Our education and media institutions have failed us, and we have failed them in a way too. It is the onus of the public to be more involved and informed, but that is a difficult task when considering the monopoly that the corporatocracy has on society; privatized education, private media, all controlled by profits and not accountable to votes.
I feel let down by my education system for not teaching me true historical fact. I didn't learn about the important role of American corporations relationships' to Nazi Germany. I didn't learn about regime change in South and Central America or the Middle East. I was largely sold the story that history is about ideology and religion, not money and power. I realize that this isn't totally cut and dry and I am making a generalization, but for the most part, focus was indeed placed on ideology vs. ideology and not the driving motives behind them.
Money and power have used ideology and religion as the guise for all action, which has cast an ugly light on something that boils down very simply to personal spirituality and philosophy. Just take Usury as an example. Usury used to be frowned upon by God himself, or so many ancient texts tell us, but the special interest lobby had the wishes of God changed to fit their story, and old commandments were replaced with new ones that better fit those who were interested in maintaining the status quo.
There should never be a war over an idea. However, wars over physical and biological resources have largely been blamed on ideological and religious belief. This ideological and spiritual hijacking has bread fundamentalist belief, and created huge rifts of artificial separation between human beings. I'm sure that blind faith and fundamentalism, bread from mass delusion, has indeed led to tangible killing in the name of an idea, but that still doesn't make it truly accountable. If spirituality and ideological control, such as patriotism, communist, capitalist, or religious belief are wielded as methods of social control, then there are other reasons behind their use because ideas themselves are not designed for that purpose. Human spirituality and philosophy doesn't exist for controlling the mind, it exists to free the mind and body from space and time limitations.
Ideologies are collected and organized visions that should exist to spur on intellectual debate and broaden the horizons of human intelligence; they shouldn't seek to limit criticism and control thought. This is why my institutions have failed me: I hate to think about children who are continually asked to decide what they want to be when they grow up. Ideally, they should be allowed to develop and think and have the time to 'become' before they have to decide. If one decides first, then one has to subscribe to a very specific school of thought to achieve the goal which was decided upon before the thoughts had a chance to properly form. The process by which one becomes a professional essentially limits independent thinking and replaces it with preconceived notions of what one must know and do in order to properly fill that profession. This isn't exactly sound decision making. If my history classes taught me about the real reasons behind wars, or rampant environmental destruction, (profits) perhaps I would have made different, and better informed choices so far in my life. If the media had done its job to gather the truth and convey it in an honest and unbiased way, then perhaps war and fear of war would perish with misunderstanding based hatred. Ultimately, the culpability will lie with ourselves if we fail to take the action necessary to change our situation, and we have the power to do so.
Di Eagle and di Bear a keep a living in fear
Of the impending nuclear warfare
But as a matter of fact, believe it or not
Plenty people don't care whether it imminent or not
Or who di first one to attack or if the human race
Survive or not
For those whom is aware
Them life already coming like a nightmare
And you can see it everywhere
The famine and the fear
The doubt and the drought
Desperation and despair
And you can see it all around
The massacres abound
Dead bodies all around
The atrocities abound
Missing persons can' t be found
Dictators get dethroned
New clowns are quickly found
- Linton Kwesi Johnson
