I am not American and therefore have no chance of voting in the upcoming Primaries or the election. But I can’t help but be fascinated by the race for President that is currently unfolding. The actions of the US have not so far impinged upon my life, so far as I can tell, so it strikes me as strange that I would be so interested. I have come to the conclusion that the reason for it is that the democratic process is purely and simply, entertainment.
The elections follow the typical dramatic structure. There is a climax (the election), there are good guys and bad guys, front-runners (Hillary and that dickhead Giuiliani) and underdogs (Mike Gravel and Ron Paul). There is backstabbing, conspiracy and underhanded politics everywhere. And this drama is covered from numberous angles 24/7. What better entertainment can you get?
This would be funny if it wasn’t for the fact that the result of this charade will decide the fate of a nation… oh, sorry American readers *the fate of the universe*. However, only Americans have to live in their country after all this is through. We, who live in the rest of the world, keep watching in amazement, as though it was a TV show entitled, Who Will Those Idiots Elect Next?
I’m not calling all Americans idiots. For I have been duped as well by the leaders of my nation, and the world in general. This terrorism thing has got everyone fearing their security and in turn supporting half-baked invasions and attacks against our privacy and civil liberties. Not just terrorism either. We have wars against drugs, against crime, against poverty, against whatever. Just to manipulate support through fear.
Fear causes people to react emotionally, rather than use their powers of reasoning. If you get enough people in a panic, you can manipulate them to virtually any end. But who is doing this manipulation? Who is causing the people to panic? The terrorists? We could believe the crap that we are spoon fed through our media or from our officials, that they hate our freedom and they want us all to convert to Islam. Or we can do a bit of thinking and come to different conclusions.
In our democracies, our leaders make decisions on our behalf. Often, we are deaf to what these very decisions are. We are sheltered from full knowledge of what we do. Our media reports the things that are deemed relevant to us. Do we hear about the millions who die when we impose sanctions against a country? Not really. Do we get the chance to hear the point of view of those who hate us, and their reasons for doing so? Not as such. Is the fact that top ranking officials of the CIA and FBI come out and say that these agencies actually sponsor terrorist attacks, such as the one against the USS Cole, brought out for public attention? No again.
I’d like to pose a question. Who is directly benefiting from this war? We hear that the war is costly for the American taxpayer. So where is this money going? Well to the companies that are making the ammunition, or getting contracts to repair what has been blown up of course. How would a long, drawn-out war affect a company like that, which is making millions and millions of dollars profit, monthly? Doesn’t that company have a very real interest in keeping the war going? Defense companies, oil companies, construction companies. Who do you suppose they would support among the presidential nominees? Yep, the biggest warmonger on the stage of those debates: Rudy “911″ Guiliani.
Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Rudy Guiliani. Where does most of their money come from? Corporate interests. Check the Center for Responsive Politics for the exact figures. Why would certain candidates get millions from one industry and not others if not to influence policy? More money means more air time, more air time means more voters influenced into voting for them. Fear of the unknown resonates in politics ever so loudly among a populace that would rather be entertained than informed.
If the media was at all interested in a democratic election, they would present each candidate with equal time, and allow their views and opinions to be heard in entirety. Instead, we hear how much money they raised, rather than the issues they propose to solve. It has been highlighted on numerous websites, the disparate amount of time assigned to each candidate in the debates. Raising money from corporate interests translates into credibility, top-tier status, and air time.
My point is, if war is in the interests of these companies because they profit from it, and we have a war currently underway feeding this very interest, despite the apparent desire of the majority to get out of the war, doesn’t this indicate a level of corruption in the government? It indicates that those campaign contributions are far from benign. The fact is, the dumber the Americans are, the greater this system works. The less informed, the more entertained and spoon fed they become, the easier they are to manipulate into fear, into emotional voting. It’s been noted that the educational system in the U.S. is failing, healthcare too. Maybe this is no accident.
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