[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
New World Order Title: They Live, We Sleep: A Dictatorship Disguised as a Democracy You see them on the street. You watch them on TV. You might even vote for one this fall. You think theyre people just like you. Youre wrong. Dead wrong.They Live Were living in two worlds, you and I. Theres the world we see (or are made to see) and then theres the one we sense (and occasionally catch a glimpse of), the latter of which is a far cry from the propaganda-driven reality manufactured by the government and its corporate sponsors, including the media. Indeed, what most Americans perceive as life in Americaprivileged, progressive and freeis a far cry from reality, where economic inequality is growing, real agendas and real power are buried beneath layers of Orwellian doublespeak and corporate obfuscation, and freedom, such that it is, is meted out in small, legalistic doses by militarized police armed to the teeth. All is not as it seems. This is the premise of John Carpenters film They Live (1988), in which two migrant workers discover that the worlds population is actually being controlled and exploited by aliens working in partnership with an oligarchic elite. All the while, the populaceblissfully unaware of the real agenda at work in their liveshas been lulled into complacency, indoctrinated into compliance, bombarded with media distractions, and hypnotized by subliminal messages beamed out of television and various electronic devices, billboards and the like. It is only when homeless drifter John Nada (played to the hilt by the late Roddy Piper) discovers a pair of doctored sunglassesHoffman lensesthat Nada sees what lies beneath the elites fabricated reality: control and bondage. When viewed through the lens of truth, the elite, who appear human until stripped of their disguises, are shown to be monsters who have enslaved the citizenry in order to prey on them. Likewise, billboards blare out hidden, authoritative messages: a bikini-clad woman in one ad is actually ordering viewers to MARRY AND REPRODUCE. Magazine racks scream CONSUME and OBEY. A wad of dollar bills in a vendors hand proclaims, THIS IS YOUR GOD. When viewed through Nadas Hoffman lenses, some of the other hidden messages being drummed into the peoples subconscious include: NO INDEPENDENT THOUGHT, CONFORM, SUBMIT, STAY ASLEEP, BUY, WATCH TV, NO IMAGINATION, and DO NOT QUESTION AUTHORITY. This indoctrination campaign engineered by the elite in They Live is painfully familiar to anyone who has studied the decline of American culture. A citizenry that does not think for themselves, obeys without question, is submissive, does not challenge authority, does not think outside the box, and is content to sit back and be entertained is a citizenry that can be easily controlled. In this way, the subtle message of They Live provides an apt analogy of our own distorted vision of life in the American police state, what philosopher Slavoj iek refers to as dictatorship in democracy, the invisible order which sustains your apparent freedom. Were being fed a series of carefully contrived fictions that bear no resemblance to reality. The powers-that-be want us to feel threatened by forces beyond our control (terrorists, shooters, bombers). They want us afraid and dependent on the government and its militarized armies for our safety and well-being. They want us distrustful of each other, divided by our prejudices, and at each others throats. Most of all, they want us to continue to march in lockstep with their dictates. Tune out the governments attempts to distract, divert and befuddle us and tune into whats really going on in this country, and youll run headlong into an unmistakable, unpalatable truth: the moneyed elite who rule us view us as expendable resources to be used, abused and discarded. In fact, a 2014 study conducted by Princeton and Northwestern University concluded that the U.S. government does not represent the majority of American citizens. Instead, the study found that the government is ruled by the rich and powerful, or the so-called economic elite. Moreover, the researchers concluded that policies enacted by this governmental elite nearly always favor special interests and lobbying groups. In other words, we are being ruled by an oligarchy disguised as a democracy, and arguably on our way towards fascisma form of government where private corporate interests rule, money calls the shots, and the people are seen as mere subjects to be controlled. Consider this: it is estimated that the 2016 presidential election could cost as much as $5 billion, more than double what was spent getting Obama re-elected in 2012. Not only do you have to be richor beholden to the richto get elected these days, but getting elected is also a surefire way to get rich. As CBS News reports, Once in office, members of Congress enjoy access to connections and information they can use to increase their wealth, in ways that are unparalleled in the private sector. And once politicians leave office, their connections allow them to profit even further. In denouncing this blatant corruption of Americas political system, former president Jimmy Carter blasted the process of getting electedto the White House, governors mansion, Congress or state legislaturesas unlimited political bribery
a subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect, and sometimes get, favors for themselves after the election is over. Rest assured that when and if fascism finally takes hold in America, the basic forms of government will remain. As I point out in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, fascism will appear to be friendly. The legislators will be in session. There will be elections, and the news media will continue to cover the entertainment and political trivia. Consent of the governed, however, will no longer apply. Actual control will have finally passed to the oligarchic elite controlling the government behind the scenes. By creating the illusion that it preserves democratic traditions, fascism creeps slowly until it consumes the political system. And in times of crisis, expediency is upheld as the central principlethat is, in order to keep us safe and secure, the government must militarize the police, strip us of basic constitutional rights, criminalize virtually every form of behavior, and build enough private prisons to house all of us nonviolent criminals. Clearly, we are now ruled by an oligarchic elite of governmental and corporate interests. We have moved into corporatism (favored by Benito Mussolini), which is a halfway point on the road to full-blown fascism. Vast sectors of the economy, government and politics are managed by private business concerns, otherwise referred to as privatization by various government politicians. Just study modern government policies. Every industry is regulated. Every profession is classified and organized, writes economic analyst Jeffrey Tucker. Every good or service is taxed. Endless debt accumulation is preserved. Immense doesnt begin to describe the bureaucracy. Military preparedness never stops, and war with some evil foreign foe, remains a daily prospect. In other words, the government in America today does whatever it wants. Corporatism is where the few moneyed interestsnot elected by the citizenryrule over the many. In this way, it is not a democracy or a republican form of government, which is what the American government was established to be. It is a top-down form of government and one which has a terrifying history typified by the developments that occurred in totalitarian regimes of the past: police states where everyone is watched and spied on, rounded up for minor infractions by government agents, placed under police control, and placed in detention (a.k.a. concentration) camps. For the final hammer of fascism to fall, it will require the most crucial ingredient: the majority of the people will have to agree that its not only expedient but necessary. But why would a people agree to such an oppressive regime? The answer is the same in every age: fear. Fear is the method most often used by politicians to increase the power of government. And, as most social commentators recognize, an atmosphere of fear permeates modern America: fear of terrorism, fear of the police, fear of our neighbors and so on. The propaganda of fear has been used quite effectively by those who want to gain control, and it is working on the American populace. Despite the fact that we are 17,600 times more likely to die from heart disease than from a terrorist attack; 11,000 times more likely to die from an airplane accident than from a terrorist plot involving an airplane; 1,048 times more likely to die from a car accident than a terrorist attack, and 8 times more likely to be killed by a police officer than by a terrorist, we have handed over control of our lives to government officials who treat us as a means to an endthe source of money and power. We have allowed ourselves to become fearful, controlled, pacified zombies. In this regard, were not so different from the oppressed citizens in They Live. Most everyone keeps their heads down these days while staring zombie-like into an electronic screen, even when theyre crossing the street. Families sit in restaurants with their heads down, separated by their screen devices and unaware of whats going on around them. Young people especially seem dominated by the devices they hold in their hands, oblivious to the fact that they can simply push a button, turn the thing off and walk away. Indeed, there is no larger group activity than that connected with those who watch screensthat is, television, lap tops, personal computers, cell phones and so on. In fact, a Nielsen study reports that American screen viewing is at an all-time high. For example, the average American watches approximately 151 hours of television per month. The question, of course, is what effect does such screen consumption have on ones mind? Psychologically it is similar to drug addiction. Researchers found that almost immediately after turning on the TV, subjects reported feeling more relaxed, and because this occurs so quickly and the tension returns so rapidly after the TV is turned off, people are conditioned to associate TV viewing with a lack of tension. Research also shows that regardless of the programming, viewers brain waves slow down, thus transforming them into a more passive, nonresistant state. Historically, television has been used by those in authority to quiet discontent and pacify disruptive people. Faced with severe overcrowding and limited budgets for rehabilitation and counseling, more and more prison officials are using TV to keep inmates quiet, according to Newsweek. Given that the majority of what Americans watch on television is provided through channels controlled by six mega corporations, what we watch is now controlled by a corporate elite and, if that elite needs to foster a particular viewpoint or pacify its viewers, it can do so on a large scale. If were watching, were not doing. The powers-that-be understand this. As television journalist Edward R. Murrow warned in a 1958 speech: We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacent. We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse, and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it, and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late. This brings me back to They Live, in which the real zombies are not the aliens calling the shots but the populace who are content to remain controlled. When all is said and done, the world of They Live is not so different from our own. As one of the characters points out, The poor and the underclass are growing. Racial justice and human rights are nonexistent. They have created a repressive society and we are their unwitting accomplices. Their intention to rule rests with the annihilation of consciousness. We have been lulled into a trance. They have made us indifferent to ourselves, to others. We are focused only on our own gain. We, too, are focused only on our own pleasures, prejudices and gains. Our poor and underclasses are also growing. Racial injustice is growing. Human rights is nearly nonexistent. We too have been lulled into a trance, indifferent to others. Oblivious to what lies ahead, weve been manipulated into believing that if we continue to consume, obey, and have faith, things will work out. But thats never been true of emerging regimes. And by the time we feel the hammer coming down upon us, it will be too late. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top Page Up Full Thread Page Down Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Deckard (#0)
When in history was this NOT true of people?
The article is clear and to the point. Getting rid of the oligarchy is the problem . Revolution does not seem to be a solution since it simply ends up with a new set of public faces without removing the underlying controlling elite. The alternative?
|
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|