DIVERSION TRUMPS PROPAGANDA

Never mind that the U.S. economy is in a shambles; the Bush regime is gearing up for possible war with North Korea, Cuba, Iran, and Syria; that U.S.-European relations have never been so bad since the GOP walked away from the League of Nations after World War I; that relations with Canada and Mexico, our closest neighbors, are in a state of chill; and that Americans are fretting over possible attacks from Al Qaeda on their own soil. No, millions of Americans wanted to know if Ruben Studdard or Clay Aiken were going to become the new American Idol.

Click here.

I've written several times about how the US news media, by and large, tends to serve a propaganda role favoring the government and corporations, rather than an objective informational role benefitting American citizens. Of course, one piece of missing information here is that most Americans simply pay no attention to the news. Most Americans don't even vote, for that matter. This majority of Americans does not need to be propagandized: they need to be distracted. The prices of televisions, DVD players, and video game systems are at an all time low. We have an ever increasing number of cable channels to watch, and Americans are still parked in front of their sets for hours a day.

Politics? Don't bother me; "Friends" is about to come on...

The United States is literally amusing itself to death. The comfortable, air-conditioned complacency of American citizens has allowed all manner of injustice to take place. At the same time, this pleasant, overconsuming existence is fed by both the corporate rape of the Earth and its peoples, and by the violent military aggression that makes that raping possible. While we're watching "Anna Nicole" or "Ex-treme Dating" everything is just fine.

Hey, let's order a pizza...

Thanks to J. Orlin Grabbe.

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