Submitted
via Email
by
Gaurav Malhotra.
Actually
we are not free at all.
Society
dictates our every move,
from the clothes we wear
to the
cars we drive; sure we have
the choice to choose but
in
reality that choice is what’s
actually allowable.
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The media dictates our tastes in
ways most of you would never
even
realize. Advertising is a control
method, not a sales method,
in a
sense that, the commercial you
are seeing is showing you what
is expected
in life, the product which is being
sold is showing you that this
is
what is correct. Look around and
try to be more observant,
clothes,
houses, cars, jewellery etc. are
nothing more than propaganda
of how you
should be living your life. For
example: take someone who
is oblivious
to the media and then take someone
who keeps up with it. Then
ask them
both the same “question?”
What
makes you happy? The
oblivious one say’s : A nice sunny
day, watching the colors on
the
tree’s turn in the fall, catching
a big old fish in the river,
watching
my kids play in the grass while
my wife and I just sit back
and
watch etc. The
media friendly one says: Gucci,
Rolex, A day at the spa, my Ford
Endeavour, etc…
Now
here is the part that will rock
your world: Why
has the media friendly one lost
all sense of true happiness and
has turned to materialistic things
to make them happy? Do
you know the answer? If not, I
will tell you, its because you
have been
programmed by the media to feel
that materialistic things are
more
important than human things which
in turn makes you so much easier
to control.
Ponder
on that a bit…
Just
My Thoughts.
If
we weren't free, then the one who
doesn't pay much attention to the
media wouldn't exist...We
all have a choice whether or not
to be slaves to what society expects
to be the "norm"....
Personally,
my happiness comes from relaxing
with my wife and pets after work,
intellectually stimulating conversation
(online or otherwise), and getting
together with family and friends
on the weekend.... While not a "material"
person, it would be nice not to
worry about bills. I
feel that only a state of pure nature
can give true freedom. Personally,
I would love for society to collapse.
The world would be better off without
modern society. I
dont think there can be complete
freedom if there is government because
government is controlled by people
and people are corruptable. There
has never been a totally un-corrupt
leader.
Accept
the fact that I am not sure if
that is called freedom. That
is called
"conditioning" in Psychology.
Example: Kids raise their hands
before they speak. At
what point in history was "man" (we
apish humans) not interesting in
improving our materialistic stature
as compared to others? This is
nothing
new... we're just more efficient
at communicating what cool stuff
is available on which to blow our
borrowed cash.
The
notion of freedom began in the west
with the onslaught of Christianity,
but even here, it was an inner freedom;
As we see Paul returning a a runaway
slave to his master, and in another
circumstance, telling a slave to
be content with his stature. And
before, in ancient Greek, the Greco
philosophical elite had no theme
revolving around freedom. Thomas
Hobbes, the 17th century philosopher,
gives us a more liberal definition:
"Freedom is the abscence of
restriction". It is not untill
the "age of enlightenment"
that we see freedom becoming a more
secular concern and a fundamental
aspect of modern day democracy.
Hence forth, we see a parry of philosophers
contesting freedom and it's dynamic
attributes to society and democracy.
So we will leave freedom to be defined
in it's more liberal format, "freedom
is the absence of restriction";
and, if this is true, then no freedom
exists at all, well, not in the
modern secular world.
The
materialist and the oblivious both
would not exist if it were not for
our freedom. You make your own choices.
Sure, its pretty hard when you're
indocrinated since childhood, but
obviously you can think and discern
for yourself. Nobody forced you
to watch that advertisment, and
nobody forced you to buy the product.
You chose. Similarly you can choose
not to buy the product. You can
choose to escape the materialistic,
and become a hermit in the woods,
hunt and gather your own food and
make your own clothes. Its up to
you. YOU are free but sadly you're
not the only inhabitant of this
planet and therefore have to tolerate
materialists who too make their
own choices.
"we
are not free at all" is an
obvious false statement and it
doesnt
take much to prove so.
Freedom
as described as "the absense
of restrictons" can exist
for one person or a small
group of persons
but can not exst for ll persons.
Freedom is the abillity to
do as you wish
so long as in doing so you do not
infringe on anyone else freedom.
This
is not about control or freedom.
Its all about money. These high
priced companies pay these celebs
and the media to promote their
product. The entire industry
is funded by
marketing. You don't make a rupee
off of producing these shows.
Its
the product placement and advertisements
that cause this. You are not
being
brainwashed they are just forcing
their products onto you and
you
are trying to meet the status quo.
Its your choice if you want
to meet
the standards of the general population
or if you want to break away
from
them. I myself have some particular
tastes and I do too enjoy some
of
the finer things in like. I would
like a nice car and wear some
nice
expensive clothes, but me wanting
these things has nothing to
do with
my freedom.
In
a society of one you can be
completely
free. The
minute someone else shows up, your
options are limited and you are
no longer free (they might want
that particular almond
nut that
you thought about eating.)
So
it's a tradeoff. Become a society
of one and you can be totally free.
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