Subject:
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Re: The absurdity of American pop culture
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Wed, 17 Mar 2004 10:21:41 GMT
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Viewed:
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222 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Orion Pobursky wrote:
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http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/03/16/georgecarlin.indecency.ap/index.html
Count on George Carlin to point out the hipocracy of American society. Maybe
if the US government stopped perpetuating the cycle of fear we all be better
off.
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There is nothing new in Washington using “fear” to make you a good American. If
you read about the work of Edward Bernays, you will see that it is the fear of
communism & non-conformity which has been the basis of the economic prosperity
of the USA over the last ~60 years. It is a generalisation, but Americans feel
the need to conform. Even non-conformists conform to the non-conformist-model…
take a look at the middle class “rebellious” teenagers within Marilyn Manson’s
fan base… they’ll covert without trouble to tomorrow’s managers
Edward Bernays: “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized
habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic
society.”
Chomsky on Bernays: The importance of
“controlling the public mind” has been recognized with increasing clarity as
popular struggles succeeded in extending the modalities of democracy, thus
giving rise to what liberal elites call “the crisis of democracy” as when
normally passive and apathetic populations become organized and seek to enter
the political arena to pursue their interests and demands, threatening stability
and order. As Bernays explained the problem, with “universal suffrage and
universal schooling,...at last even the bourgeoisie stood in fear of the common
people. For the masses promised to become king,” a tendency fortunately reversed
-- so it has been hoped -- as new methods “to mold the mind of the masses” were
devised and implemented.
I’m pretty sure Edward Bernays shaped modern America more than any other single
man.
Scott A
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