Every day there's a new story about the perils of Brexit now that it is here. Today's concerns the British car industry:
"British Auto Industry Risks Slow Decline After Brexit - Lacking a strong domestic battery industry, Britain may be left behind by the shift to electric cars.": nyti.ms/3t5QZbu
Then there was that story about the marginalization of Britain when Scotland and Northern Ireland secede, which you know is going to happen, they don't want to sacrifice the benefits of being part of the EU, which are gargantuan, never mind the touring industry being hobbled by the lack of consideration in the ultimate deal, Boris leaving musicians high and dry, needing papers to travel outside the U.K.'s borders.
"Brexit and COVID have slammed the not-so-United Kingdome. Its survival may be in danger": lat.ms/39shekt
How did this happen?
First and foremost, there are no longer authorized sites of truth. Oh, sites of truth still exist, but they're dwarfed by alternatives with an agenda, oftentimes promoted by the politicians/stakeholders themselves. Everything in the world is cult of personality today, so if you believe in the act/performer/politician, they can do no wrong. Say something negative about Taylor Swift at your peril, never mind Donald Trump, the haters will come out in force. Furthermore, there's a concomitant denigration of all alternatives. To cultists life is a zero sum game. If they succeed, you can't, and they need to succeed, they will succeed at all costs.
And institutions are unprepared for this.
Used to be we not only counted on publications to inform the populace, but to set the course of conversation, to impact policy. Now you can write all you want in the "New York Times" or the "Washington Post," but the effect will be minimal, it's just another voice in a sea of voices. Used to be the hoi polloi could relax, put politics and business on the back burner, because they believed their elected officials were competent and they would be kept in line by the media. That is no longer the case. If anything, politicians and the media are now beholden to the wiles of the web. As for the newspapers...they see themselves as separate to their detriment. They're so busy being fair and balanced that they have no agenda and have little effect, other than Rupert Murdoch's properties. You can rail all you want about Fox News, but you cannot deny it changed our political landscape, our country. And Murdoch bought the "Wall Street Journal," giving the right its authoritative news source, such that all other voices don't need to be heard, you can live in the right wing bubble.
Now on television we've got MSNBC on the left, but it started too late, and the agenda is different. MSNBC is about pointing out flaws, Fox News is a cry to action, it's an indoctrination, it's a cult, it's us versus them, and being a member of the tribe is more important than seemingly everything else in life.
Meanwhile, the left continues to be disorganized, continues to fear not only the right, but its own constituents.
So why are so many ignorant?
Because they were left behind by advancements, globalization. They do not have the education to be retrained in technology to any productive level, they used to work with their hands and made a good living and they can't balance the realities of life. They want all products made in their home country, not knowing that irrelevant of available resources, the end result is that products will jump in price, are they ready to pay $2500 for a flat screen? NO WAY! They want it all, and they don't want to pay for it. Like the concertgoer who believes they're entitled to sit in the front row at face value for every show. The demand drives the price up and still demand outstrips supply, there are only so many front row seats, but they feel entitled to one! Two!
So you get left behind economically. One thing's for sure, you don't want any of your cash spent helping others, you're already crippled enough. Taxes must be lower, welfare must be diminished, they're sick and tired of paying for it. Forget the fact that these people may pay little or no income tax, forget the fact that blue states might overpay so red states can have more government programs, that's too wonky, it doesn't feel right, in today's world feelings are everything! That is why the left is so hamstrung, it's afraid of hurting anybody's feelings! Meanwhile, the right has banded together to prevent the left from...ruining the country? The left has been labeled socialist, and in a world where everything can be contained in a slogan, it's easy to rally the troops if you create one. Your agenda must be short and comprehensible. So, we know what the right stands for...the left? We're still arguing about it!
But now that there are so many ignorant, uninformed people out there, there's this canard that they must be played to, they must be satiated. Which is like listening to the passenger tell you there's no chance of hitting the iceberg. Expertise is demoted, because it might hurt someone's feelings, no matter the cost. The tail is wagging the dog!
And truth is fungible, facts blew away in the wind. Everything's a sport, you either win or you lose, and just like the Astros and the Patriots cheat to win, everybody believes this is fine in other aspects of their life. Meanwhile, Robert Kraft gets caught red-handed, and gets away with it.
That's another way to rile up the troops, speak of inequities, income inequality, even though your professed policies may hurt them more...they don't care, if they're even aware, they're willing to take one for the team!
Meanwhile, institutions continue to play by the old rules until they're disrupted, as if it's a surprise the masses won't be coming after them eventually. Then again, everybody lives in a bubble, no one can truly comprehend the world, so usually you don't see it coming, like the election of Trump to begin with.
There's no center anymore. Turns out our elected officials have clay feet. They're no longer heroes, they're just regular people. So, we have individuals paying fealty to the cult, as they do their best to kill the leaders and the followers, the soldiers of opposite cults.
And very few with any actual power are aware of this, so government and corporations are always behind the curve, buffeted by these changes, which happen deep online, it's a full time job keeping track of what's going on, and even then you still don't know. Meanwhile, tell the truth to someone in power and they'll ignore you, they're so busy making money today that they can't conceive it will be different tomorrow. And usually they're just a cog in the machine, they didn't start the company, they know how to manage, they've got no vision, so it's not surprising when they're disrupted.
And to achieve their goals...the cult leaders lie with impunity. It started with Clinton, Trump just amped up the paradigm, took it to the max. Remember when you were afraid of lying in court? Very few feel the need to be honest anymore. Certainly the bigshots don't.
And there are no consequences, there is no court of truth. And the world moves so fast that what happened yesterday is already forgotten. Trump foments an insurrection...yeah, but that was WEEKS AGO! Let's go for unity, it's not that bad, but if you try to undermine the nation itself, democracy, if you're doing your best to steal an election, which is what Trump did, shouldn't there be consequences?
Of course not. Because unlike in sports there are no referees. Or they're part of the tribe themselves. Yes, to become a Trump judge you essentially had to take a loyalty oath. Vote our way, that's more important than your qualifications, than the truth.
So there are constantly eruptions all over the world. And they are rarely contained. There's not enough manpower, and certainly not enough truth, to do so. Furthermore, you can't change anyone's opinion, even if it's been proven wrong, it's anathema to show weakness in today's world, you never admit you were wrong, unless you're someone with no real power doing a mea culpa and going into rehab.
There's no there there anymore!
So, Boris and Nigel's team won. Hooray! And by time the consequences are truly felt, they'll be long gone. And when things go wrong it won't be their fault anyway. That's the blame game, personal responsibility is out the window. Not only are you not responsible, if you lose someone needs to make you whole...can you say WALL STREET?
Media should know it is the most powerful influencer around. Being a traffic cop is not enough, you must have an agenda, you must do your best to sway minds, democracy depends upon it.
And cyber warfare must be elevated above physical warfare. Wars are fought online today, and without Russia's influence online, Brexit never would have happened in the first place!
As for institutions... Rules are propped up as if they still apply. What was written in the Constitution 250 years ago is truth, just like the Bible, inviolate, so forward progress is impeded. Such that governments can't take swift action to address ills. Ills are always addressed, if not propagated in the first place, by corporations, outsiders, private citizens, often online. They're nimble and uninhibited. And if you make your message sexy enough, it can go viral and outweigh the truth. We learned this years ago, people slow down to see the car crash. Now everybody is slowing down to see the wreck online all the time. We're fed incendiary material, irrelevant of its truth, and its purveyors say they're not responsible while they hoover up our information and sell it to advertisers, our privacy has been lost in the process, but these titans are too rich and powerful to hobble. As for the proletariat, it's been sold the fantasy that it too can become as rich and powerful, not realizing there are only so many seats at the table, and over the past two decades the table has become smaller and smaller, and more static.
The fix will not come with government, unfortunately. The fix will come from outside, those who dig up the facts to begin with. But this requires them to toot their horns and gather their tribes just like their opponents have, but that seems sleazy and opposite the ethos established eons ago.
Come on, do you have faith the people in D.C. know what they're doing? You've lost faith in everybody but your cult leader and his or her minions. As for those who think they're above it all, who refuse to participate, the joke is always on them. You need a smartphone, you need internet access to be informed, to play, to understand, to protect your interests. While you're disconnected others are plotting to truly take away your freedom, but you're unaware until it's too late, when it's in the process of happening or already has.
There are so many people. Many more than politicians. So, you either become a cult leader leading the people, or you're victimized by them. And, if you decide to become a cult leader, be ready for the slings and arrows. AOC wants to speak her truth and she gets death threats. Meanwhile, the consequences for Cruz and Hawley speaking their nonsense are nonexistent.
But America is better prepared for the future than the U.K., an island nation with limited resources, that got a boost from banking which is now emigrating.
This is what happens when facts are ignored, when feelings reign, when the ignoramuses are riled up and appealed to.
And the worst is yet to come.
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