The America Dream, if you haven’t figured out, is an illusion. Seriously. It’s like the lottery. Sure, there’s going to be a few who will actually win it big in their lifetimes, but for about 99% of the millions of people who contribute their one dollar bills to that ever-elusive pot of gold on a daily basis, hoping for the possibility of hitting the jackpot, life – and the big payoff – will continue to pass them by, while they wait faithfully for their illusions of grandeur to come to fruition.
America, where capitalism looms large, and where socialism and communism are dirty words, is a nation where if you just pull yourself up by your bootstraps, work hard, follow the rules, fear God, and believe the government; you should be able to advance your position in life as one the elites. Well, it sounds good, anyway. It’s kind of like that lottery. A few are going to make it big in their respective lifetimes, but for about 99% of the millions of people who don’t fall into the elite tax bracket, life – and the big payoff – will continue to pass them by, while they wait faithfully for their illusions of grandeur to come to fruition.
It’s funny, too, because no matter how high the gas prices get – despite growing poverty rates throughout the nation – manufacturers are building more cars, and selling them at higher rates. Despite the lack of living wage jobs out there, more six-figure condominiums are rising in our not-so-booming downtown metropolitan areas than we know what to do with. And I mean that literally, as they – like all other empty promises – sit, looking pretty, but are hollow and vacant on the inside.
But consider this for a moment. Americans. Citizens of the United States. E Pluribus Unum; translated from its Latin, “Out of many, one.” One nation, under God… Indivisible… We the people… That’s right. These are some of the great political slogans that keep the American dream alive.
They go right along with these great advertisement slogans: Have it your way (Burger King). It’s the real thing (Coca-Cola). Obey your thirst (Sprite). The choice of a new generation (Pepsi). It’s everywhere you want to be (Visa). There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's… (Master Card). Don't leave home without it (American Express). Just do it (Nike). It’s Miller time (Miller Brewing Company).
And what does one group have in common with the other? The ploy, of course. One group sets the hustle up for the next. The corporation – which just so happens to be, as an entity, considered a person by the United States Supreme Court – runs America. They send lobbyists to Washington to throw money at the politicians, who are pretty much open to the highest bidder, and who make government policies and laws that benefit their Masters. I mean, corporate interests…
In turn, the corporations also control the people. Look, for instance, at corporate media giants like Walt Disney, AOL Time Warner, CBS Corporation, Viacom, NBC Universal, Sony, and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. Using News Corp. as an example gives insight to how much control the corporate state has over the world. America is just a small sample-sized interest for these powers-that-be.
Among other commodities, News Corp. owns the Dow Jones & Company, Inc., Fox television stations, Fox Searchlight Pictures, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, MySpace, Regan Books, DIRECTV, HarperCollins Publishers, Sky Radio, and Beliefnet. New Corps owns a large chunk of the news, the Internet, the movies we watch, the books we read, the social media we access, and what we see on television. They own Wall Street. Just think about that. In other words, they control what we read, what we watch, the music we listen to, and the value of our assets. They determine, through a constant monopolization of our media, what we will wear, the types of food we will like, what type of person we find attractive, what we believe both politically and religiously, and in essence, what we think, en masse.
These seven media corporations, along with Bertelsmann, own practically all of our media. And just to make sure that they remain in control, they each own a certain percentage of each other’s interests, which ensures that no one else can break in, and that the rich remain rich. The goal, of course, is to keep the poor poor. And this is just what corporate media does. In light of media power, imagine the impact of the auto industry, big oil, and subsidiaries that include fashion and food corporations, just to name a few, on the American public.
Sure, let a couple of people get a few paltry thousands, just to show the rest of America that it’s possible (ha! Great joke!). That’s right! And for the rest of us, what little money you actually earn needs to be spent on things you don’t need, and things you certainly can’t afford. And for those who are unemployed, well, let’s blame them for their own problem. Make them feel guilty for not being able to keep up with the rest of us. You know, those of us who have pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps, worked hard, followed the rules, have a fear of God, and who have belief the government; those of us who believe that we are on our way to being able to advance our position in life as elites. Ignorance is indeed is bliss; the beauty of naivety; the damnation of faith; the power of an illusion; the American Dream.