United Front Against Austerity
March 24, 2014
Do Americans have freedom of speech?Perhaps, in a legalistic sense. We at UFAA are free to say what we wish in the vacuum of "social space". But what good is this freedom when:
• Political debates exclude candidates who don't raise and spend money which is only possible with corporate sponsorship.
• The US media is a cartel owned by 5 companies, which are in turn controlled by Wall Street hedge funds: http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart
• Our public media (NPR and PBS) are only quasi-public, receiving less than half of their funds from the public, with the rest raised from listeners and Wall Street interests (a funny example – the children's cartoon "CyberChase" on PBS Kids is sponsored by military contractor Northrup Grumman).
• The corporate blackout on controversial subjects (take 9/11 conspiracy theory for example) is reinforced by widespread social opprobrium. This is a new phenomenon. The United States is based on a conspiracy theory (read the Declaration of Independence). The very word "conspiracy theory" seems to be a term invented by Wall Street (do some reading on Edward Bernays or Cass Sunstein – http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/12/1208580/-In-defense-of-a-phrase-conspiracy-theory#) to ridicule and create social stigma around those who look for answers outside of the controlled media.
Bernays wrote, "If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, is it not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing about it?”
• Along these lines, political correctness has come to play a major role in molding the "group mind." Phrases like "support the troops" and "gay rights" are like dog whistles used to quickly mold public opinion around unwise policy decisions (like provoking a military conflict with Russia).
Remember Helen Thomas? One day she's the dean of the White House press corps, the next day she's a pariah, because of a criticism of Israel. The corporate media must enforce swift discipline on these issues, or you might start to wonder why America's "best friend" is spying on our Congress and dropping white phosphorous bombs on its neighbors.
The next time you're ready to exercise your "free speech" in condemnation of a country, or even a friend or neighbor, please stop to consider where your words came from.
Please take a moment to visit the United Front Against Austerity at the website: www.AgainstAusterity.org.
