Yes, Gary, we are on a very slippery slope. The general public is
otherwise occupied, if not with work or collecting welfare then with
watching sitcoms and other forms of entertainment. That makes for a
useful tool in the hands of those in power.
Indeed, and fairly brainwashed by the media-military-political-corporate complex (after Eisenhower) most do not even see the extent of the problem. So , like proverbial albatrosses, they stick their heads in the sand of mass entertainment and shop-for-biggier-UVs-til-we-dropism. (I'm not so sure about the "collecting welfare" notion since so much of that has been dismantled beginning with Reagan straight through Clinton. A pie chart put out by the OMB shows the slimmest fraction of a slice for all social programs, including "welfare" and education!)
bread and circuses
Nietzsche played with this concept to yield "bread and Circe" suggesting the hypnotic effect of all this (the real "opium of the people") on the masses.
Another stance we can take, besides writing legislators, is not to feed
money into those media conglomerates. . . Is this stance effective? I doubt
it, but what else can one do.
I suppose building collaborative e-communities provides another option (Blue
Oxen, etc.)
EXCERPT from Gary Richmond's communication of Fri. 2003-05-09 at 13:21:
... When we talk to Congresspeople about this issue, their response is
usually the same: "We only hear from media lobbyists on this. It seems
like my constituents aren't very concerned with this issue." ...
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Yes, Gary, we are on a very slippery slope. The general public is
otherwise occupied, if not with work or collecting welfare then with
watching sitcoms and other forms of entertainment. That makes for a
useful tool in the hands of those in power. Here is a relevant entry
from the American Heritage Dictionary:
bread and circuses
PLURAL NOUN: Offerings, such as benefits or entertainments, intended to
placate discontent or distract attention from a policy or situation.
ETYMOLOGY: Translation of Latin pnem et circnss, a phrase coined by the
Roman poet Juvenal : pnem, accusative singular of pnis, bread + et, and
+ circnss, circus games.
Another stance we can take, besides writing legislators, is not to feed
money into those media conglomerates. I'd love to see Disneyland, but I
won't go. And I won't feed any more money into Microsoft even though
Windows XP may well be very enticing. Is this stance effective? I doubt
it, but what else can one do.
Henry