Change The Way You Think Or “They” Win

You know what “they” say…

And who are “they”?

“They” are anyone with a brand. “They” are the marketers. The marketers who own the best technology are the “they” with the most weapons.  “They” use weapons against the common man. The motive is always the same – money thus power.

Over the last 100 years, our technological capabilities have accelerated at a historical rate. The first nuclear bomb was tested and used in 1945. We’ve only had the internet for 27 years.  The first smart phone came out in 1992. The iPhone came out in 2007, just ten years ago.

“They” were around since the beginning, a writer, a philosopher, a salesman, a preacher, a politician – all there to speak to their community to market some man or some brand. Once radio and television came out, the audience got bigger. “They” were the media. Radio “programing,” television programing, advertisers, actors and marketers all had the complete attention of the masses.

Big business jumped on this immediately. They advertised in newspapers, then on radio. The first television commercials came out in 1941 and the advertisers became the “they” with slogans and jingles and images of beauty and perfection.

Surveys became useful. It was the beginning of market research. “They” learned how to program the masses to manipulate the masses into mass consumerism. All for the same outcome – money thus power.

Politicians caught on quickly. The first campaign spot ad on television was in 1952, “Eisenhower Answers America” and from there, media and politics came together to manipulate the masses. Since big business was there first, big business then became an influence over both media and government – because big business holds the money, the thing that is coveted.

 

Innocent Americans came to fund greed. Receiving their programming, they started to believe that “Oil of Olay Can Make You Look Younger Too” and “Choosy Mothers Choose Jif.” Every radio program had commercials, every television program had commercials, and decades of research on community people, the common people in society – the consumers – proved to be highly successful.

For a small space in time everyone felt like they might get a piece of the American dream. But we feed greed and greed becomes bigger and more powerful, it seeps into every aspect of our lives and it doesn’t take long for innocent consumers to feel like they’re in a rat race within a dog eat dog kind of arena. Soon everyone desires to look young, to be the best parent, to be successful, to be the most popular – so we compete with each other over trivial goals. We love to appear to be the best even if we’re not.

The internet has made global communication possible. And the information age is upon us. Our habits are now easier than ever to study. Our personal information is announced through keystrokes and mouse clicks. We are vulnerable to those who would use information about us to take advantage of us for their own lust for wealth and power. Direct to consumer advertising is everywhere.

“They” know all about us. We are terribly predictable. And “we” don’t care as long as it doesn’t interrupt our comfortable lifestyle, and as long as our image isn’t being smeared.

In this way, we all agree to play the game. We love online shopping and almost a third of all human beings on the planet use Facebook. We agree to purchase $500+ phones every couple of years. We agree to work 40+ hours a week. We agree to do five jobs for the wage of one. Debt is normal. Greed is normal. Threat of nuclear war is starting to seem normal. Racism is starting to make a come back. Corruption seems normal. We’ve agreed to it and we’ve funded it.

Unless we change the way we think, “they” win.

“They” get all the money, our money, thus power, and we continue to be the debt slaves.

There is a way we can win. “We” can stop buying into it. We can pull together to have resources we need, and to share what we have in excess. We can leave an area of Earth in better shape than we found it in. We can help feed our communities and care for our resources. We can stop buying stuff we don’t need. We can stop worrying about what we look like. We can stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. We can stand up for ourselves.

The common people in the community are the ones who run everything. We grow the food, build the houses, pave the roads, serve as teachers, doctors, nurses, electricians, and storekeepers. The power lies with the workforce, not the big business sector, the media or the politicians. Big business could not run without employees and customers. Media would not work without an audience. Politicians can’t thrive without followers. Kings can’t rule without loyal subjects.

Don’t be a follower, don’t be a subordinate, don’t be an indentured servant, don’t be a loyal subject. Be a compassionate contributor to your community and stand up for what’s morally right no matter what it costs. This is real success.