we live in a corporate dictatorship

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

chuck palahniuk is one of my favorite authors, thanks for posting that

i worded the op very poorly, so my apologies. i knew it wasn't worded the way i wanted to so i shouldn't have submitted it until i had it put better.

of course there's nothing wrong w/ hobbies as long as they are moderate. like safaris and hunting (unless you're gonna eat it) i wouldn't be for.

i'm aware there are good corporations, good lobbyists. but the point is are they the ones who seem to have the most influence? which corporations did cheney meet w/ in secret to craft the energy policy? do you think they had the nations best interests at heart or their profit margin??

yes, corporations and lobbyists can be a subset, but they abuse their power and money to push things that are harmful to the public. of course this is not 100% but it seems the norm.

look at shitty pharmaceutical and health care type bills, is it a coincidence they spend a lot of money lobbying congress during those times??

you can put it off as they are simply better at playing the game but i believe it's they have more money and that opens more doors and when it comes to the well being of the public i don't think that should happen.

i didn't mean 'our media' in the possessive form, like it's mine. i meant it as our accepted forms of media. you said make my own media. ok, i could do that w/ youtube or make a website...but the reality is that an overwhelming number would dismiss it b/c it's not from the mainstream sources of media. i've heard from plenty of ppl 'if that were true it'd be all over the news!'

now, you can argue that's what we get b/c we don't want to be informed. but that, in a way, is a cop out b/c i feel these media establishments, if they are gonna pass themselves off as news much less fair and balanced or the name we can trust...then they have an obligation to actually inform us. a better informed public is a great asset but that's not what they want. they want consumers who can't pay attention very long. and how do they know what news we want and don't want? i've never been asked. you can say don't turn on, and i don't, i haven't watched tv (except for a few shows like lost, the office, daily show... online) for a very long time, other than breaks at work. but to many ppl they think this is news. maybe it's naive on their part and they should be looking further themselves.

i also said they shape our views (or did i?) the mass media helps assimilate us into this state. many ppl think if it were true and if it were news worthy than the major networks wouldn't cover it. and like i said before; if i made a website or a youtube clip most of those ppl would dismiss 'my media' right off the bat.

LikeAnOcean wrote:

You have to give a little to take a little. Only big corporations can give us the gadgets we use. PCs, Cell phones, iPods, Internet,.. Would you give up all these things to end the war in Iraq?

yes!!!! that's like the argument about pharmaceuticals saying they have to make their money back before allowing it to be generic...what happened to doing sometihng to help your fellow man?

and i would give up all these things to end war, actually that seems like the only obvious answer...maybe it's the pisces in me

LikeAnOcean wrote:

Most people didn't own a PC when Pearl Jam released their first album. Most people didn't yet have internet when No Code came out.. It's not a necessity.

And you're still feeding the corporate machine thousands of dollars for what? To argue on the internet?


For as many more facts the internet spreads, its spreads just as much propaganda. Nothing changes.

having or knowing about pearl jam's first album or no code weren't a necessity, either. i don't just look up pj albums and 'argue on a message board', i do use the internet for a lot of other things like research into all sorts of things like foods, health, current events, philosophy, history, mediation, singularity, evolution, corporations....

some ppl say the consumer should be informed, it's up to them to find out what's in their food or where it comes from...how would i go about finding what's in the food processed on the other side of the country? there's all sorts of information on other things you would need the internet to obtain.

and i don't pay them thousands for it. my internet bill isn't even a single thousand a year. i guess you could argue the laptop but that was a one time purchase, not like i have to keep paying HP. and b/c of the laptop i no longer need flyers from the grocery store, i can go to their site. i don't need to drive to the library or a book store to find a recipe, i can look it up. i can find which product would be a better purchase w/o having to drive to multiple stores to compare. i am better informed b/c i have the internet.

how would i know which consumers were worth my support? i sure won't find that answer on tv