our culture is being auctioned off, sold - the radio spectrum has been auctioned for 10B$, a fraction of its worth; the patrimony of the population is being sold - it is now a *private holding* - the message-image symbolic environment: theme parks, shopping malls [they are all really the same; part of the chain(s)]; an homogenized atmosphere, limiting, stunting, the basic diet, menu, of what society has to offer; this is what gets reinforced; money-starved educational institutions bending to corporate deals - Mephistopheles enters [making a deal with the devil; Faust selling his soul for knowledge and power], advertising is increasingly reinforced throughout the social order - opposition results in corporate claims of first amendment rights [accepted by the courts] - the first amendment was for our defense against incursions into our expressions of free speech, but now money determines how free we are and what rights we have.
there have been many occasions over our history when many persons, groups have been able to oppose, ie., 1880-1900s populists, 1920s progressives, they had limited success but they had an input - nothing will succeed without an organized opposition - in the end it is us, our willingness to recognize that it is human beings that count, nothing else - don't rely on the corporations, [their promises, their corporate good will], rely on yourself, and those around you; demand accountability - many are locked into the corporate structure, we must provide an outlet to release these systemic captives; the pressure is building in our society, social upheaval is possible; concerns, doubts are being stirred; there is a silent massacre of our peoples hopes and dreams, of their future. -- [Notes 3-5] [NPR, Alternative Radio, professor-author Herbert Schiller, Jun.24.00; d. Jan.2000, author "Culture, Inc." and many other titles]
State of Our World: Open_Notes 5
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