TRUTH—AN ENDANGERED SPECIES, MORE

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During the halcyon days of the Third Reich, the Nazi propaganda machine was very successful because it operated efficiently under the dictum, "If you tell the people the same thing loud enough and often enough, they will believe it." (Paraphrase of a quote attributed to either Joseph Goebbels or Adolph Hitler.) The "People's Observer" was the official daily newspaper of the NSDAP (The National Socialist German Workers' Party cum Nazi Party). The lies perpetrated by the Nazis resonated with a large part of the population because substantially they reinforced what the majority of the citizens wanted to believe. This propaganda machine was still moderately successful even as large parts of Germany were being reduced to rubble near the end of WWII. "Pravda" (Russian for “Truth”) a newspaper published in Moscow and distributed nationwide as the official organ of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union served very much the same function in the USSR as did the "People's Observer" in Nazi Germany. Both fed the people ONLY WHAT THEIR GOVERNMENTS WANTED THEM TO BELIEVE—much of that information founded on lies—WHILE AT THE SAME TIME RUTHLESSLY SILENCING OPPOSING VOICES. Sound familiar?

Nazi Germany's demise occurred only after its more democratic neighbors found themselves faced with annihilation and their governments with the support of the citizens—who experienced great personal sacrifice and many the heartache of the loss of loved ones—joined together to defeat the Axis powers. The Russian people and their satellite neighbors, who for decades suffered similar deprivation and loss of freedoms under the direction of the Communist Party leadership, finally rose up and dismantled the USSR. These victories were possible only because millions of citizens, like ourselves, were willing to sacrifice their time, money, effort, and in extreme instances their lives to make these victories possible.

We citizens of the United States of America are hourly bombarded by propaganda not at all dissimilar to that promulgated by the "People's Observer" and "Pravda". Our analogs to these newspapers are the major TV networks such as FOX, CNN, ABC, NBC, ABC, CBS and print sources such as the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and even multi-source outlets like PBS—which is really scary—and this is only a short list of the media organs whose content is originated and controlled by the wealthy and powerful who daily become more wealthy and powerful at the expense of the many. They are the new American Oligarchy. (Be aware that it was an oligarchy that eventually destroyed the Roman Empire.)

On the bright side, evidence that we the people have had enough of rule by the few is everywhere. Demonstrations against assaults on our health, safety, shelter, violations of our privacy, destruction of our environment and so forth, by Big Ag (Monsanto), Big Pharm, Banks-too-big-to-fail, Big Oil, the President, Congress, (and this is only a short list) fueled by dissatisfaction (and possibly fear) have increased in number. Many free and so far uncensored dissident voices speak out against these abuses of power through Blogs. Petitions giving citizens the opportunity to express their concerns and to become involved circulate on the Internet also. And there have been victories as a result of these voices and opportunities, many of which have unfortunately gone unreported by the oligarchy controlled media that constantly seeks to assure us that everything is GREAT the way it is.