The year is 2016. Nothing is at as it seems at first glance. The truth is evident, it is right there before us. It surrounds us like a black cloud, but it is only visible to those who seek it. In 2016, one must peruse and ultimately study dozens of publications, editorials and even opinion pieces amongst a plague of falsehoods and misrepresentations in order to obtain a holistic view of the truth—which is the only real truth there is.
We have to turn off the TV. Cable television is no longer something we can count on for reliable information. Mainstream media sources such as CNN and Fox News, that emerged as opposite-leaning outlets in the 80’s and 90’s, now have mirroring agendas due to the fact that they are owned by the same over-arching corporations and appallingly wealthy elites. Both channels are paid handsomely to manufacture viewer consent, to allow what they deem appropriate into the public stream of consciousness. And yet, their respective left and right wing viewers remain unaware of these facts and thus stay fundamentally divided. Generally, Republicans watch Fox and Democrats watch CNN, but the information those voters are provided with is so skewed to fit the corporate narrative that the issues and opinions that are being discussed become irrelevant when they are really broken down and evaluated for substance. It is a sad day when one realizes that there is more to learn from what is not being said by Anderson Cooper or Wolf Blitzer, than from what they decide to share with us.
Some might even argue that televised journalism is now officially dead, and that it is only survived by corporate zombies who make their salaries by reporting bought-and-paid-for distractions. Distractions that steal our collective focus from the real issues facing the nation and the world. Something is wrong when a person must squint to read the tiny text at the bottom of the screen about North Korea’s progressing nuclear plans or the ongoing Flint Water crisis, while front and center, the spotlighted show hosts discuss Justin Bieber’s new album.
Once one understands this massive betrayal that is American journalism, it is easier to see why these same “news” sources conveniently choose not to cover the monumental protests, rallies and marches that have been and are presently taking place throughout the nation. Any event that doesn’t fall into the corporate narrative, that doesn’t follow the establishment’s permitted information, is “blacked out” or skewed by the mainstream media, even if for all intents and purposes it is a historic event that would, one would think, be covered extensively and honestly by professional journalists. For example, in April, hundreds of people protested outside of the CNN building in Los Angeles. The protesters were angry that CNN had been handily ignoring or glossing over any news related to 2016 Presidential Candidate and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. What a strange irony that a newsworthy event that is occurring right outside of a building containing a staff of “professional” journalists is not covered by a single one of them. It was almost worse not to acknowledge that it was happening, as it suggests that CNN’s staff knew the protesters were right. And that is just one example of the many demonstrations that have been completely, laughably, ignored by a major news network.
The knowledge that this kind of corruption and manufactured information is still affecting the beliefs millions of people have in this nation is daunting. But if we, as a people, look in the right places and decide to ignore the corporate media, we can see the overwhelming formation of organized demonstrations against the broken status quo that are popping up left and right. We can see impassioned groups supporting insurgent, fringe 2016 POTUS candidates, who have given the American people hope for disestablishment leadership among a tightly knit group of establishment elites. Through non-corporate media sources, we got a glimpse of the brazen protests against the despicable Citizen’s United in April, which resulted in hundreds of arrests. We saw and continue to see empowered groups of Black Lives Matter activists demanding respect and justice from an oppressive system.
The collective mindset of large gatherings of citizens cannot be wrong. Whether one likes it or not, these protests are ultimately comprised of individuals who, deep down, want the same things—liberty, justice and the pursuit of happiness. Food on their tables. Affordable healthcare. These people understand that we are not just on this earth to pay bills and die. And they are (rightfully) angry that their constitutional rights have been and are each day being ripped away from them by those that see them as a way to raise profits and nothing more.
Protests are not occurring because these individuals are “crazy.” We the people have had it with the status quo. The status quo, no matter how your standard politician says that it “can work for you”, and that we must settle for “incremental change”, is no longer acceptable, and most of us know this. Enough is enough. And the normalcy of corruption in our government paired with the harrowing discovery that we can no longer trust the sources we once counted on for information begs the question—what essential information are we not privy to as average American citizens? What else is hidden under wraps? In 2016, the answers to these pertinent questions can most easily be found on the internet. With the world wide web, specifically social media, the millennial generation especially has begun to uncover what was previously concealed from the general public. Any conscious citizen using this cutting-edge, ever-growing database of information will start to notice a pattern, a disturbing over-arching connection that propels every action and every event we witness today. One thing, one idea controls everything we stand on, everything that occurs in our everyday lives. That thing is the compulsion of greed. Corporate greed that stemmed from a capitalist system. What you have is not enough. If you’re not first, you’re last. If you have not reached success, you are not trying hard enough. You are less than those who have more than you do.
These subconscious messages are exemplified in the capitalist system we have in place. Capitalism, if balanced with a responsible government hand, can be a successful economical system in which individualism and healthy competition are encouraged. But when government officials and representatives are no longer morally inclined to represent their constituents and instead are the puppets to wealthy special interests and their agendas, a capitalist system no longer works for the majority of citizens. We have now reached the point of no return, and oligarchy is rearing its ugly corporate head. Money is king and lives are small. Greed runs rampant at the cost of millions of lives. Healthcare is not affordable because hospital executives profit off of the sick. Marijuana is not legal because if it was, pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer would lose profit. Private prisons who make money from disproportionately black and Latino people being arrested and thrown in jail for small Marijuana offenses would also lose money, and thus their power. The education system is now intimately tied with loan companies, scraping money from students that don’t have it so they can profit from interest rates.
The information is there, clear as day, black as night. You have it—but it is your choice what to do with it. But if we all lift the veil of ignorance that has hidden what’s really there for so long, we can see the world for what it is. And we can finally change it. See you in Philly.
mollywentworth 