I have mentioned before that Caitlin Johnstone is one of my favorite bloggers and social, political commentators. You should check out her blog here.
Like me, she too developed recurring bouts of sustained nausea (mine was accompanied with cramps, groaning, eye-rolling, and periodic laughter)
over the endless, collective lying sessions the nation was forced to endure during the funeral and burial services of former president George H. W. Bush.
Why did ever single network repeat the same mindlessly patriotic pablum, most of which was misleading, about this American war criminal?
Johnstone’s analysis is entitled, “How Plutocratic Media Keep Staff Aligned with Establishment Agendas.” I have copied an excerpt below:
“It is an obvious fact that mainstream media outlets are owned by the extremely wealthy, as has been the case for a very long time. Owning media is in and of itself a profitable investment, “like having a license to print your own money” as Canadian television magnate Roy Thomson once put it. So when it comes to the news media outlets which form people’s perceptions of the world, what incentive would a powerful plutocrat have to platform anti-establishment voices on those outlets and help sow ideas which upset the status quo upon which said plutocrat
has built his empire? It certainly wouldn’t make him any more money, and if anti-establishment ideas like socialism, anarchism, non-interventionism or skepticism of government agencies gained popular footing in public consciousness, it could upset the foundation of the plutocrat’s dynasty and cause him to lose everything.
“Plutocrats have put a lot of energy into influencing government policy in order to create legislation which ensures the continued growth of their wealth and power. A whole lot of maneuvering has had to happen over the course of many years to create a political system wherein government bribery is legal in the form of campaign finance and corporate lobbying, wherein deregulation of corporations is the norm, wherein tax loopholes are abundant and tax burdens
are shifted to the middle class, wherein money hemorrhages upward to the wealthiest of the wealthy while ordinary people grow poorer and poorer. What incentive would these powerful oligarchs have to risk upsetting that delicate balancing act by helping to circulate ideas which challenge the very governmental system they’ve worked so hard to manipulate to their extreme advantage? And how many incentives would they have to keep everyone supporting the status quo?”
I believe that Ms. Johnstone hits the nail squarely on the head. I encourage you to read her entire piece here.
For followers of Jesus Christ who understand that their primary allegiance is to the Kingdom of God, last week’s display of over-the-top, lock-step homage to a man who once said that he “would never apologize for America. I don’t care what the facts are” should have been disturbing, at least, repulsive, at best.
People like Caitlin Johnstone can help us to become better critical thinkers and more discerning viewers of the nationalistic propaganda we are subjected to on a daily basis.
I will talk more explicitly tomorrow about the many crimes against humanity committed by president George H. W. Bush.
