Greed. Greed breathes life into all that follows…

Ignorance stands in the way. Ignorance has been deliberately encouraged and cultivated, on a large scale, to preserve the status quo, and to prevent us from using our collective will to force progressive change. Racism is a prime example of ignorance that permeates our nation, one that has been deliberately tolerated and actively encouraged. People vote against their interests out of ignorance, as heartfelt as it is. The GOP has made ignorance a part of their platform, and to a large extent they owe their electoral existence to it. If Trump has showed us anything, it’s the extent to which ignorance guides the actions of yuge numbers of our fellow citizens. How can this level of ignorance continue to be maintained, even in the year 2016? Media.

The consolidation of media ownership, the restriction of topics of discussion, the tolerance and proliferation of lies and dishonesty, the unmentioned conflicts of interest, and the lack of substance, all serve to make our corporate media a very formidable barrier to progressive change, and I believe, deliberately so. Unfortunately, it may prove to be an insurmountable barrier for the foreseeable future. Like so much of our country, the peoples’ airwaves have been sold out from under us to people who have been allowed to use them not to serve the public interest, but to preserve private interests at the expense of the public. That’s how people the likes of Donald Trump or Scott Walker can be presented as legitimate candidates, or how people like Mitch McConnell or Paul Ryan can be presented as legitimate government leaders with a legitimate agenda. It’s how we can be ignorant about the actions of our country in the rest of the world, or our motivations, while we’re perceived by the rest of the world as the Earth’s greatest threat to peace. The purpose of corporate media is distraction and perpetuation of ignorance, or, in a nutshell, preventing an informed electorate.

The catch is that it’s difficult to reach the masses without it. And with the $$$ involved, it will be impossible, without gov’t intervention, to take back any kind of public control and enforcement of the standards. Corporate media is monopolistic enough that, when combined with an environment of general ignorance, they’re immune to most outside pressure that may be brought to bear by normal people, such as widespread boycotts. And we need to face the fact that while thoughtful and politically involved people at sites like this have reliable sources of useful information we can call on, most people not only aren’t aware of the perspectives we take for granted, but, for one reason or another, they can’t be bothered to make the effort to find them.

A corrupted government allows a corrupted media, and a corrupted media protects a corrupted government. Which is the chicken and which is the egg? Which do you address first? (The government)