“The American public does not want to be uplifted, ennobled–it wants to be amused.”
–Alice Dunbar-Nelson (1875-1935). novelist. social worker. and teacher
Alice was a poet, journalist and political activist. And, some sort of visionary, from where I stand. She was among the first generation born free in the south after the Civil War, she was one of the prominent African Americans involved in the artistic flourishing of the Harlem Renaissance. Alice and I have much in common. She knew what many of us are aware of…I wonder what she would think if she were here today?
Who doesn’t want to escape? You work hard all day, at a job you’re not crazy about; for a boss who doesn’t appreciate how brilliant you are; then you come home too exhausted to cook; so you through an empty of anything nutritious excuse for food into a microwave; which kills any remaining nutrition; or you open up a carton of ice cream hoping to stop that ineffable hunger you just can’t seem to reach!
Even when you are aware of the diabolical account of how four Anglo-American agribusiness giants plan world domination by patenting life forms to gain worldwide control of our food supply and our lives; remnants of how we controlled the Indians’ comes to mind, ‘destroy their food and you control their destiny’! Dealing with all this reality is just too darn daunting! Isn’t it?
A recent New York Times article reports; “The average American spends more on entertainment than on gasoline, household furnishings and clothing and nearly the same amount as spent on dining out, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.” It’s been estimated by the Twentieth Century Fund that Americans spend 40 billion dollars per year for total recreation expenditures in the United States. Personally, I believe that’s a conservative figure and agree with Alice; we’re on an ‘amusement ride and we don’t want to get off’‘. I also believe that keeping the population entertained is high on the list for those few men who control all our lives. Contemplating this, I tear myself away from a recorded segment of ‘American Idol’! Me, I’m just another would be victim. But I will not go quietly!
William Engdahl’s book ‘Seeds of Destruction’ is a diabolical account of how four Anglo-American agribusiness giants plan world domination by patenting life forms (GMOs) to gain worldwide control of our food supply and our lives. This review is in three in-depth parts. Part I was published and is available on this web site.
Today, government subsidies for agriculture in the industrialized nations of North America, Western Europe and East Asia (Japan and South Korea) is over a Billion Dollars a Day! Did I mention this is just the subsidies. Oh, and I’m pretty sure that the organic farmer is not the recipient of any of these dollars. You might ask why; inquiring minds want to know…including mine.
I’ve just ordered the ‘Seeds of Destruction’ and am excited to get it in my hands. It will be interesting to see if the book reveals some correlation between what I discovered during my 10 years in Washington.
I’m interested in what our great leaders and writers in the past thought about our country and the direction we took and are taking. President Woodrow Wilson made a disturbing statement; what’s more disturbing is knowing what to do with the knowledge that “The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men”. President Woodrow Wilson said upon reflecting on the passage of the Federal Reserve Act.
“I am a most unhappy man, I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the civilized world. No longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominate men”
And then President Thomas Jefferson said:
“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks…will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered…The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.”
Sometimes I feel like drowning myself in ‘fun’. I don’t want to face the realities I dig up. But then the fun gets to feel so shallow and empty. What should I be doing with my time? What do I have the energy to do with my time? The majority of us are under paid and work long hours just to barely get by. The majority of us are so under-nourished we don’t have the energy to complain, much less the fortitude to make a change. And then there’s this emptiness inside, and no entertainment and nothing we eat seems to satisfy it!
Entertainment sometimes gives a true picture of what is really going on in government and what some of our politicians think about those of us who voice our opinions and disagreements. For instance:
Francis steps onto the street and encounters an irate screaming citizen the police have handcuffed to a light pole and says; “Nobody can hear you, nobody cares about you, nothing will come of your screaming, why don’t you let these nice gentlemen take you home.”
House of Cards, Season 1, Episode 2 at 4:29 minutes