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You talk about propaganda? This is right wing propaganda in its purest form.
Frequently one hears charges that the world is dominated (or will shortly be dominated) by "global elites" - you know, those faceless, ruthless, rapacious, nefarious string-pulling types. This fear is mongered by the Left (CEOs and Wall Street executives will rule us all! Or maybe it's the Koch brothers, Goldman Sachs and Saudi prices?) and the Right (unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats, like the EU and the UN; climate-change scientists, environmentalists, and George Soros).
Help me to understand, folks: who are these elites? Exactly how do they control us? And what makes them so dangerous?
I would argue the exact opposite: freedom is increasingly under attack from the vitriol and petulance of crowds. It's the unfettered pitchfork-brigade that's clamoring for the passage of restrictive laws, and which wants to restrict freedom of speech to preserve either civic pride (right-wingers want to ban flag burning) or ethnic sensitivity (the whole PC thing on the left). The real threat, I would argue, is mob-rule - and NOT the centralization of power.
Let me get this straight. Deluding ourselves makes something that is false true I'm not saying America isn't a great country. It is, but it's certainly not the freest one, and we have less freedom than we used to. Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and the "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave" slogan doesn't actually make us free. This argument reminds me of the successful attempts at mind control the Nazis made when they first took over the German government. Most of the German citizens were not totally convinced that having the Nazis in power was a good idea, so they introduced propaganda. They censored or outright banned foreign films and reading materials, replacing it with materials glorifying the Nazi government and filling the information with nationalistic messages.
Eventually the Germans came to believe the messages merely from sheer repetition. Drill a message into a person's head a million times and they will believe it, no matter what it is. Of course this is an extreme example, but it has been proven many times throughout history, especially in situations where people are isolated from others.
Europe has pretty much closed the entire freedom gap with the USA. As recently as a few decades ago ethnic minorities were still quite oppressed. People in Catalonia couldn't fly their flag without getting arrested by Spain, Celtic people in Brittany would loose French citizenship for their children if they gave it a Celtic name. Bagpipes were banned in Scotland in 1754 and citizens were prohibited from having guns or swords. Obviously the USA had many of the same laws targeted Blacks but for a White immigrant the USA back then felt much freer.
This made me chuckle, especially the bit about 'bagpipes were banned in Scotland in 1754'!
Thank you all for your participation!
Never thought I'd get this many responses, fun to see!
In conclusion, the US and Americans aren't more free than other western world countries, that most of Europe has caught up and probably have a pretty equal amount of freedoms, but in different ways.
But we are fortunate to be born in these countries since we all know there are many places still on the planet where people are not allowed to wear what they want, to say what they want etc.
This world is crazy, and it seems like that's never gonna stop! All I know is that I'm gonna try and enjoy my life with my family as good as I can, the short time we are here!
I hope you all will do the same, and focus on the people that means much to you. Do what feels right.
The country has become a fascist police state. Free? Sure, if you're a white Republican male. If you're black you're free to be shot by a cop w/ no charges against them. You're free to protest, as long as you are in a "free speech area". It is a colossal joke to think Americans are free, but most Americans are so dumbed down they probably think they are.
Thank you all for your participation!
Never thought I'd get this many responses, fun to see!
In conclusion, the US and Americans aren't more free than other western world countries, that most of Europe has caught up and probably have a pretty equal amount of freedoms, but in different ways.
But we are fortunate to be born in these countries since we all know there are many places still on the planet where people are not allowed to wear what they want, to say what they want etc.
This world is crazy, and it seems like that's never gonna stop! All I know is that I'm gonna try and enjoy my life with my family as good as I can, the short time we are here!
I hope you all will do the same, and focus on the people that means much to you. Do what feels right.
Thanks!
I agree that we in the USA are no more free than most of the western world. Each western nation applies its freedoms differently and puts more or less emphasis on certain freedoms. For example we Americans very much value our right to bear arms, while some of our allies do not. We sometimes bicker about who is the most free, how much freedom is appropriate etc. However most advanced nations have large scale freedom for their citizens.
The one way however where the USA can really link itself to freedom is the fact that we pioneered the modern concept of freedom and a republican form of government. ( sort of) We built upon the democratic traditions that had been developing in Britain since the magma carta. We became a destination for immigrants seeking freedom and the generalized belief that we were the most free place in the world. One hundred years ago we may have been the most free, but today we are just one of the free nations of the world.
I agree that we in the USA are no more free than most of the western world. Each western nation applies its freedoms differently and puts more or less emphasis on certain freedoms. For example we Americans very much value our right to bear arms, while some of our allies do not. We sometimes bicker about who is the most free, how much freedom is appropriate etc. However most advanced nations have large scale freedom for their citizens.
The one way however where the USA can really link itself to freedom is the fact that we pioneered the modern concept of freedom and a republican form of government. ( sort of) We built upon the democratic traditions that had been developing in Britain since the magma carta. We became a destination for immigrants seeking freedom and the generalized belief that we were the most free place in the world. One hundred years ago we may have been the most free, but today we are just one of the free nations of the world.
We can all thank the ancient Greeks for democracy.
What a strange definition of freedom: Essentially taking away the property rights (Freedom to one's own land) in order to give access to others.
But if you asked me if the United States is a free country, I'd say no. From the Patriot Act to the War on Drugs to the high levels of taxation in this country, we have voluntarily handed over our liberty over the years.
Private property rights in the eyes of the USA founding fathers was through the lenses of vast tracts of land where people could have 50, 100, 150 acres and it would not impede on anyone else. Now days there are 370 million people in the USA with most areas we are living on top of each other so private property rights are going to have to get squishy otherwise we will be right back to lords and barrons and the rest of us surfs because only the super rich will be able to afford a tract of land big enough to really do anything with ... which is EXACTLY how things were back in the day.
A hand full of filthy rich individuals owned big tracts of land and the surfs just worked there, maybe a vassal had a hut or if they were lucky a single family home.
So now "supply and demand" is basically code for lords and surfs because even back then if a surf somehow magically came up with huge sums of money could buy in the problem is when capital is worshiped and labor barely pays enough to stay alive we have basically arrived at a very similar model.
To many people and not enough land and resources for all of us to be our own lords, as "supply and demand" starts pricing huge numbers of people out of the "market" someone has to be the serf.
Commercial real estate is too expensive for everyone to be their own business owner, janitor and maintenance man. So someone gets to be the janitor and someone gets to be the business man (serf and lord).
The country has become a fascist police state. Free? Sure, if you're a white Republican male. If you're black you're free to be shot by a cop w/ no charges against them. You're free to protest, as long as you are in a "free speech area". It is a colossal joke to think Americans are free, but most Americans are so dumbed down they probably think they are.
nope, its not enough to be white republican male anymore. You have to have rich or at least decently off, If you are poor or vagrant you will see how fast the cops turn on you.
right now the cops in our area are actively hunting homeless people no matter what color you are. Just by simply being homeless you run the risk of criminal charges and harassment.
Frequently one hears charges that the world is dominated (or will shortly be dominated) by "global elites" - you know, those faceless, ruthless, rapacious, nefarious string-pulling types. This fear is mongered by the Left (CEOs and Wall Street executives will rule us all! Or maybe it's the Koch brothers, Goldman Sachs and Saudi prices?) and the Right (unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats, like the EU and the UN; climate-change scientists, environmentalists, and George Soros).
Help me to understand, folks: who are these elites? Exactly how do they control us? And what makes them so dangerous?
I would argue the exact opposite: freedom is increasingly under attack from the vitriol and petulance of crowds. It's the unfettered pitchfork-brigade that's clamoring for the passage of restrictive laws, and which wants to restrict freedom of speech to preserve either civic pride (right-wingers want to ban flag burning) or ethnic sensitivity (the whole PC thing on the left). The real threat, I would argue, is mob-rule - and NOT the centralization of power.
People with a lot of money and certain agendas. I would take mob rule over 9 guys/families dictating me through complex market, social and political manipulation.
Go and try to buy anything of any real significance (significant real estate with water rights, mineral rights or in a favorable area, commercial property, etc) and you will see how free you really are. Heck even for me to just go back and get my masters is 30 grand. That's not freedom that's graft and the "mob" is the consequence, you cant go on fleecing a population forever and not experience consequences.
If the market is stacked and too many aspects of it are inelastic you will get violence as a back lash because its the only lever the mob can pull. Do you really think the filthy rich are just going to say gee im sorry I paid you peanuts while I pocketed untold fortures off your labor because my great uncle left me this key piece of infrastructure and yours dident or I stole someone elses intellectual property through some "deal" and then made a fortune, here is the money I stole from you. LOL that's not going to happen without violence. That is why these guys have helped to create the biggest military industrial complex and police state the world has even seen, because they know that as soon as the police state faulters there will be a lot of people marching on these ritzy communities out for blood.
I also regocnize there are people who are lazy and people who work hard and thus will be income disparitys but we have income disparity at the top that is FAR beyond rational explination other than flat out theft through complex graft.
Last edited by pittsflyer; 12-14-2016 at 06:11 PM..
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I'm not saying America isn't a great country. It is, but it's certainly not the freest one, and we have less freedom than we used to. Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and the "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave" slogan doesn't actually make us free. This argument reminds me of the successful attempts at mind control the Nazis made when they first took over the German government. Most of the German citizens were not totally convinced that having the Nazis in power was a good idea, so they introduced propaganda. They censored or outright banned foreign films and reading materials, replacing it with materials glorifying the Nazi government and filling the information with nationalistic messages. 
