Originally, I was going to post something at DailyKos each week and ask members to come comment on it - that’s how DailyKos filters content, so if we did a good job, the post would be prominent for a while and possibly attract some folks to Litmocracy.  After I thought about it, and some prodding from Stokeycat, I decided we’d hash out things here in our own forum, and when we have a lively discussion going, we’ll try generating some interest over at Dailykos.

Things that get my attention and demand a robust discussion are the likes of what’s at TheCherryOrchard.org. But...there’s a very limited discussion there. I hope we can get a lot of the folks at Litmocracy involved at Kos, plus editors/staff from a bunch of the other top zines (see list at LiteraryMonthly.blogspot.com ‘zines’); plus many many more.

Reasons for this are -
1) it ‘advertizes’ Litmocracy and its writers in front of a national-international audience.
2) we need to unite our voices globally, to speak out against what’s ails our planet; and to seek workable fixes.

Note - one way to attract more readers to our Kos post, is to read and comment on other Kos posters; and/or participate at major weekly events like plf515 and cfk’s lit posts.

OK, so here I am, an American who knows little or nothing about other people from other countries. Then, I stumble upon this posting about starting a dialogue aimed at solving some of the world’s problems. It occurs to me, this is a good forum to discuss our differences, or like mindedness. Along this vein, I will start the conversation by asking:

Question: How many members are Canadian? How many members are American? How many are from somewhere else?

Of course, the answer could be arrived at by asking pesky details of the administrator, or members could reply personally.

Since this is the place for discussion, I would ask, “What is it like being Canadian? What are the good things about life in Canada, or elsewhere? What are the bad things, if any? Do you wear high priced gimmickry, two hundred dollar sneakers, that light up when you walk? Are five channels of FOX News Network enough for you?

I am the first to admit, I know nothing of our neighbors from the North, or elsewhere for that matter, other than what I see, hear, and read from the media. That simple fact brings this discussion to here.

In the new world order, we are all effected by a constantly evolving electronic age. Evidence the fact you are reading this.

Question: In what way, if in any way, does the media influence you? When an issue hits the airwaves, do you sense or feel the effect corporate interests have upon your perceptions of what you are viewing? Is war really ever a good thing?

Here’s an example of controversy:
Recently, I observed the happy familiar, “Talk About It, Talk About It, Talk About It...” music behind a new round of commercials promoting more nuclear reactors as a source of energy for the future. In that commercial, in that oxymoronic soundbite, possibly the most deadly thing in the world, Nuclear Power, (think Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and the movie China Syndrome), is flashed before your eyes and ears in a carefully orchestrated assault, designed to sugar coat the terrible idea being promoted as a good thing. Who is really behind this ad? Beware! It is an obvious attempt at mind control.

There are many more subtle ways the media influences our daily lives. Take for instance the practice of intentional insidious repetition of salacious events, or broadcaster “teasing”. These are efforts to influence your channel surfing habits. How about the “out of control” audio volume control, which gets markedly louder whenever a commercial comes on. This practice subjects the viewer subconsciously, to who knows what ends. In addition, let us not forget the electronic world of the Internet and its false urgency’s and corporate mannerisms, in the battle to measure viewership via click counts. All of this, in the pursuit of profitable advertising revenues. Some experts say computer viruses are revenue tools, planned and released to sell more software. Could such a thing be possible? Do credit cards companies, or cell phone companies, or the U. S. Government, with its Patriot Act, really have your best interests at heart? Is the price of gasoline influenced by money hungry speculators? Did you know that, in 2007, Exxon-Mobil Inc., became the highest money earner of all time? The questions go on and on…

What do you think?

When attempts at mind control are obvious, I like them.  They are funny and childish.  I am sensitive to more subtle signs of attempts at mind control and sometimes I find myself exhibiting them, and the realization shames me.  For example, calling something “obvious” is a sign of the attempt to control another’s mind.  Using exclamation points and the command form of verbs, and the use of quotes to insinuate the popular connotations of a word are other signs.  I got those from the part of your post about nuclear power.

I believe the human mind is the most deadly weapon, and also the most fruitful ally.  You just have to choose whether to engage it in good faith or attempt to enslave it.  Those in power make that choice just like the rest of us.  If they choose to try to enslave it, they will try to make it look like they are choosing to engage it in good faith.  “Talk about it” is useful, but more important is to do your own research and question what you see.

I have no problem with dangerous technology, as long as it is in the hands of people I trust.  Nuclear reactors and nuclear bombs are connected by the physics involved.  Teaching people to trust their rulers and teaching them to question them are connected by the method of interaction.  In both comparisons, in my mind, one use of the connecting element is bad and the other is good.  It is the human mind that chooses one over the other.  The most popular use of nuclear physics is to generate power, but what is the most popular use of teaching?  Your rant against the add for nuclear power would, in my twisted way of seeing things, be more agreeable to me if it were about “public education.”

The dialogue starts.  To the point: Power is about perception.  If you think you have it, then you do.  Conversely, if you surrender, or succomb, and accept things without question, then you can not complain, no matter how “OBVIOUS!!!” something is, or is not.

“Power is about perception… if you think you have it, then you do.”

REALLY?
I don’t like to speak ill of people not present, and this is certainly “present company excepted”, but, um, surely just thinking you have power or perception (of or over anything useful) can’t quite be enough.  Surely.  You would have to have better evidence than just thinking so.  Like a track record.  Something.  I mean, a REASONABLE track record. 

“I have no problem with dangerous technology, as long as it is in the hands of people I trust.”

Based on our Facebook rating, Dave should have no problem entrusting me with a nice little nuclear reactor.  Cool!  I want the pink one!

What it is like to be Canadian?  (Somebody finally ASKED????)

There’s this little Canadian poodle who keeps pestering me to go for a walk, while I wanted to write this. 

It’s cold.  Um…

When I went to Australia and Thailand and Cambodia recently, nobody, I mean the “ex-pats” (cool terminology used by “ex-pats") thought much of me when they found out I was Canadian.  They went, “Oh, sure, whatever,” and carried on with whatever important conversations they were having amongst their U.S./South African/British/Australian selves.  In fact, it was cool.  I thought, “Excellent:  Canada is under the radar.”

Canadians have better radio and more world-wide savvy news access than average Americans do (Americans can have it, but don’t bother as much, whereas Canadians have grown up with it and can’t really avoid it until they get old enough to change the channel from CBC).  On the other hand, Canada’s coverage of world affairs pales in comparison to Australia’s, based on what I briefly saw.  When I was living in the States, on the other hand, you wouldn’t see much about anything AT ALL unless it had something to do with the States, and even then it wasn’t trustworthy because you couldn’t tell what was going on elsewhere.  One always suspected that Michael Jackson or O.J. Simpson was being presented in order to distract one from some possible atrocity going on overseas. 

Canadians (unless they deal with Americans a lot, like I have) tend to think that your average American might shoot them if they go into a bar.  On the other hand, Canadians don’t mind America because that’s where the TV, and MacDonald’s, and Bill Gates, come from.  We generally figure we are buddies and that America is kind of like your vaguely dangerous older brother… but he won’t hurt YOU.  We worry that he might get the whole family in trouble with the people down the street, but we trust him not to intentionally hurt US.  We think the U.S. feels pretty much the same way about us.  We are the little brother (or sister) and pretty much under the radar.

We also feel very close to the Brits—we have the Queen on our money, and she comes and gives away flowers in various places, standing for hours in the rain and giving away flowers, or receiving them, to and from little kids.  She has been doing this for years.  No one can make any sense of it, but she is a brave woman and was told that this was her job.  We are proud of her, even though we, Canadians, basically had no more to do with it than the Americans did, or for that matter, than she did.  She’s just doing her (odd) job, and a good one at that.  We respect a job well done, however odd. 

We are a puzzled country.  Well, I shouldn’t say that.  Per capita, there are probably about as many know-it-alls here as there are anywhere else. 

Most people here, like anywhere else, and that’s including countries NOT descended ultimately from white power somewhere in England… most people here, as in the U.S. and as in Cambodia, Thailand and, as everywhere.... most people just want the possibility of living their lives in peace and raising their families and keeping up with the Joneses… the ones next door, not the ones on the other side of the world. 

It’s just my take on it, John Lennon said it:  PEACE.  I am sure most people want that, no matter what country they are in.  He wasn’t even Canadian… he was from the same country the Queen is from… that poor woman who stands there in the rain, day after day, accepting flowers from kiddies.

Thank you for the insights into what life is like in Canada.

After re-reading your post, and mine, I could not help notice there were no other comments or posts after mine. Being last is unsatisfactory, so I withdrew it, in hopes of opening up this thread for more debate. Now, if only my feel good medicine was handy…

To this American, we are not so different. You have a British Queen Mother to occasionally wince at, we suffer George, daily.

It appears America will get a new president, next year. It is a sad fact, he or she will be either a Democrat or a Republican, again. To me, it really doesn’t matter who gets elected, man or women, black or white, old or young, because the game is now forever beyond the voters. American politics have been co-opted by scoundrels, who routinely sell out to political action committees, lobbyists, and now to a coterie of select super delegates, who will ultimately make your choice for you.

The problem is compounded by the media. ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, MS-NBC, NBC, and countless other media outlets and voices, who fail to see most of the our domestic problems stem from an ineffectual Congress, irregardless of who claims to hold what perceived mandate, or party affiliation. It has become so transparent.

If America was run like a real business, instead of a bicameral bureaucracy, beneficial things might get done. In my lifetime, American politics have been co-opted to special interests, political action committees, and now to a thing called super delegates.

A vote means less then it ever has. I call it voter devaluation.

Green Fingered Skinner - 22 March 2008 11:56 AM

If America was run like a real business, instead of a bicameral bureaucracy, beneficial things might get done. In my lifetime, American politics have been co-opted to special interests, political action committees, and now to a thing called super delegates.

A vote means less then it ever has. I call it voter devaluation.

Heh. Don’t get me started on the Québec Referendum.

Political Power

The deeper problem I see is that people are trying to slow down the process by which freedom is destroyed, rather than reversing it.

If you haven’t gotten to vote on that piece yet, keep voting.  It will eventually be presented.  That’s how the site works now.

Hang on, don’t worry quite so much.  I think.  There is the internet.  Crazy, a source of piracy, pornography, and um.  Freedom.  Pretty hard to legislate or control.  Whups. 

For example I play a game called “Attack” on Facebook.  It is (I guess) a stolen version of the old board game “Risk”.  I am sorry for the makers of Risk, but I think it might, in the long run, be worth it, all this sharing.  And I’m speaking from the point of view of a bunch of musicians, where it used to be that (or still is that) copyright enfringement is a big deal.  Actually, they thought they could make money being minstrels.  HA!  Well, we’ll see.  My only point is that because of this crazy old internet, which They (and I don’t mean the musicians, I mean the politicians and friends) are now trying to legislate etc., there is a lot of freedom of, well, contact and information and friendship, right now. 

So I’m playing the Facebook pirated version of “Risk”, which is called “Attack”, and I’m talking to someone in Saudi Arabia.  We are playing Risk.  I kill Africa.  There’s a little “chat” window, so of course I chat.  “Why can’t we live in peace???” I say.  Ha ha.  Guess what almost everyone says.  Almost everyone says one of two things.  1) It’s a GAME.  Get OVER IT.  2) George Bush. 

I kid you not.  It’s my own private poll.  Most people say (2).  Everybody from every country that has internet access and plays a pirated version of Risk, at least, the ones I’ve talked to, would be quite happy to live in peace.  Even Americans!  So there’s my faith in humanity.  How could we do this without the pirated version of “Risk”?

Hackers, keep on hacking.  Hack for the good.

What?  Me worry?  I don’t worry.  I just write and do my best to get others to follow my lead.  If it weren’t for the pirated version of Risk, maybe Litmocracy would work?  :=)

Litmocracy works.  Properly.  In the bathtub. With its feet up.  And an earlier copy of itself.  Yo!