Tag: Larry Kurtz

The long-awaited solution

One of the more interesting criticisms that I have gotten over the years is that I don’t offer “solutions” to our problems. It is an accurate one.

I see people, close and distant, who are beyond reach. For example, they imagine themselves insightful as they invest in Trump or Sanders or Clinton, thinking that an important activity, even good citizenship. They imagine they are active participants in a vibrant democracy. They do not begin to understand the levels of deception built into our lives. But dammit, they vote.

The key to managing the American population is to marginalize the dumb ones via sports and entertainment, stage elections for the slightly less dumb ones, and offer false leaders for the smarter ones. Those who can overcome state-controlled media and brain-deadening education will find that once outside the matrix, others are there to mislead them.

The very brightest among us were drawn for years to Noam Chomsky. He happens to work for an institution, MIT, that only exists on Pentagon largess. He is a fixture, and has been supported by the military for decades. He has for years offered up volumes of seemingly useful information, but ultimately leaves us high and dry. (I just quoted him extensively in a post about Zika two days ago. I cringed, but it was a vital link.) Among his more enlightening revelations are that the Federal Reserve is as useful as our own government in managing our economy, that 9/11 happened just like we are told,  and that JFK was a war hawk intent on invading Southeast Asia. (As it turns out, he is right about that last one, but his object is not to demean JFK, but rather steer his followers away from a path of inquiry that can ultimately lead to intellectual emancipation.)

Even the brightest among us are under state management. Chomsky is there in O’Brien fashion* to take us nowhere.

So the a healthy percentage of us (40%?) are inundated with entertainment and sports, and so dumbed down by the education system that they cannot think their way out of a can of tomato soup. They don’t matter. A level above that (50%?) are those who pay attention to managed news (FOX and NPR being two different packages with the same content), and are vaguely aware of some of the wedge issues and vote in the elections. They don’t matter. A level above (7%?) that read books and newspapers, even watch congressional hearings and attend lectures, maybe even watch CSPAN**. They don’t matter.

And one level above that (3%) are those bright enough to figure out part or all of the game. They usually don’t vote. They are effectively marginalized by a thought control meme called “conspiracy theorist.” The other 97% are sure that the 3% who are actually somewhat on top of things are mentally ill. So they don’t matter either.

It is fucking brilliant.

So, why do I not propose a solution? There do not appear to be any solutions. I am living my life, doing the things I love doing, and having a nice laugh now and then. And traveling.

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*O’Brien is the chacter in 1984, a sinister false leader who greeted Winston Smith as he made his escape.

**Nah. Nobody watches CSPAN. I kid.

Undamming the damned

Big Swede stopped by recently and left a comment … a long quote from someone else regarding Bernie Sanders. It has to do with Bernie’s public persona as a “socialist” and Swede’s perceptions of a black/white world where the are people like him producing stuff for other people to consume, the whole John Galt meme. It’s craven nonsense, but has driven a whole generation now into supporting fascists at various levels of government. That was probably its purpose, probably the reason why Ayn Rand was promoted , why her economics, which do not for a minute describe the real world, became such high profile reading material in the 50s and 60s.

But I felt bad that Swede took time to cut and paste such a long piece for us, and it simply vaporized before his eyes. I know that feeling, the arrogance of people who lock themselves away from criticism by banning. I didn’t ban Swede because he and I don’t see eye to eye. I can handle criticism from all ranks, from Kralj to Kurtz all the way up to Budge and Crisp and Kemmick. I have taken it from the best, and stand as I am, rattled but sincere. I have self awareness, and know how I am perceived, which must be unsettling for some, as I believe in myself, my own mind and abilities.

So I went into WordPress settings and unbanned Swede and everyone. It’s annoying that cutting and pasting takes the place of thinking and exchanging views, but then again, people who are so insecure as to be unable to handle criticism are annoying too. I don’t think if myself like that, but I did ban four people. I don’t fear them. I just didn’t like the way that comment strings go a predictable route, mindless, wandering like a stray dog, nothing ever changing.

So Swede, Kralj, Kurtz, Moore, try something different. Before commenting, exercise the brains rather than reflexive muscles. Give us what you got, not someone else’s thoughts. You’re welcome here, but please, no cutting and pasting. Please.