#11

Toxic Sludge Is Good For You: Chapter 12

Democracy is defined as “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation.” I feel this definition is precisely my idea of democracy, and while it may appear that we have this in the U.S. we actually do not.
Yes, the people have the power to vote but there is so much control and influence over our thoughts that I wonder if it is really us voting anymore? The chapter opens with the quote “The twentieth century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: the growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy.”
This chapter discusses the idea of propaganda and from reading the definition it is clear that propaganda is a significant and invasive part of our everyday lives. If we are constantly bombarded with information specifically designed to alter our views and opinions how can we even distinguish which views are our own and which have been affected by propaganda.
The more troubling question is why is all this propaganda necessary? We must be skeptical of the fact that billions of dollars are spent on PR. If a corporation was to act in the interests of its consumers there would be no need to invest in such large amounts of PR. It scares me to consider what is actually going on behind the disguise designed by the PR professionals.
Immediately after defining propaganda the author discusses education. He writes that the purpose of education is to “encourage critical enquiry and to open minds to arguments for and against any particular conclusion, rather than close them to the possibility of any conclusion but one.” I believe education is the ONLY way to reach the true democracy we all dream of, a government in which all voices are heard and respected equally.

Observation Experiment:

For my observation experiment I went down to the waterfront and lay in the grass. I could feel the sun shining on my legs, breeze blowing through my hair and could hear laughter literally everywhere. I observed numerous children, pets, and parents’ enjoying the beautiful weather and the abundance of energy was everywhere.
Although it was not a quite space I found myself incredibly relaxed. As I lay in the sun I found myself dozing off numerous times simply smelling the grass and listening to the happiness around me. I ended up staying there for about an hour an a half, reluctant to head back to reality.
I watched a half hour of golf this morning. The commercials were long, and boring. I sat in my living room silently staring at the box in front of me. I could hear our fridge humming, a bum pushing bottles down the street and some people outside complaining. As I sat there I thought about my time down by the waterfront. Here in front of the television there is no true happiness. There is no laughter or interactions, there is no cool breeze through my hair and the warmth is coming from our obnoxiously loud space heater.
For me watching television is incredibly boring. My thoughts almost disappeared as I stared forward. When I was outside I had so much on my mind but here I literally can think of nothing else. I feel that people get stuck inside in front of the television. We forget how amazing it is to be outside and enjoying real life.