These things are bullshit.

So I watched a little video the other day called "Zeitgeist"; many of you have probably heard of it or seen it. If you haven't, stop reading right now and download it. It's 2 hours that's far better spent watching it than some "let's make ourselves look like idiots for money" reality show or Scary Movie XII or whatever the fuck they're on now (read books instead; you might find yourself getting smarter).

I must say that while I don't agree with everything in the movie, it is great food for thought and certainly generates a stronger reaction than any other media I have seen in quite a while. I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist, but what is said about 9/11 is more than plausible and frankly wouldn't surprise me in the least. I found the religion section quite amusing, mainly because they stretch believability pretty far to make their point. I think religion is unnecessary in the modern world anyway, but I don't think the history of theistic beliefs is nearly as cut and dry as they make it out to be. But whatever, I can't change the beliefs of billions of people with my words, so let's move on.

The most incendiary section is the one on private capitalist interests and how they drive the government and especially foreign policy. Now, to any educated person, this is not news; we know the government has ceased to be a true "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" democracy for over a century, maybe more. But it really pissed me off to hear quotes and eye-witness accounts of powerful people throughout history exploiting those below them for one thing: $$$. The program makes a powerful point about the Federal Reserve Bank and the way our politics is filtered through a profit-maximizing directive. Again, I don't know if there's really an evil Axis of Bankers with a worldwide conspiracy on their hands (I don't think groups of people are capable of being that smart; I always say an individual's IQ should be divided by the number of people in that group), but a lot of it makes emotional, intuitive sense, if not logical sense. And if I wasn't filing an income tax return before, and I wasn't, I'm sure as hell not filing one now.

But the best is yet to come! My favorite part was the one on the media. I hate the media for the most part; they degrade our culture (or what's left of it) and keep America on the bottom rung intellectually. I do believe the media is influenced by the government, which is in turn influenced by corporations, ergo: we are shown what the money-makers want us to see, nothing more. You have to make an effort to seek out alternative and underground sources of information, as they are the only reliable ones in this world. 90% of TV is bullshit. Most mainstream Hollywood movies are bullshit. The majority of the NY Times bestseller list is bullshit. What is left of talk/news radio is bullshit (save NPR/Democracy Now). They don't call them muckrakers for nothing (yes, I know the true definition is different; it's called a pun). My point is to be a skeptic and find your own answers; Americans have a bad habit of being lazy and accepting whatever is easiest to hear.

Fact: the truth is not easy, it is usually the hardest thing in the world to take.