Nothing Is As They Tell Us

It's no surprise that there are massive efforts to control what we think. But possibly more important is:

We've been told how to think.

The stories we've been told, over and over again, have framed how we view the world and how we see ourselves in it. Such is the nature of cultures. But our culture is the first culture to be primarily influenced by the stories we see on television. This is neither normal, nor is it better.

For tens of thousands of years (for all of prehistory actually) cultures were formed by the interaction of small communities and extended families. People (our ancestors actually) told stories that related to their lives and the conditions they lived in – and they changed their stories (and thus the culture adapted) as those conditions changed. These were healthy cultures.

Today, famous pundits are paid riches to tell stories to millions of people they don't know. These pundits are paid by people who want to change the culture (for their own selfish schemes). We call this propaganda. We all know this exists. But we all deny it effects us. That's what makes it so effective.

Nothing is as they tell us – especially when it comes to politics.

First, they infer that we only have two options. You're either a Liberal or a Conservative. But this has more to do with our two-party political system than reality. Personally, I don't feel like I fit into either category. And I suspect that most of us have become quite dissatisfied with only two options on election day... However, when it comes time to voice our perspective, we usually pick one of the two sides. It's as if our minds have been boxed into a perspective that only allows us to see things as we are told.

What if this whole Liberal/Conservative conflict is just a way of playing us – to keep us fighting amongst ourselves? Consider this: The most effective way to keep the masses weak is to keep them at each other's throat. Distraction can be used as a weapon.

The truth is: both Liberal and Conservative Americans agree on more things than we disagree on. We all want to live happy, productive, rewarding lives without being ordered about or taken advantage of. Most of the time, we agree on things. But where in the mass media are the stories that remind us of that?

I'm convinced that there is a reason why stories that would help us constructively work together are rare in mass media. If we were willing to work together, that means we would organize. And if we organized, we just might fix the corruption in our political system. Of course, the powers that be don't actually want that. They like corruption – since it favors them. Why would they want our systems to be fair and sensible? They're making too much money taking advantage of us.

We all know deep down inside; it's not about liberal or conservative agendas, it's about money.

Our unhealthy obsession with money is the reason our political, economic, and informational/educational systems are failing us. Making money can be a reasonable goal. But money has become the point of it all. Now wait a minute. Money is not true wealth. Money is not happiness. Money is only a tool. Money as an obsession is a lie. And the biggest lie is that money is good, no matter how you get it – even if you have to lie – even if you have to believe lies.

It is obviously not a coincidence that the stories the mass media tell us tend to favor their owners and advertisers.

The dogma shattering fact that they don't want us to think about is; the same people who are buying off politicians in Washington are buying off the mass media (or they own it).

Television has been called the “idiot box,” the “boob tube,” and the “cheap babysitter.” It doesn't take a genius to see that most television programming is not educational. Apparently, that's what the public wants... Or is it that we see through “news” programming? Most of what they call “news” is just a distraction. Why bother? The sad truth about mass media “news” is quite obviously: if you get all your education from the “idiot box,” the very best you can hope for is to be a well-informed idiot.

Not that there isn't any good information on television (and other mass media) news. It's just somewhat sparse – and most importantly, limited in scope. And it's this limitation in scope that keeps us in line. Most of us don't think outside of the “idiot box.”

It's time to think outside of the box. Not everything can be framed as a conflict between the right and the left. Sometimes the conflict is between the greedy and the needy. Sometimes the conflict is between us and future generations. Sometimes the conflict is between the mentally healthy and the obsessive. And sometimes the conflict is between the passive and the aggressive. Nonetheless, the most important overlooked conflict is between the quick buck for a few and stability and sustainability for all life on Earth. These are not minor oversights.

News coverage certainly could be more thorough. But it is pretty easy to see that mass media news coverage has been dumbed down on purpose. Those who control what we know don't want us to think for ourselves. And they especially don't want us to think outside of the box. We might actually try to fix things.

Which, in a way is good news. They're afraid we can fix things.

Together, Americans can still fix things. That's why they keep trying to divide us. That's why we need to try harder than ever to get along. We have the power. And they know it. We have the power to ignore the puppet masters and to seek out greater truths. We have the power to make our systems healthy.

No matter what your political affiliations, cleaning up the corruption in politics is the first step towards achieving anything worth a damn. No matter what your political affiliations, this is something we can all do together.

This is going to take far more than just electing a new set of politicians (because the best candidates are often filtered out by our campaign process.) This is going to take at least a U.S. Constitutional Amendment – and constant vigilance of an organized populace.

We have yet to achieve anywhere near a corruption-free government, but we have done better. The worst thing we can do now is fight amongst ourselves. The second worst thing we can do is nothing.

The politicians won't do this for us. The powerful won't do this for us. We have no choice but to fix the system ourselves.

You can start by signing a petition. Click Here

You can do more by visiting my Reboot Democracy post, which has links to more efforts to get the money out of politics. Click Here

But the least you can do – the very least; is when someone starts parroting the pundits and blaming the liberals/conservatives for all our problems... remind them that it's not really about liberals and conservatives – it's about money. And as long as they continue to see the world as those who wish to manipulate us want us to perceive it; we can't all work together, we can't organize to end corruption – and we will soon be scammed again.