autonomous alternatives to the statist quo in English
Hearing today on raising water rates; County Commission looks to reduce wasteFeb. 19, 2008 http://www.lvrj.com/news/15760602.htmlHow does this reduce water waste? Why aren’t we looking at the corporations, golf courses, and government wasting?Maybe th…
what if all the advertising you ever saw was propaganda for one party or religion?
how would you feel?
in my opinion, it is propaganda for something like a religion. this ‘religion’ is just as, if not more powerful and all pervasive in our thought and culture than any recognised religion.
ok, so, the thousands of adverts we see are for hundreds of different products or services. but they all represent the same thing: commercialism, consumerism, capitalism. they all seek to manipulate and control our thoughts, emotions and actions by varying degrees of sophistication.
is that an overstatement? billions are spent on advertising, psychologists are employed, whole ethos are created. nowadays this isn’t just to find the best ways for us to spend our money- it is so we identify with products and brands. to attach cultural and emotional meaning and significance. to associate our very beings with the ethos of certain brands. to associate health, happiness and pleasure with material goods.
i’m still undecided whether all of this is just a smokescreen for a system that perpetuates itself so that a small ‘elite’ can get and remain filthy rich or whether- though that is of course the case- that the apparent self deception of the ‘virtue’ of this process isn’t now so pervasive that even those at the top who benefit the most actually believe it themselves.
having said this- if this system were so effective, if it truly were self perpetuating, then why is so much money and effort poured into keeping it going? maybe it’s just a matter of money flow. the advertisers, brand managers, broadcasters etc all expect a certain amount of money for their work or ad space.
it’s a circus. but a deadly one. we are losing so much to this merry-go-round. i am absolutely opposed to the idea that our culture as it is in the ‘west’ is the height of human endeavour. this is not progress. it is just servitude dressed up in trinkets, baubles and assurances of wealth and comfort.
whereas in reality not only are most people in the ‘developed’ world unhappy with some or all aspects of their work and personal lives, less ‘developed’ and more self sufficient peoples of this planet are being stripped of their land, resources and livelihoods by this machine called capitalism and wars are being fought over these resources.
when we realise that the planet and human cultures existed before modern notions of monetary worth, that no amount of money can replenish what we are so rapidly using up, when we understand that these things have a value far beyond money and that our actual continued existence relies upon the judicious and sustainable use of these resources- atmosphere, water, productive land, timber, plants, ecosystems- then we will realise that the cabaret of consumerism that performs in front of the dirty business of capitalism and neo-liberalism is a dangerous and grotesque distraction.
Feds admit mistakenly jailing citizens as illegal immigrantsBy MARISA TAYLORMcClatchy-TribuneFeb. 14, 2008, 12:35AMOriginal: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5540262.htmlWASHINGTON — A top Immigration and Customs Enforcement official acknowl…
I have had quite a number of different thoughts, feelings, and needs in relation to that document that I posted here on January 20th. One of the big ones for me has been a kind of discouragement, wanting to receive more feed-back, acknowledgement and a…
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