What the Chinese People Know that We Don't Know
It seems the Chinese people know something we don't know.
If you watched the Olympics, you may remember the Chinese hurdler who crashed on the first hurdle and immediately was out of the race. He didn't just clip the hurdle; he absolutely crashed into it. It was shocking at the time, since this guy was a champion and was at least expected to compete.
Well, as it turns out, the guy was injured and there was really no way that he was going to be competitive in the first place. And apparently the Chinese people were outraged.
They weren't outraged that the guy was injured and tried to compete. They were outraged at how the Chinese media covered the event. (You can watch this clip from the WSJ that explains the details of the outpouring of outrage and disgust by the Chinese people at the way the government-controlled media reported the event.
The Chinese people are apparently on to their government and its shenanigans. But that wasn't what really struck me. What struck me was how many Americans aren't equally on to their government and its shenanigans. And those shenanigans include media manipulation or at least media compliance with whatever propaganda the government wants to put out there.
Now I'm not saying that the U.S. government is "as bad as" the Chinese Communist government. It's not a matter of who's better or worse. It's a matter of people not being savvy to being manipulated. And it looks like the Chinese people may have a leg up on U.S. citizens when it comes to be being savvy about being manipulated.
But even if people here in the U.S. are indeed aware of the government trying to manipulate them, and the media's compliant attitude about being used by the government, you'll notice that the Chinese people let their media and the government know it. And this is going on in what has been a brutal totalitarian state for decades.
What about us in the U.S.? Shouldn't we be a bit more vigilant when it comes to the government manipulating us through the media?
For example, I recently pointed out how the media has covered the MF Global collapse as well as the Perrigrine collapse. I mentioned how there was very little reported about the clients who lost money - when, in fact, that was the real story. (Click HERE for a good sample of those various posts.) But what really struck me was the lack of response or comment from the American people. Sure, a few people spoke out. But I haven't noticed a real widespread sense of outrage. Shouldn't there have been?
That's the sort of thing I'm talking about. While the media coverage wasn't as blatantly manipulative as the incident with the Chinese hurdler, thousands of people have been affected - indeed they've been wronged - and you hardly hear a peep about what's happened and about how the media has played a role to minimize the outrageous ignoring of the rule of law that has gone on and continues to go on.
Maybe the Chinese are more sensitive because they've been under the thumb of totalitarian dictators for so long. Maybe they're fed up with all that and have decided to let their leaders know how fed up they are.
We haven't been under the same totalitarian thumb as they. Could that be the reason why more Americans simply don't pay attention to what happened with MF Global and Perrigrine? Does it take decades of totalitarian dictatorship to spark a sense of vigilance in a country's people? I should hope not. But you have to wonder.
But there's an even more disturbing thought that also occurs to me. Maybe we just don't care. Maybe the whole idea that other people have been the victims of injustice doesn't make us indignant. That's bad enough. But maybe we don't realize that if this can happen to others, it can happen to us.
Is it possible that we Americans have become insensitive to injustice and ignorant about the consequences of allowing wrongdoing to occur without bringing the perpetrators to justice?
Could it be that the Chinese people know something we don't know? Or is it that they hunger for the truth? Could it be that after decades of lies and manipulation, the Chinese people yearn for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Could it be that Americans don't have this same yearning? Could it be that we simply don't care about the truth?
More on this next time...
If you watched the Olympics, you may remember the Chinese hurdler who crashed on the first hurdle and immediately was out of the race. He didn't just clip the hurdle; he absolutely crashed into it. It was shocking at the time, since this guy was a champion and was at least expected to compete.
Well, as it turns out, the guy was injured and there was really no way that he was going to be competitive in the first place. And apparently the Chinese people were outraged.
They weren't outraged that the guy was injured and tried to compete. They were outraged at how the Chinese media covered the event. (You can watch this clip from the WSJ that explains the details of the outpouring of outrage and disgust by the Chinese people at the way the government-controlled media reported the event.
The Chinese people are apparently on to their government and its shenanigans. But that wasn't what really struck me. What struck me was how many Americans aren't equally on to their government and its shenanigans. And those shenanigans include media manipulation or at least media compliance with whatever propaganda the government wants to put out there.
Now I'm not saying that the U.S. government is "as bad as" the Chinese Communist government. It's not a matter of who's better or worse. It's a matter of people not being savvy to being manipulated. And it looks like the Chinese people may have a leg up on U.S. citizens when it comes to be being savvy about being manipulated.
But even if people here in the U.S. are indeed aware of the government trying to manipulate them, and the media's compliant attitude about being used by the government, you'll notice that the Chinese people let their media and the government know it. And this is going on in what has been a brutal totalitarian state for decades.
What about us in the U.S.? Shouldn't we be a bit more vigilant when it comes to the government manipulating us through the media?
For example, I recently pointed out how the media has covered the MF Global collapse as well as the Perrigrine collapse. I mentioned how there was very little reported about the clients who lost money - when, in fact, that was the real story. (Click HERE for a good sample of those various posts.) But what really struck me was the lack of response or comment from the American people. Sure, a few people spoke out. But I haven't noticed a real widespread sense of outrage. Shouldn't there have been?
That's the sort of thing I'm talking about. While the media coverage wasn't as blatantly manipulative as the incident with the Chinese hurdler, thousands of people have been affected - indeed they've been wronged - and you hardly hear a peep about what's happened and about how the media has played a role to minimize the outrageous ignoring of the rule of law that has gone on and continues to go on.
Maybe the Chinese are more sensitive because they've been under the thumb of totalitarian dictators for so long. Maybe they're fed up with all that and have decided to let their leaders know how fed up they are.
We haven't been under the same totalitarian thumb as they. Could that be the reason why more Americans simply don't pay attention to what happened with MF Global and Perrigrine? Does it take decades of totalitarian dictatorship to spark a sense of vigilance in a country's people? I should hope not. But you have to wonder.
But there's an even more disturbing thought that also occurs to me. Maybe we just don't care. Maybe the whole idea that other people have been the victims of injustice doesn't make us indignant. That's bad enough. But maybe we don't realize that if this can happen to others, it can happen to us.
Is it possible that we Americans have become insensitive to injustice and ignorant about the consequences of allowing wrongdoing to occur without bringing the perpetrators to justice?
Could it be that the Chinese people know something we don't know? Or is it that they hunger for the truth? Could it be that after decades of lies and manipulation, the Chinese people yearn for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
Could it be that Americans don't have this same yearning? Could it be that we simply don't care about the truth?
More on this next time...
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