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Edited on Wed Apr-13-11 07:41 PM by BlancheSplanchnik
"Zombies To <Their> Airwaves" to take a quote from the Jesse Ventura post.
Yes, that's exactly what's going on with the news media. We are one of the most highly propagandized nations, as I remember reading somewhere (if anyone can verify that, please jump in), and it has poisoned the body politic. It is altering the reality of too many people. They, the repuke CONservatives have their constituency--the Titans of Business, and the rubes. The suckers that they depend on have been thoroughly market researched and pwned.
Ironically, these mega-corporations eat the consumers at the same time that they depend on them.
Most sickeningly of all, their global tentacles give them access to power within social institutions, access to control of goods and services that "the rest of the people" depend on, access to vast bureaucracies that effectively control the movement and activities of "the rest of the people" and the capital to maintain these keystones of their Guilded Edifice.
This little rant of mine was just inspired by network teeeveeee's "coverage" of Obama's speech: I usually am not home for the 6:00 pm news, and don't have cable, so I don't watch national news, like Katie Couric for example.
Today I was home and just got up from a nap to wander into the living room, where Mr. S, who was also feeling a little under the weather, was napping on the couch.
SO, I got a big dose of the disgusting spin. Because I'm not used to watching media news, seeing it in full-force like this just about hit me like a freight train---the fucking CORPORATE PUKES own the spin, and this is what 90% of the country ingests daily.
The story was the President's speech on the budget; he was making his stand against Repub destruction of the American Contract with the People. But then, after showing bits of the speech, they present the so-called rebuttal.
It was Ryan's carefully crafted string of insults spun from PURE LIES!
But, what infuriated me the most, what made me have to run to you, my DU friends, so that I could just scream out my rage for a second, is how the "fair presentation" of the other side's "viewpoint" was presented AS THE FINAL WORD and as if it were a reasoned rebuttal.
It was NOT a reasoned reply to the President's speech, it was a dishonest broadside presented AS IF it had merit.
And that is where it ended, well within the viewing public's limited span of attention.
That neat little nugget of treason against Us, the People--brought to you courtesy of the Repuke party, a Wholly owned subsidiary of Global MegaCorp, Inc.-- was shoved aside, down into the limbic area of the lizard brain where it will not see the light of comparison with reality, but it will snuggle up cozily with dreams of hate and blame and pitchforks, while the conscious brain is herded on to the next story. An infotain-mental cul-de-sac of heartbreak and tragedy.
We all know them I know from personal experience, that there are plenty of people who CAN NOT deconstruct the filthy propaganda masquerading as "News". I know people who are already infected by the media lie-machine and are not deep thinkers to begin with. They depend on their gut, they hate liars, but they dislike having to think about abstracts--in fact, they react to encouragements to THINK and QUESTION with ANGER. I have learned the hard way, NOT to analyze and explain political memes and how they control our perceptions and reveal who is generating the messages we are absorbing. I have learned that although the perpetrators are vividly obvious to me, my explanations of how to catch a media lie are NOT WANTED.
The collective Upset Stomach Now, I know many of us here at DU are not fooled for a second by this sleaze, but I came here to scream, because I know that there are too many people who may or may not feel uncomfortable when they see it, but mostly have no idea why they have a roiling in the gut.
That roiling in the gut is a visceral reaction to being lied to; unfortunately, the effectiveness of rage and fear politics is that these emotions blanket the more subtle feelings that warn us to walk away from the liar. It's Consumer Politics, and the Snake-Oil salesmen have bought themselves a political party.
What can we do? Solutions will have to come, are coming bit by bit, o n many fronts. Many people are sick of the lies and know on a visceral level, where they are coming from. Many of us are doing the most important thing--speaking out, strengthening the integrity and compassion in our own l ives, supporting groups and p eople who exemplify our values.
It seems therefore, that the we must also get more people to see the lies, and that means we must get control of the message. That means media. Another critical brick in our construction of a decent society is the creation of media based on a vision of network of intelligence and honesty that speaks their language (short. simple. emotional.)
Seek to understand people who don't have the familiarity with abstract thinking and parsing for meaning, and have some respect for the fact that they too want compassion for others, want honesty, want to understand. Earn trust in language that can be understood.
Know your audience, the key phrase of marketing!
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