Not surprisingly, the rules are drafted to ensure the powerful stay powerful, and the rich stay rich. Those who have no real power are duped into believing they share the power vicariously, so they may feel empowered by actions taken by their government, just as they vicariously feel the thrill of victory when a professional sports team in which they have no ownership interest or control wins a ball game.
The power elite control the media, the courts, the legislatures, the politicians, the soldiers, the police, the cruise missiles, the long range bombers, the fighter jets, and the ships of war. They also control the MINDS of the masses, who have been convinced the use of force is legitimate only when perpetrated by government agencies. Our television sets tell us it is “cowardly” when an individual takes matters into his own hands, but “brave” when cruise missile attacks are ordered by a sheltered and protected member of the power elite. For the most part, the general public unthinkingly agrees.
Since the general public has SURRENDERED its power to authorities, its rage remains bottled, eager for a vicarious outlet. Lacking the nerve to act on their own, individuals cheer televised images of foreign homes smashed by bombs, and obtain a vicarious thrill hearing their cowardly leaders talk tough. The weak are crushed, the powerful are enriched, and the masses in “victorious” countries celebrate and applaud as if the victory were their own. But when lone individuals, or a small group of relatively powerless individuals empower themselves, the powerless masses are horrified.
The coward ....
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