"CONTROL THE MEDIA, CONTROL THE MIND"
<a href=""http://www.melvindurai.com/control.htm" target=_blank>http://www.MelvinDurai.com/control.htm ">Web Column</a>
During my childhood in Zambia, I thought that the country's
first president, Kenneth Kaunda, commonly known as KK, was
one the greatest leaders in the world and the only thing
separating him from Lincoln, Churchill and Gandhi was a
safari suit. But how can you blame me? After all, the
government controlled the media, and negative stories about
KK were like fresh cheese -- you had to import them from
South Africa.
These days, the Zambian media has more freedom, thankfully,
and the current president doesn't have a halo over his head.
But in too many other countries, people get to hear only one
side of everything. It's kind of like being married to Rush
Limbaugh. (For 24 hours a day, all you hear is
Democrat-bashing. Even in his sleep, he goes, "Zzzz ...
liberals ... zzzz ... must be behind ... zzzz .... my
snoring.)
The worst perpetrator of media control is North Korea, a
country that makes Fidel Castro look like the patron saint
of journalism. The Internet is virtually banned there, while
radios and TVs are pre-set to government stations that heap
praise on the leader, Kim Jong Il, making people believe
he's the best thing to happen to the country since the
invention of noodles.
Never mind if there's an energy crisis -- that can be blamed
on the Americans. And what about the food shortage -- surely
those Japanese sumo wrestlers have something to do with it.
Removing the frequency jammer from a state-issued radio or
using a private radio to listen to foreign broadcasts is a
crime that could land you in a prison camp, doing hard
labor. So you'd better take it seriously when the host of
the morning show says, "We'll be right back. Don't touch
that dial." Otherwise, the only thing you'll be touching for
a while is a hoe.
This isn't just media control, it's a form of mind control.
And the repressive regime probably isn't satisfied.
Prisoner: "They caught me listening to BBC. What about you?"
Second prisoner: "They caught me thinking about listening to
BBC!"
First Prisoner: "How did they catch you?"
Second Prisoner: "I blame two things: the implant they put
in my brain and that big mouth at Radio Shack."
If you're wondering what North Korean radio sounds like,
just imagine what American radio would be like if it were
controlled by the Republican Party. Wait a minute, that
already happens. Okay, just imagine if there was no media
competition whatsoever, if everything we heard was
pro-government:
"Today, our great and wise leader, George W. Bush, continued
to spread democracy around the Middle East, persuading Crown
Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, friend of our great land,
to allow all his citizens to vote, giving them the
opportunity to choose the next 'Arab Idol.' It may be just a
singing competition, but as our great leader says, it will
prove once again that Arabs are capable of voting. We've
already witnessed the amazing success of Iraq, where our
great leader introduced democracy through peaceful
intervention. People all over Iraq are singing his praises,
wishing he could be their leader, too. We are so lucky to
have him. God has blessed our country with not one but two
George Bushes. And another Bush is in Florida, ready to
share his wisdom with us. We can't wait. Now here's a
message from our sponsor. Don't touch that dial!"
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(c) Copyright 2005 Melvin Durai. All Rights Reserved.
<a href=""http://melvindurai.com/" target=_blank>http://MelvinDurai.com ">MelvinDurai.com</a>
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