By Dave WheelockSometimes one swipe at the poisoned apple is not enough. Two weeks ago, Pencil Warrior Number 134 exposed the current firestorm in the media against budget deficits as a deliberate hoax perpetrated on the public in an attempt to prolong the life of an economic paradigm that produces little of value to anyone other than the tiny group at the top of the corporate food chain.
Contrary to what you’ve probably read, heard, or seen in any commercialized source, while the gap between government spending and the economy’s ability to eventually pay for it is properly of concern, it pales in comparison to the immediate need to provide the level of funding necessary to ensure those who are able to work can find jobs.
For the few apparent “winners” in our society, the number one priority has become finding new ways to keep afloat the only economic system they know – profit without production. It’s not that these people don’t understand the futility of short term speculation, pillaging far-off resources, and virtual slavery – they just don’t see the need for honest work or fair competition.
For these “masters of the universe,” the target of choice, their last and easiest source of huge mounds of cash, has become the public funds the middle class has accumulated throughout its short, sweet existence: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and any other public program they can get their hands on. At this critical juncture in our economic history, the continued success of the wealthy elite will mean the destruction of everyone else, including the earth itself.
The situation is dire and the stakes couldn’t be higher. The battle has been joined in print and broadcast media, yet due to the one-sided nature of what should be an open public discussion, much of the public haven’t a clue of the true motives or level of propaganda that have been unleashed upon their futures. Small wonder then that so many Americans have fallen into the panic over deficits.
In his July 1 New York Times column, Nobel economist Paul Krugman expressed “amazement and horror” that “somehow it has become conventional wisdom that now is the time to slash spending, despite the fact that the world’s major economies remain deeply depressed.” Methinks Dr. Krugman is being coy; someone as immersed in influencing public opinion as he is certainly knows the tricks of the trade.
At the most base level, what political observer Noam Chomsky terms “manufacturing consent” calls for a blanketing of available media with a version of reality that serves one’s own interests. Regardless and independent of the facts (tax cuts for the wealthy, momentous corporate subsidies and fraud, a vast military money pit, the true costs of poverty) a steady diet of propaganda (bankrupt social programs, prominently including Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security; overpaid government employees; gouging labor unions) gets results.
Since space does not permit a fair survey of examples of media bias in the public discussion of budget deficits, I urge those who can to search for “deficit” on the media analysis website of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (fair.org). There you will find articles with titles like “Deficit Fascinates Media – Its Causes, Not so Much,” “The Deficit Distraction”, and “Inventing a Nation of Deficit Hawks.”
While it’s important for the “deficit hawks” to get the message out, it’s equally vital to suppress dissenting voices, something easily accomplished in a country where business-funded sources of information go virtually unchallenged. The term “virtually” is appropriate, as the internet offers some relief – as long as we employ our own tool, the principle of “net neutrality,” to keep it free of total corporate control.
Often overlooked is the power of popular entertainment to shape people’s attitudes. Storylines acted out on television and in movies overwhelmingly portray a winner-take-all, us vs. them, pro-free market world where violence is the standard path to resolution. Excluded is the vast range of perspectives and possibilities that actually exist in our diverse world. When was the last time a commercial television program depicted say, a union organizer’s struggle to win members a fair shake against overwhelming odds? How about a magazine ad for an office copier used by a building inspector to blow the whistle on a developer’s collusion with public officials?
As a wise man said, if media reform is not your number one issue, it needs to be number two. We can and should go further than simply becoming aware of how commercial media is used by corporate ownership to pad its own nest. It’s time we went on the offensive by harnessing the power of media to educate to help bring about a new economy based on long term investment in people and sustainable energy, technologies, and products. If we want our creations to serve rather than damage our shared interests we should nurture existing public media and invest substantially in new ways to inform democracy.
Dave Wheelock, a member of the Oneida Nation, is a collegiate sports administrator and coach. His history degree is from the University of New Mexico. Reach him at davewheelock @yahoo.com. Mr. Wheelock's views do not necessarily represent those of the Mountain Mail.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment