The Precipitous Barbarisation of Our Times

Roberto Savio confronts an era of greed, fear and “populocracy.”

[consortiumnews.com]

{The attention span of people has declined dramatically. The majority of Internet users do not stay on an item more than 15 seconds. In the last five years, book volumes have been shortened by 29 pages. Today, articles longer than 650 words are not accepted by columnists’ services. The last meeting of editors of international news agencies decided to aim lower, at a 17-year-old instead of a 22-year-old.}

I know this all to well. Most people will not take time to read, or even skim through longer articles. Getting people to spend time to watch video news is essentially me beating my head against a brick wall. The evidence of this is saddening no matter how many times I bring it up. If the main page indicates it is a video it rarely gets a click and viewed by more than a handful of people. We want our information like fast food today. And we miss all the decent ingredients of information the same as we miss the good ingredients of nutritional food. Living by the eye catching title, dieing by the lack on real information under the title. And this is a means that MSM has taken advantage of. They know this and it helps to keep people trapped in their illusion and divided.

{The problem of barbarisation has major relevance for political participation. The Gutenberg generations were accustomed to dialogue and discussion. Today, 83 percent of Internet users (80 percent under the age of 21), do so only in the virtual world they carved out for themselves. People of Group A gather only with people of Group A. If they come across somebody from Group B, they insult each other. Politicians have been able to adjust rapidly to the system. The best example is Trump. All U.S. newspapers together have a circulation of 60 million copies (10 million those of quality, both conservative and progressive). Trump has 60 million followers who take his tweets as information. The do not buy newspapers, and if they watch TV it is Fox, which is Trump’s amplifier. No wonder that over 80 percent of Trump’s voters would vote for him again. And the media, which have lost the ability to offer analysis and cover processes, not just events, take the easy path. Let us follow famous people and make the famous more famous. Analytical journalism is disappearing.}

While he uses FOX as an example, I have on occasions explained how I hear the same thing on NPR. It goes on, on all broadcast news. They are merely today an open mic for who ever is speaking to spew the propaganda line towards the perception they are attempting to manage for the listeners. Opposing views and journalism from other sources will no longer be tolerated.

{Even Thomas Hobbes concluded that humankind will always, soon or later, find the right path, and give itself good governance. He thought that an elite would always be able to lead the masses.}

There are some good millionaires and billionaires out there. Some of them even ask government to tax them more. Some of them run employee owned companies with good pay and benefits. I'm always waiting for them and the many upper middle class small business community to unite and say enough. Each time the middle and lower class get screwed with tax breaks, the upper middle class and small business community does also. Yet they are always more likely to support the main enemy of ours, the republicans. Don't get me wrong, Obama screwed us well also! But they have a hand in this also with us. It will be them we need to help hold the country together when we finally all stand up and end the ruling class game.

{We even have a study from Spain according to which, in the present housing market, nearly 87 percent of people need 90 percent of their salary just to rent a house.}

Rick Sanchez covered this with Michele Greenstein that also lead into a discussion with Richard Wolff last night. Arguing we are already in the process of a recession, as they tackled the failing economy. Here in the US, 49.5% are spending more than 30% of their income on rent, 24.7% are spending over half of their income on rent. Listen to Michele break it down at the 10 minute mark [rt.com] You can't find the MSM, or Trump and the republicans! breaking down the truth this way.

Listen to Richard Wolff explain how, why, foreign investors are pulling out of the country which is helping to drive this recession. Say what you will about the Chinese, and other foreign investors, but when they buy a company here they often treat the workers better than the equity firms that do so, which then sell the properties out from under those companies. Which leaves the company paying high rent, then they resort to cutting wages, pensions, and health care to cut cost. Eventually ending in the company going under.