It seems from reading the Q%26amp;A on here and watching American movies that Americans really think the government is bent on enslaving the general populace, Is this the paranoia of a small section of society? Or is it prevalent amongst the general population? And if so, to what end does the government want to destroy people's freedom and enslave them?Does the average American really think the government is out to get them?The average American also honestly believes that Freedom, Democracy, Apple Pie and Chevy are key American Concepts.
At my house you will not find a bomb shelter, a collection of assault rifles or aluminum foil hats.
What will you find?
A collection of books and texts written by the very men who set up the various systems of government and their propaganda (Public Relations) networks over 3000 years that explain how the people are controlled, why they should be controlled and what happens if they are not.
However, the government is NOT out to get us.
WE get ourselves just fine by our psychological and sociological weaknesses.
Sigmund Frued was the greatest thing to ever happen to Authoritarianism.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dA89CBBO鈥?/a>
Edward Bernays was one such individual who helped set up our propaganda arm of the government (now termed "Public Relations")
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bern鈥?/a>
"THE conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.
We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society.
Our invisible governors are, in many cases, unaware of the identity of their fellow members in the inner cabinet.
They govern us by their qualities of natural leadership, their ability to supply needed ideas and by their key position in the social structure. Whatever attitude one chooses to take toward this condition, it remains a fact that in almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons鈥攁 trifling fraction of our hundred and twenty million鈥攚ho understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind, who harness old social forces and contrive new ways to bind and guide the world.
It is not usually realized how necessary these invisible governors are to the orderly functioning of our group life. In theory, every citizen may vote for whom he pleases. Our Constitution does not envisage political parties as part of the mechanism of government, and its framers seem not to have pictured to themselves the existence in our national politics of anything like the modern political machine. But the American voters soon found that without organization and direction their individual votes, cast, perhaps, for dozens or hundreds of candidates, would produce nothing but confusion. Invisible government, in the shape of rudimentary political parties, arose almost overnight. Ever since then we have agreed, for the sake of simplicity and practicality, that party machines should narrow down the field of choice to two candidates, or at most three or four.
In theory, every citizen makes up his mind on public questions and matters of private conduct. In practice, if all men had to study for themselves the abstruse economic, political, and ethical data involved in every question, they would find it impossible to come to a conclusion about anything. We have voluntarily agreed to let an invisible government sift the data and high-spot the outstanding issues so that our field of choice shall be narrowed to practical proportions. From our leaders and the media they use to reach the public, we accept the evidence and the demarcation of issues bearing upon public questions; from some ethical teacher, be it a minister, a favorite essayist, or merely prevailing opinion, we accept a standardized code of social conduct to which we conform most of the time."
-Edward Bernays, "Propaganda"
http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/鈥?/a>Does the average American really think the government is out to get them?
I don't.Does the average American really think the government is out to get them?Near as I can tell, No.
Cheers!
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Of course not!
I personally just believe that in a free country, the government should be limited. The individual should be able to control their own destiny. A government takes that away. Besides, the government (whether Democratic or Republican operated) has never been able to run anything efficiently or effectively.
That is just one's man opinion, but i have a political philosophy that I learned in the second grade:
Keep It Simple, Stupid!Does the average American really think the government is out to get them?No, the average American doesn't think that. Only retarded Americans think that. Incidentally, America has a very large retarded population.Does the average American really think the government is out to get them?
nope. only conservatives, and only when the other guys in charge.
The survey found that just 22 percent of those questioned say they can trust Washington almost always or most of the time and just 19 percent say they are basically content with it. Nearly half say the government negatively effects their daily lives, a sentiment that's grown over the past dozen years
The national survey of 1,010 adults also found that anger against the federal government is at record levels, with 54 percent saying they "personally are more angry" at the government than they used to be.
Thirty-six percent of respondents overall said it is "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that federal officials either participated in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or took no action to stop them "because they wanted the United States to go to war in the Middle East."
But the new survey found that 77 percent say their friends and acquaintances have become angrier with government recently and 54 percent say they, themselves, have become angrier _ both record levels.Does the average American really think the government is out to get them?
From the way people tend to talk, you would think so. But I think ti's just emotional rhetoric, for the most part. Especially from the right. I think they have a "sore-loser" mentality and are just acting irrational . . . I mean, they have lost HUGE the last two election cycles. They control no house of Congress. It's understandable for them to be upset - just not so hysterical all the time. I mean, have you seen the amount of conspiracy theories on the right, now? Geez.
I have to hope it's just a temporary insanity that will pass in November when they gain a few seats back.
Because Fox TV and AM radio have them so brainwashed they actually believe our OWN GOVERNMENT, the Government BY THE PEOPLE, run by officials elected BY THE PEOPLE (that's US you mindless dolts) is some foreign, occupying force.
No, only the simple minded that fox brainwashed.
I wouldn't say it's all americans , Fizzy, ... but there's certainly a few....
and i am often perplexed by it.. because it's not how many people at all think in my nation.. we're the ones that have the politicians by the short and curlies NOT the other way around..
we vote 'em in, vote 'em out and treat them all with a little irreverence and disrespect.. laugh at the lot of them and often scorn them..... but thinking they are out to get me ? NAH...
LOL just a thought I had... maybe those who think their government is out to get them are doing something that would warrant being got ??
I think YoJimbo's numbers didn't lie.
And I also think there are plenty of reasons for this discontent.
And not all based on Fiscal matters.
Most of america is getting older and watching all the ideals that they held close to their patriotic hearts ripped away and having the liberal agenda thrust down their throats (no pun intended)!
Nearly all really successful businesses have some kind of monopoly. From owning most of the land, to patents, and of course explicit government favoritism like no bid government contracts. All of these inevitably restrict the freedom of the average citizen. When most of the countries' production is like this, it is very difficult to set up a business and produce things independently. And when people cannot produce things independently, they are dependent on the big corporations.
You may have noticed that the USA is a lot like this, and in cases where such monopolies are not apparent, such as Wal-Mart, you find that, beneath the surface, they have been receiving huge tax breaks and corporate welfare. The USA government has destroyed freedom. They have done it on behalf of big businesses so they can make more money and they have done it because the politicians have either been bribed or they themselves own shares in these businesses.
in the area where i live, the answer would be a resounding "HELL YES!"
nationally, though, i don't think so.
Yes, there are many millions of Americans who feel that way. They don't all agree on how exactly the government is going about doing that so the unintelligent observer may get the sense it is just a political debate and not an alienation.
The government is not an individual but a group of millions of individuals. Those who are at the top do view us as possessions for use in their pet projects like wars, Tuskegee syphilis experiments, radiation exposure from nuclear bombs, bank bailouts, and mind/control brainwashing programs like the 9/11 Commission. We the people have paid for all these things and those who couldn't pay or refused have been murdered or thrown in prison.
BASED ON MOST OF THESE ANSWERS I HAVE TO WONDER IF AMERICA IS TRULY BECOMING AN IDIOCRACY. You guys are really dumb, I am sorry, but it's true. All you people who blame FOX for discontent need to wake up, discontent is founded and there are plenty of independants and people on the left who agree. Don't tell me the Soviets massive program to convert Americans to the left has succeeded in brainwashing you all!
Well the truth is the government is out to get us --- Nothing personal --- they just want us doing more for less and more accepting of getting less for the things we have to pay more for
Here is a guy I found some time ago -- from Scotland "Deek Jackson" ( Deek is short for Derek in case you did not know)
He has had a funny show called the Fkn newz for a while --- he recently formed the landless peasant party and ran against Gordon Brown in his own riding
Jackson 57 votes
Brown 30,000 votes
But that is not the point ---- the government is out to get you and here is roughly how they have been doing it for thousands of years
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ0ELaED_鈥?/a>
http://www.youtube.com/user/fknnewz#p/u/鈥?/a>
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