--------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2007 11:26:36 -0500
To: Richard Moore <•••@••.•••>
From: Ed Goertzen <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Response to Richard & Bo: Reader Dialogue Jan 29
--<snip>--
Community:
1/ Men live in a community in virtue of the
things which they have in common; and
communication is the way in which they come to
possess those things in common. What they must
have in common in order top form a community or
society are aims, beliefs, aspirations, knowledge
- a common understanding - like-minded ness, as
the sociologists say. Such things cannot be
passed physically from one to another, like
bricks; they cannot be shared as persons would
share a pie by dividing it into physical pieces.
The communication which ensures participation in
a common understanding is one which secures
sibilant emotional as intellectual dispositions.
- Like ways of responding to expectations and
requirements.
2/ As soon as a community depends to any
considerable extent upon what lies beyond its own
territory and its own immediate generation, it
must rely upon a set agency of schools to ensure
adequate transmission of all its resources.
I'll warrant that of all of us communication on
the Internet there are less than 1/2 of 1% who
know the names and occupations of 5 of their
immediate neighbours.
That is the way that the word community has been corrupted.
Community, regardless of the images of motherhood
and apple pie it evokes, has come to mean an
interest group, be that employment, religious
sect or recreational interests.
Eric Hobsbawm, among historians world famous, has
said in "Age of extremes" there is no longer a
thing called community' in the original
definition of the word.
Maggie Thatcher a famous neo-con, has said 'there
is no longer a society, only individuals'.
I can think of no other way to break through the
"abstract" relationships that we all take for
granted than to "talk to the people", person to
person.
Regards
Ed G
---
Hi Ed,
Real community, based on physical contiguity, has
indeed been disappearing at a rapid rate. We need
to recreate that kind of community, and I use the
term in that sense, in hope.
cheers,
rkm
--------------------------------------------------------
From: •••@••.•••
Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2007 01:30:40 EST
Subject: Re: reader dialog - to Jan 29
To: •••@••.•••
like sitting in a cafe and hearing real conversations.
thanks Richard.
---
Hi Jim - my pleasure! - rkm
--------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 09:08:35 -0500
To: •••@••.•••
From: Ed Goertzen <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Re: Definition - Neighbourhood vs Community - Quote
Hi Richard:
As you are no doubt aware, as is Noam Chomsky,
the use of language is the prerequisite to
comprehension.
We, and most writers, use the term community and
neighbourhood inter changeably.
Definitions have changed, but users of the words
have not kept up with the changes in definition.
World renouned Eric Hobsbawm is quoted, "
"The pervasive influence of neo-classical economics, which
in secular western societies increasingly took the place of
theology, and the influence of the ultra-individualist
American jurisprudence, encouraged such rhetoric. It found
political expression in the British premier Margaret
Thatcherís: 'there is no society, only individuals'. Yet,
whatever the excesses of theory, practice was often equally
extreme. Sometime in the 70's, social reformers in the
Anglo-Saxon countries, rightly shocked (as inquirers
periodically were) by the effects of institutionalization on
the mentally ill or impaired, successfully campaigned to
have as many of them as possible let out of confinement ëto
be cared for in the community'. But in the cities of the
West there no longer was a community to care for them. There
was no kin. Nobody knew them. There were only the streets of
cities like New York filled with homeless beggars with
plastic bags who gestured and talked to themselves. Pp337
Age Of Extremes by Eric Hobsbawm
Neighbourhood clearly defines a people in a small
geographic area, community does not!
Community increasingly, even exclusively defines
people in communion, who talk to each other.
That defines a workplace, an interest group, or a worship gathering.
Since neighbours rarely talk to each other, they are not a community.
Regards
Ed G
---
See previous comments, just above, re 'community'.
I do not agree that people were forced out of
institutionalization out of concern for their
welfare. I think it was part of the neoliberal
campaign to destroy entitlements.
rkm
--------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2007 10:26:51 -0800 (PST)
From: Diana Skipworth <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Re: Barbara Ehrenreich:'Collective joy'
To: •••@••.•••
Dear Richard,
In Washington, D.C. I hung around a group of
anarchists. As you may know, they cover up their
faces and dance around waving flags and beating
the drums... The D.C. police followed closely.
We chanted, "The People, united, can never be
defeated! The People, united, can never be
defeated!"
I totally understand the point about dancing in
the streets and the physical danger by the power
who hold the guns. There was no permit to march
ON the U.S. Capital Building, but with their
chanting, drums and courage, the anarchists
defied the police. How I admire them! I
followed along with my camera. The anarchists
thanked the people with cameras, as with nobody
filming, who knows what might have happened to
them!
As the sky grew dark and it was time to catch my
bus ride home, the blue flashing lights followed
the anarchist's progress around the capital. I
said a silent prayer for their protection as I
took my leave.
Diana Skipworth
---
Hi Diana,
I am of course glad to see people standing up for
freedom, but I am not comfortable with this
business of wearing masks. I think we need to
take note of the fact that when police do attack
with their clubs and pepper spray, they usually
go after the more peaceful protestors, not the
ones with masks. The net effect of the
'anarchists' is to make police brutality more
acceptable to TV audiences. I see the anarchists
as doing the job, usually inadvertently, of agent
provacateurs.
rkm
--------------------------------------------------------
From: •••@••.•••
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2007 15:16:18 EST
Subject: Re: Barbara Ehrenreich: 'Collective joy'
To: •••@••.•••
what a wonderful story, makes me want tostop writing you and dance.
best
Jim
---
As Emma Goldman said, if I can't dance, I don't want to be in your revolution.
--------------------------------------------------------
From: David Cameron <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Re: Barbara Ehrenreich: 'Collective joy'
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2007 19:05:22 -0400
To: Richard Moore <•••@••.•••>
Dear Richard, perhaps I haven't been paying close
enough attention, but it seems that with the
"Akashic" posting and this one reviewing
BarbaraEhrenreich's work, you have taken sort of
a new turn...all to the good by me, if that is
the case. While I am intensely interested in
socio-political analysis and the virtual modeling
of change, I am even more interested in what
people can do now to reclaim their spiritual
or"soul" heritage.
My wife, Nancy Sherwood (also like Ehrenreich, a
grandmother) has for some years been offering a
shamanic dance training that helps individuals
access their "true" nature and/or reconnect to
the more primal aspects of being human in a
totally alive and conscious cosmos. The training,
called The Mandala Hologram, makes ritual a
natural aspect of daily life and utilizes
mirror-neuron techniques in a group setting that
encourages deep emotional catharsis, creative
authenticity and spontaneous ecstatic movement.
It has been a hard road! Often the uptake has
been hampered by our out-of-the-way location and
non-mainstream lifestyle, as well as by how
unusual and potentially frighteningly "different"
one may appear to the general population if one
participates and exhibits real change.However
dozens of students have "graduated" over the past
7 years,including some from the UK. Nancy is
determined to see her work spread to help enliven
and rehabilitate our modern culture. The Hollowed
shall become Hallowed once Moore!
Publication of the Ehrenreich piece was
accordingly courageous on your part and very
supportive of Nancy's work. We both thank you.
May I post it on a new website I am building
(http://davesfreelunch.com) with full attribution
to Gardner and yourself?
Which brings me to another topic-Given the way
current internet searchengines work, cross
linking of related sites can really boost site
rankings and hence accessibility of information
to seekers. I bring this up in part because I see
that Escaping The Matrix has a ranking of less
than 5 on Google. Your site is way too valuable
to be so ranked! Would you consider a
cross-linking program? I don't know much about
this & you likely have access to those that do. I
think you ask owners of sites that are
like-minded (and you trust) to link to you and
permission to link to them.
Thank you for your continued optimistic,
intelligent, uplifting and encouraging efforts.
sincere regards,
David Cameron
------
Hi David,
Yes, I'm definitely trying to post 'positive'
things to cj & rn, and use newslog for
news/analysis.
Everything I post is available to post elsewhere.
I'm quite happy for people to link to our sites,
but I find it difficult to take the time to add
links to our sites.
best wishes,
rkm
--------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 12:34:48 -0800 (PST)
From: Diana Skipworth <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Re: America: From Freedom to Fascism- a review...
To: •••@••.•••
Dear Richard,
Did you know Aaron Russo has cancer for the third
time? He is such a fearless one and someone I
admire. I just am starting on YouTube as
greatbroad. I haven't posted any videos yet, as
my computer needs some upgrades, first.
Please also put video on YouTube about your trips to D.C.!!!
Some jerk kept trying to get into my Paypal
account and my ID has already been stolen before
and I guess I am kind of paranoid about
electronic money. So, I snail-mailed a check to
Point Roberts, WA today for $1,000. (I rushed
and did it before I changed my mind, as money is
tight for moving companies these days.)
The Feb. 5, 2007 Kane County Chronicle, pg 4A:
"States begin revolt against national ID." The
Maine Legislature on Jan. 26 overwhelmingly
adopted a resolution objecting to the Real ID Act
of 2005. The paper further states that within a
week of Maine's action, lawmakers in Georgia,
Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Vermont and
Washington state also balked at Real ID. They
are expected soon to pass laws or adopt
resolutions declining to participate in the
federal identification network.
About a dozen states have active legislation
against Real ID, including Arizona, Georgia,
Hawaii, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire,
Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming.
Missouri state Rep. James Guest, as Republican,
formed a coalition of lawmakers from 34 states to
file bills that oppose or protest Real ID.
"This is almost a frontal assault on the freedoms
of America when they require us to carry a
national ID to monitor where we are," Guest said
in an interview Saturday. "That's going too far.
This does nothing to stop terrorism. Don't
burden the American people with this requirement
to carry this ID."
---By the way, the overtaking of the United
States of America, to me is similar to when the
Inquisition happened. The Church tortured and
killed all those who opposed them as "heretics"
while the ignorant masses cheered.
Regards,
--------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2007 10:34:34 -0800 (PST)
From: Diana Skipworth <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Re: America: From Freedom to Fascism- a review...
To: •••@••.•••
Dear Richard,
I am not a great intellectual thinker, but rather
an intuitive feeler. And, when I saw this movie
last July 2006 I felt I was suffering a panic
attack. I felt the same way in 1996 after
viewing the British documentary, "The Men Who
Killed Kennedy."
So what does someone like me, who lives in the
suburbs of Chicago really know for sure. Except
I do agree "something's rotten in the state of
Denmark," type of thing. What had bothered me
especially when Freedom to Fascism came out, was
it lacked any support or mention by the
MoveOn.org people. They could have made such a
difference, but chose not to back this film.
When Michael Moore did HIS documentary (Farenheit
9/11), the MoveOn.org folks became fully engaged,
flogging their members repeatedly to support Mr.
Moore and making a big deal about us writing
letters to the editor, having house
parties, etc...
But when Mr. Russo's documentary was released,
the silence was deafening! There was no surge of
support over the Internet by MoveOn.org and I
have always wondered why.
So it happened I had a falling-out with
MoveOn.org. I told them I was through with them
because it appears to me that they have sold-out
to the established machinery. I will no longer
support them with $$ or activist activities, and
I feel they have betrayed Aaron Russo as well as
myself.
I am simply writing to get this off my chest and
dump on you because of the provocative sentiments
strike a chord.
Diana
--------------------------------------------------------
From: "Brian Hill" <•••@••.•••>
To: <•••@••.•••>
Subject: RE: 'Escaping the Matrix' reviewed in Rachel's Weekly!
Date: Fri, 9 Feb 2007 08:02:54 -0800
Organization: Institute for Cultural Ecology
Richard;
Rachael's mag gets very wide and very activist circulation - this should be
good.
Brian in Willits
--------------------------------------------------------
From: "Thomas Greco -- CIRC2" <•••@••.•••>
To: <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Re: 'Escaping the Matrix' reviewed in Rachel's Weekly!
Date: Fri, 9 Feb 2007 09:50:03 -0700
Congratulations, Richard.
Great review. I'll post it on my blog, Tom's News and Views:
http://tomazgreco.wordpress.com.
Tom
--------------------------------------------------------
From: •••@••.•••
Date: Fri, 9 Feb 2007 12:11:07 EST
Subject: Re: 'Escaping the Matrix' reviewed in Rachel's Weekly!
To: •••@••.•••
it is a wonderful review. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!
--------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 9 Feb 2007 16:45:58 -0800 (PST)
From: Diana Skipworth <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Re: 'Escaping the Matrix' reviewed in Rachel's Weekly!
To: •••@••.•••
Dear Richard,
I am thrilled to hear about this! Kudos!!
Diana
--------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2007 09:48:57 -0500
Subject: Re: Frances Moore Lappé : Time for
Progressives to Grow Up
From: Rosa Zubizarreta <•••@••.•••>
To: <•••@••.•••>
Richard,
Thank you for sending out this awesome essay...
--------------------------------------------------------
From: "Brian Hill" <•••@••.•••>
To: <•••@••.•••>
Subject: RE: Frances Moore Lappe: Creating Real Prosperity
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 21:04:11 -0800
Organization: Institute for Cultural Ecology
What do others think of defining 'buying local'
as buying from locally owned, socially
conscious/ecologically sustainable producers
anywhere in the world? In other words, I would
suggest we not be opposed to global
transportation of locally produced goods as long
as they are certified to be socially conscious
and locally ecologically sustainable. Because we
live in a world that for the first time
communicates globally, but we must still have a
local focus.
Brian Hill
---
Hi Brian,
Sure, we need to be flexible. The big thing is to
get rid of the corporate/financier middleman. At
the same time, we need to take into account the
energy wastage of long distance transport, when
local producers can give us equivalent products.
cheers,
rkm
--------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2007 22:49:14 -0500
From: "Mark Batten-Carew" <•••@••.•••>
To: •••@••.•••
Subject: Re: The structure of modern Western imperialism: some thoughts
Just to clarify, the order of events is:
economic destabilization,
and if that fails, then political destabilization,
and if that fails, then military invasion.
There is a book that goes into great detail about
this, called "Confessions of an Economic Hit
Man", by John Perkins. He had the role of
economic destabilizer for many years, and saw the
consequences when his attack failed.
--------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2007 23:08:49 -0600 (CST)
From: <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Re: The structure of modern Western imperialism: some thoughts
To: •••@••.•••
I think what you say was more true in 1975 than
now. It seems to me the fragmented
powers/interests of the western states are more
and more at each other's throats.
Also it's harder and harder to speak of the Third
World because it has differentiated itself since
1945.
Eg one of the chief US imperial impulses post
1991 was directed at central Asia, by the Oil
Mob. Is/was central Asia the "third world"?
And while that was going on, the semiconductor
and personal computing industrial empires
flourished and didn't give three hoots about the
Oil Mob. One of baby Bush's first speeches noted
this, obliquely -- he was talking about the need
to bolster the neglected energy industry and
pointed out with his simian smile that even the
fanciest supercomputer has to be plugged into the
wall now and then.
The Israeli interest amid the US is another
fragmented power/interest that pursues its own
ends often at odds with others. Greg Palast's
last book Armed Madhouse throws some light here
(on serious differences between the Oil Mob and
Likud Lobby as they hatched the Iraq war).
In short: To speak of "the structure of modern
Western imperialism" seems to me to presume too
much structure and too much cohesion. The scene
seems more and more feudal and the warfare
increasingly internecine. (But this is already
old hat.)
---
Hi newcombat,
Certainly any attempt to identify structure in
world events can be criticized as being
oversimplified. At the same time, it is all to
easy to throw up ones hands and say "It's all too
complicated to understand."
In mathematics, one talks about 'first
approximations', 'second approximations' etc. If
you have a reasonable 'first approximation', that
gives you a good ballpark, and then you can talk
about the discrepancies as discrepancies,
narrowing the scope of what needs to be
understood.
One of the reasons I posted that brief analysis
was because I think the conflicts between the
Western powers are highly overrated. Anti-war
sentiments are high in places like Germany,
France, and Italy, and political leaders like to
act as if they are sympathetic. But how
sympathetic they really are needs deeper
inspection. We need to remember that people like
Merkel are supported by the Bilderbergers, and
we need to acknowledge that NATO is becoming more
and more a full partner in imperialist
aggression, and that UN 'peacekeepers' are
playing imperial cleanup roles.
cheers,
rkm
--------------------------------------------------------
From: "William Engdahl" <•••@••.•••>
To: <•••@••.•••>
Subject: RE: reflections on Munich Wehrkunde
remarks [Putin's speech at European security
conference]
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 06:50:48 +0100
Richard
For your reading
best
William
--<ship>--
Hi Bill,
I really appreciate that you send your new
writings directly to me. I always post them to
newslog. You are, in my opinion, the foremost
commentator on current geopolitics, with
Chossudovsky as a close second.
best wishes,
richard
--------------------------------------------------------
From: Bill Ellis <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Re: The structure of modern Western imperialism: some thoughts
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 08:10:03 -0500
To: •••@••.•••, Richard Moore <•••@••.•••>
rkm>
... NGOs play an important role in imperialism, usually an
unwitting one. Not only do they participate in the
occupation regime, reducing the budget requirements of
national occupation efforts, but they create an illusion
that 'something is being done', which serves to placate
Western populations. This is a brief outline. If you folks
want to comment, we could explore this situation in greater
depth. ...rkm
I like your brief outline and would be pleased to
participate in the discussion.
I would only suggest that the "dominator
paradigm" that you would like to end is more than
a U.S. UK invention. It's root go back to the
Jewish Creation Myth that holed that man is the
center of the universe which God created for his
use; the early Christian Church that taught that
there was a hierarchy of domination that went
from God, the the angels, to Man, to woman, to
children, to other races and to the Earth itself,
The Inquisition that by burning some 1,000,000
"heretics" at the stake "convinced" other
Europeans, to accept the God theory as truth;
the Age of Colonization that with the flag
(nationalism), the sword (technology, and the
cross (Christianity} spread the domination
paradigm world wide; and finally with the Adam
Smith economics that makes "self-Interest,"
"competition," and Materialism the morality of
the world.
Although a very different social/economic
paradigm live and still lives in most non
EuroAmerican cultures a scientific basis for
cultures based on community, belonging, and
mutual aid is not only emerging.
If you would like more on the GaianParadigm see:
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Bill_Ellis
---
Hi Bill,
Thanks for your comments. I first realized the
central importance of the Garden of Eden myth
from reading Daniel Quinn's, "The Story of B". I
think that's one of the most revolutionary books
ever published.
rkm
--------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 09:11:17 -0500
To: •••@••.•••
From: Ed Goertzen <•••@••.•••>
Subject: Re: The structure of modern Western imperialism: some thoughts
Hi Richard:
In ancient Mesopotamia the caravan international
traders were also the international financiers
and arms dealers.
They introduced metal coins as money to replace
the clay disk that the god-kings of the city
states used for money.
But they only loaned them to the citizens of the day, at interest.
The interest increased the numeric quantity of
the money supply, but did not increase the
quantity of metal.
The "Deficit Imperative" caused a national debt
that could only be paid by the selling of slaves,
who were then put to work in the mines to mine -
more metal.
If a city state refused to pay its debt, the arms
department of the caravan traders sold arms to a
neighbouring city-state to pillage and take the
slaves by force.
Has anything really changed in 8007 years?
Regards
Ed G
--------------------------------------------------------
From: "Dave Patterson" <•••@••.•••>
To: •••@••.•••
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 12:06:26 +0700 (ICT)
Subject: Re: The structure of modern Western imperialism: some thoughts
Hi Richard,
About the main thing you overlooked in this was
the central role of propaganda as dispensed by
the MSM in support of all this. For the last few
months I have been able to listen to the CBC
radio, which is the Canadian version of BBC (I
have been in Thailand for the last 12 years and
until I got broadband in my room a few months ago
could not get any radio) - and have been struck
again and again by what is happening in this
regard, from what used to be a very good national
radio. The propaganda is blatant at times (and
full spectrum, from the passing bewilderment
expressed at those darn silly people who refuse
to put seatbelts (and of course the 'good'
citizens want the approval of those important
folks on the radio) on to the continual
boosterism for the Afghanistan invasion, 'support
our troops!!'), less so at others ( the dog that
did not bark in the night - what they do not talk
about) - and I have the impression that many,
perhaps most, of the 'journalists' actually
believe what they are saying - that is how deep
the indoctrination has been in Canada - so when
people like you or I write them letters, they
just ignore them, with no more than occasional
references to 'fringe groups'.
This is the second thing I have been getting
depressed about, how so many people seem to have
been completely taken in by the propaganda in the
public at large, and how unintelligent so many of
those people actually seem - what can you do with
someone who is truly indoctrinated, and is not
interested in talking about it, or in people
telling them so because they love their masters
and trust their government and leaders fully, as
they have been well trained to do? (oh, anyone
will bitch about this or that particular thing,
but in general it's the best goshdarn government
anywhere! (they've been indoctrinated all of
their lives to believe this, and do) I have been
getting depressingly close to the conclusion,
after decades of 'fighting the good fight' as
best I could, that it may well all be hopeless -
we are truly little more than people in a small
rowboat bouncing on the waves in a dark night
shouting at the passengers inside the captain's
ballroom in the titatnic (not a real good
analogy, as the condition of most of these people
is nowhere near that luxurious, but the other
seems valid). I hear people interviewed on the
morning show (a local show from Prince Edward
Island, which is sort of 'the sticks' of Canada,
a poor-relative island province with a historical
background of farming and fishing families -
mostly really good people, of course, salt of the
earth, hard-working and honest, but with a very
constrained 'world view', with more or less
complete trust in their government and media, and
the attitude that even if they don't understand
much of what is happening in the world, by golly
if the government is sending our troops to some
place on the other side of the world, then they
must be doing something very good, the brave
lads, and it is our duty to support them!! - etc
and etc. And they do NOT want to hear anything to
the contrary. (each week now the Island CBC has a
'feature' of the wife of a soldier doing a verbal
diary, some humor etc - by golly, these fine folk
could never be involved in anything wrong!!!)
And the dumbing down of everyone is no theory,
but a well advanced program - it is like reading
a bad book or something to hear some of the
people they interview, normal community people -
their words of course indicate they know little
about what is happening, but the tone of voice is
what is most disconcerting, even 'adults' in
their 20s and 30s and older, they are all like
high school kids in adult bodies, with that kind
of self-conscious, immature voice, a similar
non-existent understanding of almost anything
outside of their daily lives, almost all of them
with that voice raised at the end of a sentence
habit of teenagers describing something. I heard
a 'major' talking to some troops preparing to
leave Afghanistan a few days ago, and his voice
was the voice of a high school senior talking to
his football team after a game or something -
sounded like he should still be in the Boy
Scouts, not leading troops in a war anywhere - no
wonder they're shooting civilians all over the
place there.
And the hosts and newscasters are regressing
equally - it gets quite irritating to listen to
newscasts from PEI with readers who, again, sound
like they are doing a high school broadcast - you
know, the voices full of 'appropriate' emotion -
hushed for bad news things, surprise and shock at
other times, the hint of outrage, and hush again,
when talking about 'evil terrorists' - the whole
bit. On CBC, which, before I left Canada at
least, was in the same ballpark as the BBC in
terms of high-quality, intelligent programming
and hosts. What a fall they have taken. And the
announcers are all 'chirpy' sorts, everything's
wonderful!! - and they are ALL on the gov
programs, and if they have to acknowledge, at
times, people who disagree with the gov programs,
you can almost see, over the radio, their little
disapproving pinched lips, the coldness and
exclusion in their voices for these people who
don't like this great society (but of course we
will give them a say, occasionally - this is,
after all, a democracy and they have a right to
their opinion!).
The national programs are a little better, but
only in the greater 'adulthood' of the announcers
- the propaganda line is still the same, the
boosterism for gov programs, the aggressiveness
towards those they occasionally interview who
oppose the gov programs (and only the tamest of
these ever get invited, the 'token progressives'
- those who could deal effectively with the
propaganda, who understand the bigger picture and
can elucidate it effectively, seem on their 'do
not invite' list) - I've written a number of
letters about these things, but none ever get
answered or acknowleged. Which is not surprising.
The thing is, the CBC is the radio for the
'thinking people' in Canada, that 5% or whatever
who want more in their world view than they get
from tabs and right-wing media. And they're being
heavily propagandized now in a way they (we, I
guess!) were not when I was last listening to
that station regularly 12+ years ago. And I have
to think that that propaganda is having at least
some effect - certainly on younger people without
the historical perspective of we older ones.
And there are, of course, still a lot of good
things happening in Canada, and that is part of
the propaganda too - look at the good stuff -
it's a good country! - and so it is. But some of
us see behind that curtain of goodness, that some
rot is eating away at the inside of what we love
so much, and it going downhill, on a slippery
slope from which I fear it is going to be very
difficult to recover, anytime soon - and
certainly not without some critical mass of the
people simply understanding what is happening,
and wanting to do something about it - and that
critical mass is what I am now starting to fear
is never going to happen. (The future? Not sure -
either they succeed with their '1000 year reich'
and Mordor takes over - or they do a dog in the
manger trick as the social movements driven by
the South start to make advances and blow us all
up - or maybe I am wrong altogether about the
critical mass, and one day we will wake up and
find that Cohen was right, and 'democracy
(really) is comin..'. Or there's about a million
other possibilities, of course - the X factor
must always be considered, and it is still a
wonderful world we live in, with many wonderful
people doing many wonderful things as well,
underneath the subset of grubby humans who are
running most of it...)
Anyway, we keep fighting - take care, Richard,
always enjoy reading your stuff. Thanks for
sparking me to write something - been fighting
against that sense of hopelessness for a few days.
Dave Patterson
Hat Yai, Thailand -
and
Green Island
http://www.rudemacedon.ca/lgi/ogi-home.html
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