uncivil

“War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent.” — GEORGE ORWEL_____ “Civil government, so far as it is instituted for the security of property, is in reality instituted for the defense of the rich against the poor, or of those who have some property against those who have none at all.” ― Adam Smith _____ "They don’t want us to feel safe. They don’t want us to be safe."_________ ___ let me preface this by saying we have a right to be who we are in so far as that being does not interfere with, or terminate, another's right to be...clearly a much easier to propose than to put into effect and there are, i think, readily discernable reasons why this is so...the last statement above is from an op-ed piece in today's new york times...in response to the shootings at clob q in colorado...and i agree that there are elements in this society that do not want the lgbtq community to be safe, or feel secure...they want them nervous and marginalized and afraid to speak out...all true...it is also far too specific...they...and by they i mean the hegemonic culture...the wealthy elite who are actually in control, as far as anyone can be, of events and direction...they want us all nervous and marginalized and afraid to speak out...they don't want us "comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too inteeligent."...they want us balkanized..divided and at one another's throats...the more bitterly violent the better...and why so? "security of property" ( and its fungible counterpart, power )"defense of the rich against the poor"..."those who have some property against those whao have none at all"...if we are utterly divided by pro life/choice/straight/gay/black/white/coke/pepsi/ford/chevy/budlite/millerlite/second amendment/gun control...we will never stop to ask why, exactly, it is those who are in control should be...one suspects that they would equate wealth with intelligence and hence say merit...i would be inclined to equate wealth with greed and capacity to do whatever is necessary to retain wealth ( see smith ) and its fungible counterpart, power...there is a civil war going on here and it is ourselves who are inflicting it on ourselves at the behest of the 1% ...wealth is self-absorbed, profoundly arrogant, and willing to kill in its own defense...or use someone else to do it for them

information? manipulation? profit.

“In opulent and commercial societies, besides, to think or to reason comes to be, like every other employment, a particular business, which is carried on by very few people, who furnish the public with all the thought and reason possessed by the vast multitudes of that labour. Let any ordinary person make a fair review of all the knowledge which he possesses concerning any subject that does not fall within the limits of his particular occupation, and he will find that almost everything he knows has been acquired second hand. From books…a very small part of it only, he will find, has been the produce of his own observations or reflection. All the rest has been purchased, in the same manner as his shoes or his stockings, from those whose business it is to make up and prepare for the market that particular species of goods. It is in this manner that he has acquired his general ideas concerning the great subjects of religion, morals, and government, concerning his own happiness or that of his country.”-Adam Smith from a 1767 draft of The Wealth of Nations.______________________________________________________________________few- not many, hardly any, a small number___employment-business, paid work, an activity in which a person is engaged, a person's trade, profession, or occupation.___business- commercial transactions or engagements, total bookings or receipts.___prepare- make ready, assemble.___species- a class of things having some common qualities or characteristics.___goods- saleable commodities, mechandise, wares.___market- the action or business of buying and selling, a commercial transaction.___purchased- aquired by payment. ( all definitions from the "shorter [only 500,000 definitions] oxford english dictionary" )______________________________so then a relatively few individuals ( campared to the general population ) make it a commercial enterprise in pursuit of profit to assemble information ( the editor is not about style ) of a specific nature/slant/ viewpoint which becomes the commodity they in they vend in the "marketplace of ideas" to a specific audience ( we all have our commodity preferences...why not information...even if it eludes the facts ) which we then "purchase", probably both monetarialy and philosophiocally...if you can call media philosophical...i have my doubts...certain lack of ethics as with all capital...mid-eighteenth century media criticism via the scottish enlightenment...as a side note, the "invisible hand" does not appear in " the wealth of nations"...the "invisible hand" is the invisible hand of jupiter and its impact on the solar system that crops up in a book on astronomy adam smith wrote in the mid 1750s...if economists admitted they hadn't read it it would be amore honest world...then again economists lie every bit as much as politicians do...theologians of greed that they are...everything old is new again.