It gives me the creeps! The control the corporate-owned media has over the vast majorities of Americans almost falls into the domain of science fiction. I'm not going to venture into speculating about how this science of mass mind domination has been perfected to such an extent, but suffice it to so, in reality, the objectives and the effects are not that much different than that of ancient civilizations, where ruling elites always found ways of influencing and controlling the populace through propaganda, misinformation and superstition. It is basically the same today...
Tonight millions of liberals will get yet another dose of formulaic, sensational, and alarming-sounding news from media outfits like MSNBC, from shows like The Ed Show, The Rachel Maddow Show, and The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnel. Wherein they "reveal" all kinds of mischief and outright bullshit committed by the Republicans and the assortment of crazies, lunatics, religious fundamentalists, and right wing nutjobs that makeup most of their membership.
Having our emotions riled up and our sense of decency (not to mention, intelligence) offended, many (us liberals) will run straight to our keyboards and write the latest diary here at Daily Kos condemning the latest outrage by the Republican party lunatics.
Yes, some will rile against Obama or Pelosi for "putting social security 'on the table,'" but again, much of what drives those reactions is the manipulative effects of the corporate-owned media.
We are being played with. Most of it is kabuki theater.
This incessant obsession with every single move the right wing and the Republican miscreants make only has marginal effect on the country's agenda, polling data notwithstanding.
I know, I know, the level of lunacy, lock-step-fascistic tendencies, and ignorance exhibited by the American right wing nutjobs is so extraordinary, that it is hard not to "look." But it's like being obsessed with the behavior of a deranged person in a mental asylum. He may plaster feces all over the wall (if he's having an "episode"), but what good does it do for you to stay fixed on every single stroke of his hand, from left, to right, on the wall? That's basically what we're getting from MSNBC!
Or, if I have to put it in a more delicate manner: "Let's just say it: The Republicans are the problem."
The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.
Sorry... I guess I just did the same thing I'm trying to condemn in my diary, so let me address the second part, which I think its more important.
What is killing democracy in this country is not the lunacy of the Republicans per se, but the fact that our entire political system has been taken over by a tiny group of corporatist, oligarchs, and that includes most of the Democratic party establishment.
While the media they pay for keeps us (the populace) in some sort of trance, obfuscating, and panting, and furious, focusing on total bullshit, we become divided and distracted, and unfocused on what really matters, while they go about fucking us over, dismantling democracy, cementing their power. That's a pretty nifty deal for them... But for some reason it works every time. [I'm currently reading a book on ancient Rome, and I'm fascinated with the similarities of how ancient rulers controlled the collective minds of their subjects, to how the current ruling elite does the same].
Folks, much of the mainstream media, including MSNBC, not to mention the outright fascist network, FoxNews, is being used as a tool to control your mind, to manipulate you, to confuse you, and ultimately, to exploit you.
We need to break free of these mental shackles! For years I've been wishing I'd see some sort of movement to free real journalists from being used as tools by their corporate owners. I've been wishing I'd see a movement towards not-for-profit journalism, performed with integrity and commitment. And finally, I'm glad to say that I'm starting to see that happening more and more.
Many readers are familiar with not-for-profit news organizations like PBS, and NPR. They do a pretty good job, but are still overly influenced by government oversight.
And then, there are more independent organizations like ProPublica, Center for Investigative Reporting, and The Bay Citizen, among others.
I encourage every reader to try to break free from the corporate-owned media and instead patronize and support these non-profit news organizations.
I'm especially happy to see the latest project, launched on December 17th, Freedom of The Press Foundation (established to crowd-fund transparency journalism). Please take a moment and visit their website for more information about them.
Other great resources include the Sunlight Foundation, Violence Policy Center (great resource for research on gun violence). I also really like Political Party Time, which I think hits the nail on the head when it comes to finding the nexus between politicians on the take and their corporate owners and much of the disgusting influence peddling that's destroying our democracy.
Another wish of mine would be to see groups of citizens from all over this great country, educating themselves about the true nature of the appalling corruption (using the aforementioned resources), and getting together on a regular basis to discuss ways of thwarting the control by the corporatocracy on our government system. Wouldn't it be great to revive the Occupy Wall Street movement under this model?
Finally, why couldn't something similar be applied to business? Imagine people getting together forming business collectives to buy off companies? I keep thinking... What if somehow someone was able to organize thousands of Hostess employees, create a fund and buy the company to turn it into employee-owned?
Could labor unions get together and form a crowd-sourced "virtual union" and recruit Target, and Walmart employees; find ways to anonymously report misdeed and exploitation; force the corporate-neutered government agencies to do their job when it comes to proper regulation and oversight?
This is what democracy is about! We, an informed citizenry, need to take the reins and create a decent society.