Well Miriam, you posted an article about Pacifica that really knocked
the underpinnings out. I am really down.
Seriously. Even a victory by the Sea Hawks over New England could
only raise my glumness for a short time.
But as for your housekeeper, expecting anything other than her
assessment of the world is whistling in the dark.
She, along with so many other folks new to America, is trying to fit
in. And her only source of information is coming to her through the
Mass Media owned by the Empire and its Ruling Class. Perhaps you
might print off several of the articles you post to Blind Democracy,
and ask her opinion of them. My hope in doing this myself, is to open
a closed door in peoples minds. A door of curiosity, a sense of
questioning. Does it work? Not always. Not even often. But once in
a while I connect with someone looking for answers.
But tonight I am really bummed out over the thought of possibly losing
Pacifica.
Actually it's funny when I think about it. Blind Democracy has been a
real source of growth for me, mentally speaking. Yet I suspect I've
had very little impact on the folks on this list. I offer my
opinions, but seldom have any real discussion come from them. Same is
true with my blog. Only a handful of folks read, and few ever
comment. But I saw about the same results with my dad. He never
stopped trying to get other people to open their minds and think.
When he died, a number of people I never knew came to us and told us
of the deep impact my dad had on their lives. Small victories, true.
But in the face of super corporate citizens and an Empire with
unlimited resources, those small gains loomed large.
So, I will keep going, even if into the dark storm clouds of a long,
cold winter.
Carl Jarvis
On 1/31/15, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@optonline.net> wrote:
> Well, You're more optimistic about helping people change than I am. The
> last
> straw for me was recently when the lovely Croatian lady who cleans my
> apartment told me that the problem with this country is that it's too
> liberal and that she read Bill O'Reilly's latest book which explained
> everything.
>
> Miriam
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Blind-Democracy [mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On
> Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
> Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2015 12:55 PM
> To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
> Subject: Re: Why CodePink Calls Kissinger the Real 'Low-life Scum'
>
> Division is the tool of the Ruling Classes.
> Fanning "National Pride", fostering the belief that we are "better than
> them", encouraging contempt for those who the Ruling Classes do not want.
> It has been forced upon us for so long that many people never question it.
> And we like to have things around us that we are familiar with, comfortable
> with. So we push away "outside of the box"
> thinking.
> Those of us who feel we have a point of view that is different, perhaps
> better, than theirs, we need to find ways to get underneath their fixed
> beliefs and cause them to question them and to consider alternatives.
> Just finding ways to get folks to think. To teach others that what they
> have been taught to believe is Thinking, is merely a process of
> regurgitation.
> I'd ramble on, but we are headed off to pick up the last of my
> mother-in-laws furniture out of storage. It is a six foot long stereo,
> radio combination. A very heavy piece of furniture that has outlived its
> time but is still highly desired by Dorothy. So we have the hand truck and
> five people ready to test our backs. It will need to be moved to our truck
> and then into the apartment building, down to the lower floor and along two
> long halls to Dorothy's apartment. Then the trick will be to scoot it
> through the door and around into the spare bedroom. I have tried in vain
> to
> declare it a boat anchor and give it to the Navy.
>
> Carl Jarvis
>
>
> On 1/31/15, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@optonline.net> wrote:
>> Carl,
>>
>> I know that people are misinformed by the mass media. I know that
>> they've been taught a false history in school. And I also know that
>> they have varying degrees of intellectual competence. Having said all
>> that, for whatever reason, most people do support what is happening.
>> If they didn't, they'd be in the streets. They'd be talking about
>> their distress with our wars and our torture. But they aren't doing
>> that. And if I inadvertently get into discussions with people about
>> any of this, I find that they are embued with patriotism, fear of
>> terrorists, and concern about their own economic welfare.
>> Unfortunately, their concern about their economic welfare doesn't
>> extend to seeing change in our economic system as a solution. When
>> progressive writers say that a majority of people support what
>> progressives stand for, what they're really talking about is polls
>> that show people's concern about their economic welfare, not their
>> support for socialism. Of course, the people with whom I come into
>> contact, and that is a small number these days, are residents of
>> nassau County Long Island. Most of these people own small homes, have
>> moderate incomes, and either grew up here, or moved here from the city
>> in order to live in the suburbs where, they believed, they'd be
>> protected from people of color and crime. There are also some
>> extremely wealthy people living in Nassau County, but they're in
>> separate areas. There are also some areas where very poor people live.
>> So the people I encounter, tend to have the prevailing view of this
>> socially, and politically conservative area.
>>
>> Miriam
>>
>
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