… so much going on in the world that we have no idea … think there is more than just this example in legislation? There is no longer any method of controlling Congress. Now, ask yourself: What shall we do?
What should we do? Citizens haven’t been players in the game of politics for quite some time… especially since the Citizens United vs. FEC in 2010 that allows corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts on political campaigns. If Congress wants to get back at Spain, that’s politics. They’re the boss, not us.
Or, as eatrly as 1976 Buckley vs Valeo.
SUPREME Traitors since inception.
… “How often does it occur that information provided you on morning radio or television, or in the morning newspaper, causes you to alter your plans for the day, or to take some action you would not otherwise have taken, or provides insight into some problem you are required to solve? For most of us, news of the weather will sometimes have consequences; for investors, news of the stock market; perhaps an occasional story about crime will do it, if by chance it occurred near where you live or involved someone you know. But most of our daily news is inert, consisting of information that gives us something to talk about but cannot lead to any meaningful action.
… “You may get a sense of what this means by asking yourself another series of questions: What steps do you plan to take to reduce the conflict in the Middle East? Or the rates of inflation, crime and unemployment? What are your plans for preserving the environment or reducing the risk of nuclear war? What do you plan to do about NATO, OPEC, the CIA, affirmative action, and the monstrous treatment of the Baha’is in Iran? I shall take the liberty of answering for you: You plan to do nothing about them. (my emphasis) You may, of course, cast a ballot for someone who claims to have some plans, as well as the power to act. But this you can do only once every two or four years by giving one hour of your time, hardly a satisfying means of expressing the broad range of opinions you hold. Voting, we might even say, is the next to last refuge of the politically impotent. The last refuge is, of course, giving your opinion to a pollster, who will get a version of it through a desiccated question, and then will submerge it in a Niagara of similar opinions, and convert them into—what else?—another piece of news. Thus, we have here a great loop of impotence: The news elicits from you a variety of opinions about which you can do nothing except to offer them as more news, about which you can do nothing.” — by Neil Postman from Amusing Ourselves to Death
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Yep, I remember this passage being posted before…personally I enjoy reading the news with my morning coffee as entertainment to see what shenanigans others are up to… the most I’ll do anything about anything is maybe make a comment or two. Like this one. 