What rules our lives?
Advertising and Credit Scores.
Just thinking about the ubiquity of these two items in our lives. Listening to radio or watching TV one cannot help but being influenced by this.
When did we give these three credit reporting companies so much power over our lives? It seems that everything involves your credit score. Not just when you borrow. But employers use them: what the hell do they have to know what your credit scope is? There should be a law preventing that. Also, just renting a place to live can be difficult if your credit scores are not good. I can see us moving towards the old idea of debtor's prisons which I am sure
corporations would like to see.
Advertising is really screwing up how we see the world. People don't realize how powerful advertisers are and how that influences what we see and hear; especially regarding news. We can't depend on any type of news as being honest and reliable when the media is beholden to advertisors. Think about the pharmasueticals that seem to advertise more than cars do. Do you really think we are going to hear the truth when these companies can threaten to pull millions of dollars from a magazine or tv show?
And what about manipulating children? The leading buyer of advertising intentially tries to get children to nag their parents to increase sales for products. They do not use ethics, morales or anything but profit to make their decisions.
I just cannot think that our socio-economic-political model is in proper balance with these kind injustices going on. Unfettered captialism is not a panacea as the unthinking masses of conservatives believe. Think about what privatization of prisions would mean for justice. A company is leagally required to make money first and formost. That would be maximizing the number of prisioners along with cost-effective management. Since we allow companies to lobby and "bribe" our lawmakers, they would encourage more prison sentences for people. One can only think this is good if you are a facist or despot. Unless of course, they would create prision sentences for all bad drivers and little barbies driving large SUVs.
What rules our lives?
Advertising and Credit Scores.
Just thinking about the ubiquity of these two items in our lives. Listening to radio or watching TV one cannot help but being influenced by this.
When did we give these three credit reporting companies so much power over our lives? It seems that everything involves your credit score. Not just when you borrow. But employers use them: what the hell do they have to know what your credit scope is? There should be a law preventing that. Also, just renting a place to live can be difficult if your credit scores are not good. I can see us moving towards the old idea of debtor's prisons which I am sure
corporations would like to see.
Advertising is really screwing up how we see the world. People don't realize how powerful advertisers are and how that influences what we see and hear; especially regarding news. We can't depend on any type of news as being honest and reliable when the media is beholden to advertisors. Think about the pharmasueticals that seem to advertise more than cars do. Do you really think we are going to hear the truth when these companies can threaten to pull millions of dollars from a magazine or tv show?
And what about manipulating children? The leading buyer of advertising intentially tries to get children to nag their parents to increase sales for products. They do not use ethics, morales or anything but profit to make their decisions.
I just cannot think that our socio-economic-political model is in proper balance with these kind injustices going on. Unfettered captialism is not a panacea as the unthinking masses of conservatives believe. Think about what privatization of prisions would mean for justice. A company is leagally required to make money first and formost. That would be maximizing the number of prisioners along with cost-effective management. Since we allow companies to lobby and "bribe" our lawmakers, they would encourage more prison sentences for people. One can only think this is good if you are a facist or despot. Unless of course, they would create prision sentences for all bad drivers and little barbies driving large SUVs.
I just read Vice President Al Gore's book behind the movie: An Inconvenient Truth. The most interesting thing in the book for me was the analysis on the media's message on Global Warming. When someone actually took the time to find out what scientists thought about this by papers in scientific journals, there was NO disagreement about how we are screwing up the place where we live. But the popular press created the FALSE impression that Global Warming was still a theory. What has become of our popular press? You can't depend on anything that comes out. It is just propaganda from some particular group. The so-called respectable media is no better than the tabloids when it comes to reliability and objectivity.
What an incredible disservice they have done to the world! The concept of the climate being a nonlinerar system is so significant. The example was the ice shelves in antartica and greenland. While there is this slow, gradual melting on the service, the water goes all the way through to the bottom of the ice pack. Guess what is going to happen all at once? It is going to slide into the ocean! Not slowly. Not over 10 years. In a couple of days!!! That is a non-linear response. Like the movie Day after Tomorrow. Once a certain threshold is reached: and that is usually unknown-- something completly changes all at once. People need to grasp this concept. It means that we are very likely to be totally "suprised" by the consequences of global warming because it will happen suddenly. Not all consequences are sudden but some very significant ones can be. If one of those large ice shelves slip into the sea, it will raise the sea level 20 feet: immediately! Remember New Orleans? How about that all over the world on all the costal cities? What will the neysayers say then? Oh, we didn't know that would happen. Image
Now my Bush bashing. He is the worst President we have had in my lifetime. He has done more damage and harm to man and the planet. And I have to group all the Republicans in this since they support him. They are irresponsible people that are soley looking after their own welfare. They are actually enemies of over half of the citizens in this country.
We might as well have been taken over by China or Iran for the harm that this group has caused America, and the rest of the world. Personally, I consider their behavior and actions criminal. Secretly meeting with the energy companies, not disclosing what was discussed, hiring an Oil company propagandist to head up your Environmental office, making up crap about global warming and not supporting the Kyoto agreement that every country and many American cities have signed.
Tuesday, July 17. 2007
After the tragedy at WV last month, many people asked what causes this kind of violence and guns were the number one target in some magazine articles.
However, I believe the reason we have these and other violence in the US is due to the nature of our economy and the great difference between having money and not.
America is a place where life is good when you have enough money to live the dream. But if you don't. everyday is filled with fear and disappointment. Good health, security, entertainment, comfort are all based on having significant money. Without it, you can't eat well, can't get medication, can't get medical treatment. You can't afford a home in a safe area, you can't enforce your legal rights, you are treated poorly by the financial institutions so things get worse. You can't afford all the new gadgets that are advertised non-stop 24x7 everywhere--reminding you that you are inadequate. Heating and cooling are not affordable so you are never comfortable.
And today, rather than being humble about what they have, people now flaunt any amount of money they do have by building mcmansions, driving huge, extravagant, luxury trucks, traveling to their second vacation homes at every holiday.
These differences are greater in this country than any other. Until or unless our country decides to take care of the less fortunate, this disparity and tension will remain and result in violence. The myth that hard work is all it takes to be successful and happy is just that. Nor does intelligence seem to help. It is simply a mater of luck and a focus on money as the most important goal in life.
There is little support for a person to seek happiness through spiritual development or being a better person. To take this route is to put one at risk of financial difficulties and health problems. It takes a enormous amount of faith to follow this path in America. Other more enlightened countries support this way of life better. Western Europe is known for this or even countries that have stronger family structures that support each other.
America is an individual, winner- take- all society that creates a large class of outsiders looking in.
