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Television as a form of mental conditioning
Published on Monday, June 29, 2009 by KarlListening to Peter Joseph’s webcast this week. I really wanted to talk a little bit about the role of TV as a mental conditioning tool in today’s society.
Human beings (and more specifically one’s personality) is/are a summation of all your sensory input. On a basic level, your ‘free will’ is only as free as the opportunities presented to you, or as your current level of knowledge will permit.
Television, for the most part – in it’s current form is used to distort your value system. Its used to perpetuate inferiority, and amongst many other things, and more importantly – consumerism. Whatever you may believe about your desire to possess ’shiny things’ such as new shoes, designer sunglasses, fancy mobile phones, etc; this is a conditioned reaction to the sensory input pelted at you from television, bill boards, magazines, and the like. This then has a knock on effect, as people are also conditioned to ostracize others who do not ‘fit’, or desire the same things. Breeding a mass inferiority complex that encourages cyclical consumption and ultimately – a severe waste of the Earth’s resources.
The profit system falls apart if people are not buying. Therefore in every line of manufacturing there is an element of what Peter Joseph so adequately puts as ‘Planned Obsolescence’. This means that (as an example) cars are built with sub-optimal parts, so that they eventually break down and need repair – or in the most extreme cases – need scrapping. This results in a continual profit generation for the corporations, and therefore keeps the system afloat. This is known as ‘Cyclical Consumption’.
Imagine if you will, a world where technology was put together from the highest quality resources. There is no reason why your microwave, oven, or any other appliance cannot last for 150+ years. Next time you feel the desire to buy something, ask yourself how much you actually need it. Ask yourself ‘where does my desire to buy this handbag stem from?’, ‘Do I actually need another handbag?’. A more important question to ask yourself is this: ‘Does this purchase ultimately represent a waste of our planet’s resources?’
Consumerism is a sickness. Not just to the human mind, but to our beloved planet, and all life inhabiting it. Combat it today by filtering your sensory input, mute the adverts, ignore the billboards, question everything you read in the paper, ask yourself ‘who benefits from this?’ – in most cases you will find that it is most definitely not you.
Thats my thought for the day.
Karlo
Tags: 
Simple (but ignored by many,until recently,i hope),excellent(if i may comment,sirs).
“Consumerism is a sickness.” is a great summary.
Each piece of money you give away is a little bit of your dignity you’re handing over to a company that wants nothing but to bleed everything out of your soul.
The human race has lived so long without TV and money,we could too. The irony of it all is we despise the police state we live in yet nobody would survive in an anarchist state.
i disagree.
i watch tv (kinda, dont actually own a tv just watch online sometimes) and i dont buy anything except food and petrol really (unless someone convinces me itll make my bass sound better)
anyway if you didnt buy stuff then youre stopping someone else getting paid. alright, ye, faceless corperations tend to be a-moral money making machines but you saying I shouldnt buy say some apples (sportscandy) from a local grocery?
captialism is not perfect. in essence money should be (but actually isn’t to to several things that only exist due to money) a token that represents how much you have contributed to society. ie, you do a days work, you earn some money, you buy some food (then baker gets money from that days work and so on). i know thats only an idealistic version of captialism and its nothing like that but have you got a better idea?
Grow your own apples.
what shall i do in the 7 years it takes for the tree to be mature enough to actually grow apples?
…i could make some clay bowls i suppose and swap them with my friend who has an apple tree for apples.
and then if i needed other things i could trade good and services, and so we can keep track we could have some special sort of token to see just how much goods and services i have sold/performed…
BMS! (bless my soul, new internet slang, pass it on) MONIES!
Pick wild apples.
Swapping and trading is a way of life. Being taxed of your own soul is not. Every 5 you spend,they make 10.
every 5 of the queen’s english punds i spend, they (im assuming the government), make 65p (VAT currently being at 15% not 200%). that goes towards shit like hospitals and schools (and the war machine but y’know)
Yes because all public information is 100% and is not fabricated in any way what so ever!
and you mean the same hospital system that treats the rich better than the poor? The same school system that makes you pay more for better education? And don’t get me started on the “war” machine.
so your arguement is based on stuff you don’t know?
health care worse for the poor? av been to the doctors loads of times, especially recently, they’ve always treated me fine and not asked how much dosh i got.
Because you’re not poor. You’re a middle class white boy.
You pay private and you get good care, NHS and you’re fucked. “you’ve got aids….antibiotics”
nah man, i went to a standard nhs doctors. i have no health insurance or anything.
I wasn’t saying you personally went private,just going private in general.
I would like to respond to Liam’s argument:
I wasn’t in the slightest implying that you shouldn’t buy necessities. Apples represent neither a waste of resources, nor cyclical consumption simply because they are a necessity. I think you may have missed my point somewhat.
I would like to combat your second point by stating that a large percentage of the jobs available in society today actually offer little of no benefit to society at all. They are simply there to serve the monetary system, and its profit driven mentality. An accountant, or banker makes absolutely no contribution to society. Their jobs simply maintain capitalism.
Remember that all trade and barter is born out of scarcity. If I have an abundance of apples and my neighbor has an abundance of potatoes. It means that there is scarcity on either side. It is technically possible now for us to eliminate scarcity with very little need to for human labour, negating the need to for trade.
And therein, the human would be freed from monotonous work that does little more than hold up the system and waste resources. The only token they would require for ‘actually’ working in the interest of society (if they should choose to) would be that ones work actually would benefit society as a whole.
Also your assumption about tax is incorrect, tax exists because the bank of england loans money into existence. The loan has to be paid back in the most part by direct taxation of the people.
now thats a well constructed argument.
I don’t think you need another handbag
Late to the table, but here you go…
I am gross and perverted,
I’m obsessed n deranged
I have existed for years,
But very little has changed
I am the tool of the government
And industry too
I am destined to rule
And regulate you
I may be vile and pernicious
But you can’t look away
I make you think I’m delicious
With the stuff that I say
I am the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I am the slime oozin’ out
From your tv set
You will obey me while I lead you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don’t need you
Don’t got for help…no one will heed you
Your mind is totally controlled
It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told
Until the rights to you are sold
Thats right, folks..
Dont touch that dial
Well, I am the slime from your video
Oozin’ along on your living room floor
I am the slime from your video
Can’t stop the slime, people, lookit me go
(”I’m The Slime” by Frank Zappa)
But I think a new handbag might make y’all feel less like arguing. I am having a garage sale, and selling approximately 50 handbags. Gross over-consumerism? YES!! Do I give a fuck about it? NO!! I haven’t got time, what with all this buying and selling of handbags
))
On a more serious note, our society is what it is… what it has become may not be ideal, but there are always two sides. I always find a positive outlook is more empowering for me than bitterly carrying on about what we haven’t got, and what other people do that we don’t like or agree with. I notice both sides of the “argument” are using the internet. You’re not sitting under an apple trees sending carrier pigeons to each other. There are some great and wonderful products and services out there, which we could be grateful for. The internet is one of them. The big corps are not out for our souls, that’s silly. They’re out to make money, which is an entirely different kettle of fish. You can start your own any time you like, or not, as you prefer. Which is another thing I am grateful for, the freedom to do whatever the fuck we want in this world
)