So I’ve been reading some Noam Chomsky, which has led me to reflect on American prepaganda and its effectiveness, and how incredible it is that I still run into Americans who spout a bunch of garbage about how free they are at the slightest provocation.
Anyway, the following is a link to a Pennsylvania school’s website.
Do you think I should petition Mrs. Conder to add “Believe you are free” to the list? What could she use for a pictoral simulation of the breaking of this rule? Somebody weeping over the flag-covered coffin of her teenage son, perhaps?
(I know I’m just kind of barging in here and none of you know me, except those that do, but the other forum I go to won’t let me rant, and I’m really in the mood! Forgive me just making myself at home…)
fiddleron - you’re correct, I don’t know you, so not sure where you are coming from with your post.
But as the parent of two teens, I see absolutely nothing wrong with this site, or with the rules this teacher wants in her classes, as long as the school administration and school board back her up.
So - maybe I need a little more clarification from you?
It would not fit the tone of the list: every item starts
with “No…”, so your addition should start with “No…”
i.e., “No Believing you are Free”, and then an explainatory
caption, such as “You’re not. This is school. I am a dictator.”
Seriously, what does your gripe about false freedom have to
do with the rules at a vocational school? It just seems to
open the door for people to misread your question.
So, I’ll respond to it: no one is ever truly free.
You’re always a slave to food, and sleep, and eventual death.
So what’s wrong with Americans enjoying their sense of relative
freedom? I mean, a lot of Americans think they own their house,
too.
fiddleron asked three questions in the post:
“Do you think I should petition Mrs. Conder to add “Believe you are free” to the list?
What could she use for a pictoral simulation of the breaking of this rule? Somebody weeping over the flag-covered coffin of her teenage son, perhaps?”
I said I didn’t see anything wrong with the site, so needed more clarification before answering.
The OP didn’t ask a question about American’s thinking they are free - he made some statement to that fact, then somehow tied it into the website.
Again - I didn’t understand the direction of the post, so asked for clarification.
Hey, after Jack Gilder, Kerry is now being assimilated by the Chiff Board! Welcome to the collective, Kerry, and don’t forget that resistance is futile.
My wife comes from a country where they truely don’t have the freedoms that we have in America. Heck, they don’t have any freedoms at all. She would probably spout a lot more of what you refer to as garbage about the freedom she now has as an American than you’ve ever heard from any natural-born American.
Actually, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the website, I just thought it was hilarious.
As for Chomsky’s world view, I admire him as a very intelligent critic of media and government. My world view is my own, I read the occasional book, Chomsky included, to ensure that I’m informed.
But come on, is it reasonable that your child’s school should be able to dictate what type of panites (if any) they wear?
Azalin, Jack himself directed me over here to get all the politics out of my system. There’s a lot of it! So watch out!
The relevance of the website to my thoughts on propaganda is the observation that from childhood, people (not just American’s either) are rigorously trained to respect authority, follow the rules and stick to the status quo. Statements like “NO RUNNING! Except when in gym class, where running is mandatory!” sound downright Orwellian to me. Am I the only one?
I assume you have traffic lights in Montreal. When they’re red, it means “NO GOING THROUGH THIS LIGHT UNTIL IT TURNS GREEN.” Hopefully most drivers are rigorously trained to respect the light, follow the rule, and stick to the status quo.
Freedom doesn’t mean you’re free to do whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want, to whomever you want. And I don’t believe that’s too Orwellian.
