Propaganda vs Real Life in America
Uploaded by WWu777 on Jun 27, 2005
Propaganda vs. Real Life in America
By Winston Wu (WWu777@aol.com)
As we all know, the media propaganda in America is that our country is a land of freedom and opportunity where anyone can be what they want to be, live their dreams, be the best they can be, become rich and successful, and live the American dream of owning a home. This idea is incessantly conveyed by our culture, media, education system, and political establishment. It is a necessary illusion to keep everyone functioning in their place. And we are constantly fed success stories of individuals who thrive here.
However, despite the ideals of this image, here's the big picture about how things work in America and how people live. The reality is that in America, only a few people truly live the American dream. Those at the top who control the flow of economic resources and production capital (in socialist philosophy terms, they are referred to as the “haute bourgeoisie” class) are also the ones who get most of the resource flow even though they don't need it. And it's not just with the CEO's. The top sports players and top Hollywood stars in this country who get 20 million dollars per film or per season are easily getting extraordinary amounts of money that they don't even need. That's how things have always worked, especially in a capitalist country. Karl Marx’s prediction that capitalism would fail might have came true if a middle class hadn't been created in this country to act as a buffer zone between the high and low classes, giving the low class an incentive to move up to something higher so that they won't overthrow those in power. (Some intellectual historians have even argued that colleges and universities were created to create a middle class. e.g. Zinn, Chomsky)
In reality, the majority of people in this country live in slavery to their jobs just so they can keep up with never-ending bills and make ends meet. They never live the American dream. And the myth of “individual freedom” for all in America is just that, a myth, perpetuated to appease and motivate the masses of people, making each person feel important. Most people in America work at least 8 hours a day at a full time job, and what little time is...