
We are entering a post-American world – the world beyond America’s brief moment
of global domination. Obama’s administration understands this, and has responded
with what it calls a “multi-partner strategy.” Whether it is the Chinese for the
global economy, or Russia for nuclear disarmament, the United States will now
work with whomever can help it get the results it wants – thus ensuring that it
remains the “indispensable nation.”
This country will not remain the 'indispensable nation' for long, and many people are watching it's decline either from the sidelines or victims of the decline itself. Citizens need to be able to look out and see what is happening before they are caught in the decline as well, unable to do anything about it. When this country begins to topple over, there will be nothing to break its fall. Our city on a hill is falling into the sea, it's time to make sure that a life raft is available. This new understanding of the country we inhabit is Post American Objectivism.
Post American Objectivism is looking at where we, as a civilization, are going and be able to recognize that many countries have been on this same exact course in the past. Everything about America that once made it so great is now turning in on itself and destroying it. Everything from capatilism to militarism is rearing its ugly head and draining the lifeblood right out of this late-great USA.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
The World I Know
Too many people live their lives in a persistant dream-state, and from my own experience, when you live your life learning about what really is happening, how the world really operates, you are considered "insane". I do not own a TV, I get my news from online sources, from people who base their observations in reality - people who will site their sources when they make a statement that is difficult to believe. I spend a majority of my free time reading books (primarily non-fiction, however I do read many 'pertinent' fiction books as well). I don't read books by people who like to perpetuate the right-left, republican-democrat paradigm. I don't read books that our culture is fixated on, like Harry Potter or Twilight because they, I find, are distractions. I don't watch blockbuster movies either. Music, perhaps, is my one real cultural guilty pleasure, but even in that regard it's primarily music that is politically motivated.
The result however is since I happen to know who is in the White House beyond President Obama, and who is in the Pentagon, and I am also aware for the most part of their individual philosophies - as revealed in their writings - and since I am also well aware of who is REALLY running the show, my friends think I need psychiatric treatment. Apparently I could have schizophrenia because I believe there is a chance that my phone calls that I've made to several senators and representatives could be listened in on by an unknown third-party (thanks to FISA). Or that the books that I've bought using my debit card online and in stores could have the same result (thanks to the PATRIOT act). I don't live extra cautiously because of this belief, or in a state of paranoia, I just understand that this is a possibility.
I don't make fun of my friends when they believe that a zombie apocalypse is immanent, or when they tell me how they can see and talk to ghosts, or when they claim to be Jesus [none of these examples are made up, really], but I'm the laughing stock if I attempt to suggest that H1N1 could be man-made (look at the geographical origins of the multiple strains this flu has) or that many ideological influence of Nazi Germany came from the United States, and that after World War Two many of those German scientists were brought to the United States and incorporated into our Military Industrial Complex.
I don't make fun of my friends when they believe that the US will be invaded by Canada and the illegal Mexican's are really here to dig massive tunnels to help with that invasion. I don't call them "stupid" or "idiots" when they elaborate on this grand invasion scheme (Canadians, if you're reading this, tunneling beneath Lake Superior is a waste of time, go through Wisconsin into Michigans Upper Peninsula and use the Mackinac Bridge - please bring ham, Americans love that stuff). However if I say that as a possibility a nuclear weapon could go off in this country in a major city in order to rally the people to support a war in Iran, largely because this type of talk has been coming up a lot in the rhetoric coming out of Washington DC and Arlington Virginia, and if I suggest that the weapon would most likely originate from our own military (siting other Empires and how they achieved what they wanted through acts of terror on their own people) I'm labeled an "idiot".
"Dreaming is for people who like to sleep, I'd rather be awake." - Brian, Queer as Folk [I've never watched the show, but I find the quote fitting.]
How can people live a life in a constant fantasy world contrived in their own heads - a world of zombies, ghosts, claims of being Jesus, and Canadian invasion etc. call someone crazy who bases their life in the known world? I study propaganda to learn how it is used, I study psychology (NOT to be confused with psychiatry) to understand how people respond to the world around them, I study philosophy to see what type of world-view others are operating under, I study profits to see how money shapes the decisions of people who are in power, and I study politics with all the others in mind in order to seperate the "wheat from the chaff", or, in other words to know what is BS and what isn't.
I am willing to challenge everything put forth, even if it means I must view the world differently and change my way of thinking. There is no topic that I consider too taboo to challenge. I live in a state of comfort - not fear - simply because I know how the world operates, and therefore what to expect. The only feeling I do have in regards to the world however is frustration, frustration with people who are unwilling to think, who are unwilling to pursue knowledge, unwilling to discuss real issues. I am sick of being called "unpatriotic" when I consider the people in Iraq and Afghanistan to be human beings and suggest that the wars going on over there are wrong. I am sick of being called "stupid" because I don't know what TV show is dominating the airwaves, or what contestant is the best singer on American Idol (that show is still on, right? - if not, insert another show with the same premise.) I am especially sick of people who rely on the words of "the experts" and are unwilling to go out and develop an opinion themselves.
People need to snap out of their fantasy world because their state of delusion, disconnect and apathy are only encouraging the nightmare that those of us who base their existance in reality are seeing.
The result however is since I happen to know who is in the White House beyond President Obama, and who is in the Pentagon, and I am also aware for the most part of their individual philosophies - as revealed in their writings - and since I am also well aware of who is REALLY running the show, my friends think I need psychiatric treatment. Apparently I could have schizophrenia because I believe there is a chance that my phone calls that I've made to several senators and representatives could be listened in on by an unknown third-party (thanks to FISA). Or that the books that I've bought using my debit card online and in stores could have the same result (thanks to the PATRIOT act). I don't live extra cautiously because of this belief, or in a state of paranoia, I just understand that this is a possibility.
I don't make fun of my friends when they believe that a zombie apocalypse is immanent, or when they tell me how they can see and talk to ghosts, or when they claim to be Jesus [none of these examples are made up, really], but I'm the laughing stock if I attempt to suggest that H1N1 could be man-made (look at the geographical origins of the multiple strains this flu has) or that many ideological influence of Nazi Germany came from the United States, and that after World War Two many of those German scientists were brought to the United States and incorporated into our Military Industrial Complex.
I don't make fun of my friends when they believe that the US will be invaded by Canada and the illegal Mexican's are really here to dig massive tunnels to help with that invasion. I don't call them "stupid" or "idiots" when they elaborate on this grand invasion scheme (Canadians, if you're reading this, tunneling beneath Lake Superior is a waste of time, go through Wisconsin into Michigans Upper Peninsula and use the Mackinac Bridge - please bring ham, Americans love that stuff). However if I say that as a possibility a nuclear weapon could go off in this country in a major city in order to rally the people to support a war in Iran, largely because this type of talk has been coming up a lot in the rhetoric coming out of Washington DC and Arlington Virginia, and if I suggest that the weapon would most likely originate from our own military (siting other Empires and how they achieved what they wanted through acts of terror on their own people) I'm labeled an "idiot".
"Dreaming is for people who like to sleep, I'd rather be awake." - Brian, Queer as Folk [I've never watched the show, but I find the quote fitting.]
How can people live a life in a constant fantasy world contrived in their own heads - a world of zombies, ghosts, claims of being Jesus, and Canadian invasion etc. call someone crazy who bases their life in the known world? I study propaganda to learn how it is used, I study psychology (NOT to be confused with psychiatry) to understand how people respond to the world around them, I study philosophy to see what type of world-view others are operating under, I study profits to see how money shapes the decisions of people who are in power, and I study politics with all the others in mind in order to seperate the "wheat from the chaff", or, in other words to know what is BS and what isn't.
I am willing to challenge everything put forth, even if it means I must view the world differently and change my way of thinking. There is no topic that I consider too taboo to challenge. I live in a state of comfort - not fear - simply because I know how the world operates, and therefore what to expect. The only feeling I do have in regards to the world however is frustration, frustration with people who are unwilling to think, who are unwilling to pursue knowledge, unwilling to discuss real issues. I am sick of being called "unpatriotic" when I consider the people in Iraq and Afghanistan to be human beings and suggest that the wars going on over there are wrong. I am sick of being called "stupid" because I don't know what TV show is dominating the airwaves, or what contestant is the best singer on American Idol (that show is still on, right? - if not, insert another show with the same premise.) I am especially sick of people who rely on the words of "the experts" and are unwilling to go out and develop an opinion themselves.
People need to snap out of their fantasy world because their state of delusion, disconnect and apathy are only encouraging the nightmare that those of us who base their existance in reality are seeing.
Monday, July 13, 2009
The Big Question
Who really runs this country [the United States]?
Is it:
A) The President and the White House
B) The Pentagon
C) The People
D) OTHER
Is it:
A) The President and the White House
B) The Pentagon
C) The People
D) OTHER
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