Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Ignorance is Bliss

How do you shift peoples' understanding of our economic and ecological realities without being marginalized by the elements that have the greatest interest in maintaining the status quo? How can we move away from a material obsessed culture of destruction and consumption to one more focused on sustainability and a more existential relationship with the existence idea? My short answer is that we can't. The industrialized world is so far gone down this road of acquire-consume-repeat that it would take an absolute catastrophe, and then probably an economic rather than environmental one, to make any real impact on the average, first world citizen.

People prefer ignorance. The evidence is everywhere through history. When a species can undertake a systematic genocide agenda on the level of what was attempted by the National Socialists in Germany with much of the country's citizenry feigning ignorance, the writing is on the wall. People prefer ignorance, because awareness generates a moral obligation to do something, and most people would prefer not to take on such responsibility. Their reasoning could be as simple as apathy, or laziness, or as destructive as collusion and self-interest. How many people do you know that refuse to vote? How many people do you know that complain about the descent of American culture, yet do nothing? Who benefits when citizens abandon their responsibilities and defer that power to others? The government and those who control it, obviously.

And who controls government? Most Americans would probably answer corporations, or special interest groups, or something similar and history seems to indicate that we would be correct in this perception. One of the most interesting segments in The Corporation details a plot by several of America's most powerful industrial figures, including officials at JP Morgan, DuPont, and Goodyear, to oust Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It came to be known as Wall Street's fascist conspiracy. The conspirators enlisted the help of retired Marine General Smedley D. Butler, one of the most decorated military men of his day. Unfortunately for them, Butler didn't like the idea of installing corporate-sponsored fascism in America, so he divulged the plot they had shared with him to the authorities, ultimately ending up in front of Congress. This isn't conspiracy theorist bullshit, this really happened. Of course, Roosevelt was not ousted, the plot was swept quietly into the annals of history, and a monumental moment in the American journey was put into the official record. Amazingly, the first lengthy discussion I ever heard of it came via a movie published over 70 years after the fact. I hadn't ever read about it in a history book or seen it detailed in a television special, though The History Channel did air a program about it in 2000, apparently. The BBC also broadcast a radio program detailing the results of an investigation they conducted in July 2007. The mp3 can be found here. They give a fair representation of what they found, including a tidbit about George W Bush's grandfather, Prescott Bush, and his involvement in the plot. Interesting stuff...

And I am sure it is a total coincidence that the corporate and governmental ancestors which spawned this conspiracy are still influential power players today. Total coincidence, nothing to be concerned about. Better to buy a latte, plug into your iPod and catch up on what Britney Spears has been up to. Ignorance is bliss, after all. In his fight against ignorance, General Smedley published a pamphlet titled "War is a Racket!", in which he asserts that war is conducted for the benefit of corporations and the wealthy. It is as difficult to argue against that rationale now as it was impossible to deny it then. The pamphlet can be read, or a pdf downloaded from, here. The controlling interests in government and business believe that the average American is too stupid, ignorant, or lazy to properly govern the nation's affairs, so they take it upon themselves to set a course they decree to be best for the country, regardless of the ramifications to society at large. They posit that there is no arguing with their pitiless, profit-obsessed logic and often times people do not even try.

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Posted by Erik @ 3/05/2008 11:08:00 AM