Hello Tracy,

>Pretty disenchanting for a country that prides itself on freedom of speech,
>isn't it?

Sure is. And at the same time, it seems simply quite 'human' -- from an anthropological viewpoint. That is to say, it is best to know what kind of animal we are and are dealing with. I don't think peoples with great concentrations of power/wealth are necessarily trying, in a deliberate way, to control & exploit (usually), but it just seems to work out that way.

Anthropologically, again, we're still just tribes people with a somewhat hardwired Paleolithic perspective. When we deal with people that are beyond our immediate circle of family and 'tribe' (about 30 or so individuals) we switch from relating as members of the same tribe (which we're pretty good at) to relating with our *ideas* of other peoples. IOW, "Us and Them" thinking. "Us" is always good, deserving, nobel, true, etc. "Them" is bad, parasitic, the cause of "our" problems and, at heart, just diabolical.

Therefore it's OK to organize things (if you have the power/wealth to succeed) in a way that serves "us" and harvests the energies of "them." "We" can even tell ourselves that this arrangement is good for "them". Developing a humane sense of relating to those outside the tribe is that slow developing attribute of the human personality called 'civilization'. :-)

>I guess hope springs eternal. When I was in the military, I would often see
>accurate (if somewhat slanted) reports on the news in the host country of
>events that had transpired where I was stationed, yet those same events never >even made it into the news in the U.S.

Cool. I hear that sort of thing from ex-military friends frequently. Its kinda ironic: as military personnel, you're trained to enforce and implement the viewpoint (w/violence if need be) of a few peoples, but often, provided you make it home, return with experiencial awareness of other viewpoints. Meanwhile, a lot of civilian hacks just 'Chatter' opinions about things with only a tabloid level of intelligence. OMG! That must include me!?! ;-)

Steven-

>
>Tracy
>
>>>At least we can keep our media and our governments on their toes...
>>
>>Hi Tracy,
>>
>> Here's something you might find interesting along those lines: http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com
>>
>>Steven-