we live in a corporate dictatorship

El_Kabong wrote:

The American Dream

I wanna live in a gated community
I wanna live my life in total apathy
I want corporate op/ed channels to form my opinions for me
Pump me full of fear so I can cling to your distractions
I want to just accept your wild rationalizations
Tell me what to buy so I can fit in
I wanna live my life by what the TV tells me
I'd stop and think for myself but I'm far too busy
I don't wanna know about your problems
I can't afford to help ya cos i'm defined by my possesions
I don't care if you don't have enough, only that I have more
I'm not gonna help cos I'm a greedy little whore
I want to consume overprocessed food and bottled water
the newest usesless contraption for a few months until they come out with something better
I buy magazines just to find out who I'm supposed to be.

While I don't know El_Kabong, on a personal level. I think he knows I agree with this in general terms.

But I do believe we have to be conscience of the possibility this could come off as speaking in absolutes........extremes.

There's no doubt a large and significant portion of our population is very much as described up above. But there are different variables and distinct levels of depth Americans find themselves in all of this.

For instance, there's nothing wrong with people having passions.....hobbies..or....interests. It is part of the human condition or humans just being.

Speaking for myself, music is a deeply-rooted and emotionally rewarding (as well as emotionally stimulating) passion of mine. Therefore, I have a lot of audio gear (loudspeakers, CD Players, Turntables, pre amps and power amplifiers) for the purpose of listening to music.

I also have a large collection of both Vintage (NOS and slightly used) and new production vacume tubes; which are not only used in my music listening gear, but also in my guitar and bass guitar pre amp sections for when playing those instruments.

Walking into my house you would find loudspeaker systems ( and the component gear) in almost every room. Of course I also have extensive CD, vinyl LP and DVD collections. Music to me is an art form, and I love many types/genras of music. So I collect a lot of music.

I have a shitload of books as I love literature. I consider good literature an art form, too.

On the other hand, I still don't have a Cell Phone, Ipod, WiFi, Sony Playstation, X-Box, LCD Television, Plasma television or any of the other "latest and greatest" of technology.

And quite frankily, I have no interest in them.

In fact, I still use my Sony and JVC Walkman Audio Cassette players. No portable mp3 storage technology. I couldn't care less.

Everyone has a lot of things they don't need to survive. You don't need a couch to survive. You don't a bed to survive (humans slept for thousands of years on the ground or on piles of soil, moss, hay, grass or weeds.

We don't need forks or knives to survive. Certianly we don't need a computer to survive. Well, for my job a computer makes my job a lot easier.

What we do in our day-to-day lives. Who we help. Who we love. How we think and how we communicate. What we question and what we simply just digest and accept as supposed truths. These are the most important factors, in my opinion.

Last year I started teaching my eldest son to wash his own hands at the bathroom sink. Anyone here who has children knows a three year old will run the water for 10......15...20 minutes while trying to wash their little hands; and how wasteful it is.

So I have been extremely diligent in guiding, teaching and demonstrating to him the act of washing one's hands. I watch him like a hawk on that and he's not allowed to do it on his own till he learns to conserve the water and do it efficiently. Just one example, from a plethora of little every day things we could do to help ourselves and help our planet.

You want to wash your car in the summer? Then have some fun. When a good, heavy downpour comes along, put on a pair of swimshorts (or a bikini for the ladies), grab your environmental-friendly soap and go wash your car in the rain. If your friends are there, you all go out there and do it together. It's a fuckin' pisser.......a blast. Your car gets reasonably clean and you and your friends will laugh your asses off and have a good time. Especially if you have a soap fight:D



I use these examples because they touch on a few (what I consider) important factors and elements in today's world.

Spend time with your loved ones, your family.....your friends. Don't just talk on the phone, go hang out with each other. Connect with other people. spend time with your kids ...interact and engage with them. Have fun with them.

This country has become an e-mail, text message, PM and cell phone society. A distant and cold society.

When's the last time you gave your best buddy a good hug? Not a gay hug (for all the homophobes):D;) But just an ..."I love you like a brother and I'm grateful to have a great friend like you in my life" ....hug.

When's the last time you gave your mom....your dad....your sister.....your brother...your neighbor a good hug?

Fuck, I know one person in particular who was more "emotionally moved or upset" when Heath Ledger died, than, when people she has actually known in real life have died. What the fuck is that all about!?!?!

Heath Ledger?

This country became so superficial....so Pop Culture obssessed. So caught up in materialism.

Then it turned into this demented and (what I consider sick) voyeurism of watching so-called "reality-based" television shows. Where people air-out all their personal and intimate details and dysfunctions..... they dismiss any sense of integrity, self-respect and common sense, while making complete and utter fools of themselves; all for a few dollars.

And so many Americans sit back and eat it all up and enjoy this dispicable spectacle. Why? Does it make them feel better about themselves? Do they take pleasure in seeing other people lower themselves to such repulsive levels?

Same thing with Britney and Lindsey Lohen. Why do American love to watch these people self-destruct, breakdown...get tore down and fall on their faces?

It says a lot about our culture. And we're not the only ones. People from a lot of other countries are in the same boat.

Break the detatchment and connect with ...you know.....other human beings.

Break the corporate walls they have built around you. With their technologies...their distractions .....their mindless entertainment. They want us to be divided, distracted, too busy, too tired, too intolerant, too impatient.....too isolated.

Reach out......touch...hug...talk...laugh...cry....be happy...be sad......but do it together. Not apart.

Collin wrote:

"Old George Orwell got it backward. Big Brother isn’t watching. [...] Big Brother’s busy holding your attention every moment you’re awake. He’s making sure you’re always distracted. He’s making sure you’re fully absorbed. [...] He’s making sure your attention is always filled. [...] With the world always filling you, no one has to worry about what’s in your mind. With everyone’s imagination atrophied, no one will ever be a threat to the world."

Chuck Palahniuk

Is that from Fight Club?

Being a gear in the corporate machinery, I understand the negative aspects of the term, 'Corporation'. It invokes a sense of greed and indifference towards people and our planet. And those sensibilities are true. The basic foundation of Capitalism is selfishness and greed. Most corporations follow that creed. The C.E.O. makes over 400 times what I make per year (not including stock options and bonuses). And he has made some ridiculous decisions that has lost this company millions.
But, there are some upsides... you know. Like, I am glad that massive airliners are made by big corporations, rather than some dude and his drinking buddies in a barn in Nebraska. And those airliners aren't cheap to make (try building one in your spare time and see). The same goes for corporation that make automobiles and medicine. I don't want to share the roads with inept drivers talking on cell phones in cars they've assembeld in their driveways to take medicine from chemists who make them in their Meth labs.
I WISH... corporations had a conscience and would dial back on the greed thing. I WISH that people didn't want ALL the money and were just happy being wealthy and comfortable. But, in a Capitalist society... my wishes will never come true. There are too many people that truely believe you cannot be rich enough.
So, instead of laying all the blame at the doorsteps of Corporations... I think that all of us need to shoulder part of the blame... for our own personal selfishness and greed that created and continue to feed these monsters.

puremagic wrote:

but take a look in the real world of corporate dictatorship and its affect on working stiffs

GM and the Canadian Auto Workers. GM basically said screw you we're not negotiating, in fact, we are closing the plant in 2010.

Had one of those workers simply left the plant and gotten a better job, would you have negatively accused him or her of "not negotiating" and abandoning the corporation?

polaris wrote:

but this is where americans fail to acknowledge their role in this situation ... you want to pay low prices for your goods and stuff - well, these are the consequences ... imagine if people were willing to pay the true cost for goods and services?? ... that is why america subscribes to imperialism - growing wealth through exploitation ... and we are part and parcel of that scheme ...

nicely done

polaris wrote:

but this is where americans fail to acknowledge their role in this situation ... you want to pay low prices for your goods and stuff - well, these are the consequences ... imagine if people were willing to pay the true cost for goods and services?? ... that is why america subscribes to imperialism - growing wealth through exploitation ... and we are part and parcel of that scheme ...

That's bull. when I go to the supermarket, I SHOP AROUND for the LOW PRICE. I don't sit the prices. Companies like GM, Nike, Microsoft, etc. that built their factories in other countries for the purpose of cheap labor and no taxes turn around and sell a pair a shoes that cost [$30 total $10 in labor, $20 in materials], ship it to America and sell it for $150. They could have just as easily put that shoe on the market for $90 doubling their profit, why go for triple? Simple because people don't understand that the NBA and NFL and most of all major professional sports teams get their shoes for FREE either as a team sponsorship or FREE for individuals as promotional contracts. Yet, there's no discount for the kid that wants to be the next Mike. Now that people buy the knock of brands, they've increase the price. Its not the consumer, its the lack of competition among corporations. Take a look at this. because it tells me that when the competition is gone, a corporation can sit its own price and in most cases, the product that has that high price tag, is a product that people need or are use to in their daily activities.

Chrysler, Nissan announce partnership

By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2008-04-15-nissan-chrysler_N.htm

Chrysler and Nissan (NSANY) announced a partnership Monday to build vehicles for each other in what may mark the start of a new wave of similar get-togethers amid falling sales in the auto industry.

Chrysler will build Nissan's next generation of full-size pickups at a plant in Mexico. The truck will replace the Titan, made at Nissan's Canton, Miss., plant, starting in 2011, the two companies said.

[so Mississippi can expect some layoffs] start your nest egg now.

Kel Varnsen wrote:

While I think it sucks when people lose thier jobs why is a Mexican auto worker be less deserving of a job in an auto plant than an American auto worker?

Oh for pete's sake, this has nothing to do with a "Mexican" auto worker being less deserving of a job.

It's about corporations closing down plants, stores and factories and moving them to foreign countries to exploit the cheap labor, environmental and financial laws of these countries, then turning around to sell the product back at a higher price. Remember the title of the thread is corporate dictatorship.

I happen to think that a way to fight this would be for States to heavily penalize companies that do this.

RainDog wrote:

While I agree that corporations excert an enormous amount of influence in our society, a popularly elected president still has to be popularly elected - i.e. gets most of the votes. "The people," however, seem to be shrinking into a smaller and smaller subset of the population.

And to that population? Well, if they're all fooled, then the most rational short term solution is to do away with democracy. After all, as far as I can tell, people are voting for the wrong candidates. And I'm being honest with that last sentence.

But the sentence before? What if they're not all fooled? What if, by it's very nature, large scale democracy (like a presidential election), always trends toward the "mushy middle"? That the media doesn't report on fringe candidates as much, because "the people" simply aren't interested in them? Or are "the people" not interested in them because the media won't report? Real chicken or the egg situation right there.

Rationally, a "fringe" or "radical" candidate cannot be elected president, because then that candidate would cease to be "radical" or "fringe." Louisiana is vastly different than Oregon - but it helps for a candidate to try and reach the most in both; and, let's be honest, our similarities are pretty bland.

You pose some interesting questions here, questions that I have thought about myself. I always found it interesting how my somewhat conservative dad and my left leaning materialist mother (materialist in the definition you gave, the scientific definition) always seemed to end up voting for the same guy with the exception of the last presidential race.

I think the 'mushy middle' is common ground for most. For a candidate, being in the middle reaches out to more of the populace. I believe most see things in shades of gray opposed to black and white and are willing to compromise & give something or someone a shot, even if that someone does not hold every single exact position as you. But they happen to be representing views that most closely represent yours.

when I go to the supermarket, I SHOP AROUND for the LOW PRICE. I don't [set] the prices.

There is simply not enough laughter in my body to adequately respond to this post.

Do you not understand what you're saying here? If your primary standard as a consumer is the "LOW PRICE", why are you then surprised when the market responds to your standard and, even more importantly, how can you not see your role in this???

Nike's profit margin on a shoe is not 300%. It is 14%. However, you're not buying Nikes at a "supermarket" anyway. The profit margins on the things you are buying there is likely far less than 14%, and the cost of those things is being driven by consumers like yourself who foolishly demand LOW PRICES and HIGH COSTS at the same time.

farfromglorified wrote:

Cool -- duly noted.



Ok -- "overall" in what sense? Should we be giving Lyndon Larouche equal time to John McCain?



"Important" based on whose standard? I suspect that more people in America are more interested in celebrity troubles than they are in the recent Asian disasters or problems in the Middle East.



Whose "corporate agenda"??? CNNs? CNN has devoted nearly countless hours to non-technical, misinformed discussions about oil, coal, renewables, global warming, and every other two-bit energy issue.

To say that renewable use is not "realistic" in terms of satisfying the world's energy demand is not pushing an agenda, it's stating something very close to fact.

How did John McCain get the kind of support and following that he has now? And why does he automatically deserve more coverage just because he's the republican nominee?