I feel like I live in a big commercial, not a country

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

I was looking at the NFL pages with the announcement for the NFL Kick-Off orgy of commercialism for Pepsi Vanilla, Britney Spears and the Pentagon, and saw the USA Freedom Corps logo. It has a tagline that says "The President's Call to Service."

This really bugs me! First of all, the president is supposed to work for us, we are supposed to call him to serve the country and the people. Second of all, shouldn't it be the country that is calling people to service, not one man? And the future presidents probably won't end up using this logo or organizing the whole volunteer thing the way Bush is doing it. Everything is like one big commercial for Bush!

It's like the Republicans and some of the corporations are selling their vision of the country under one big brand now.

And this "Operation Tribute to Freedom" thing getting involved with the NFL allows people to be "patriotic" armchair warriors and cheer on their teams and the troops like it's all a big sport -without ever even having to think about why the troops are there or what's happening to them.

It's overwhelming. I just want to live in a country where people aren't mindless consumers all the time!

I know what I'm saying is kind of jumbled here, but I find the entertwining of all this stuff so confusing. You get this picture of the "ideal" citizen going to this event, "supporting" the troops and then going off to volunteer at the president's call, feeling so patriotic and good about themselves. But if you are a person with half a brain and any connection to reality, you don't even want to watch this thing on TV because you know the real truth is that this just the government selling people a war where people are getting killed and we're not even sure why!

http://ww2.nfl.com/kickoff/pride_america.html

Another thing is I got my new Discover Card in the mail and it is a big flag design. I'm telling them I want a different design. I refuse to go around advertising fake patriotism for corporations and the government, so they can sell oil wars, Britney Spears, icky Vanilla soft drinks and AOL.

How can we communicate to people that the flag should represent free elections and actual democracy, not all the fake jingo-ism and chanting "USA, USA!" and "We're #1!"

I don't know what I'm trying to say, I'm just so sick of this mindlessness and if I could go live somewhere that people appreciated learning and reason and science and had a little bit of good taste and appreciation of true quality, I think I would go there. And it's not because I'm so smart or educated myself, but that I feel like I could learn somethng from people with such values.

[MiddleRiverRefugee]

1. Tomorrow is the NFL Kickoff party on the Mall in DC

..and it's also my daughter's 1st day of nursery school.

Guess who's taking off work tomorrow to "spend more time with (his) family).

[sam sarrha]

2. who has any money to waste on buying crap anymore, my job went to China..

and my wifes job... Two life time carers, and we are 55 years old, cant afford to go to school and waste money on another job for China.. * has big plans to reeducate the unemployed at community colleges..but we would lose our unemployment and food stamps if we went to school. it wouldn't have been so bad if the job went to Mexico, but to think my job is now supporting the Genocide of Tibet sickens me.:puke:

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

11. What do they expect people to live on while they go to school?

I don't get that. Especially people with kids or aging parents or both, they are supposed to go to school, work some minimum wage job and take care of their families all at the same time?

My brother-in-law says he is about ready to have a nervous break-down holding onto his job because it was one of those deals where the company got bought out, they stole their pensions, paid off the top executives with huge payments and laid half the people off. Now they are going around threatening the rest of them with lay-offs if they don't do two or three people's jobs, that type of thing. He has always been a real hard worker and sold a lot of product for them and that's the thanks people get.

I hope things get better for you soon!

[Xandor]

3. It's called "fascism"

Mussolini himself defined fascism as the combination of government and business. We're there.

[sam sarrha]

13. The NEOCON's are not only Fascists but Machiavellians...

i kid you not, I am reading one of their books, "Machiavelli on Modern Leadership: why Machiavelli's IRON rules are as timely and important today as Five Century's ago", Michael A. Lendeen. It describes Bush to a 'T', a dictator that uses lies to control and confuse and keeps the country in a perpetual state of war. The NEOCON's are REALLY into supporting Israel, bible prophesy and creating Armageddon. as a child in a christian extremest cult..same as Asscrofts, i was taught..If you destroy the world Jesus will come!

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

14. Is the Michael Ledeen that's part of PNAC and AEI and all that? n/t

n/t

[Ripley]

4. I know exactly how you feel.

And don't forget ESPN hired Rush to be an NFL announcer, which really pisses me off because now I won't be able to watch Sunday night games, because I REFUSE to look or listen to the one person who has polluted the minds of millions of people for so long.

Another thing...while watching a pre-season game, I couldn't believe the bastards found another way to interject their commercials....O'Charley's restaurant had their logo where the score box is. It would spin and be like a revolving billboard!!!!!!!!! ARGHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Pretty soon we will be lucky if we get to see any of the game for all the crap ads on the screen.

:grr: :nuke: :grr: :nuke: :grr: :nuke: :grr: :nuke: :grr:

[Ilsa]

5. Your sentiments came through loud and clear.

Maybe Johnny Depp has a garage apartment he could rent out to a few of us?

I think your comments were much more eloquent than his, and addressed deeper issues than just our leadership, the prevailing "shut up, fall into line or you're a traitor" attitudes in the US, and the corporatization of our democratic republic.

[Ripley]

7. I really like Depp...one of the most underrated actors around, but

I wish all the liberal actors/directors/moguls would DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE SITUATION. I mean with a little cooperation they have enough money to start a liberal media outlet. I've heard Gore and some folks in Chicago are working on it...

HURRY UP...WE'RE DYING OUT HERE.

[Skip Intro]

6. work...consume...obey....sleep....work....consume....obey....sleep....

America - built Ford tough...

[Neecy]

8. good points

I'm not a football fan, but I'm a rabid Oakland A's fan and the same nonsense goes on with baseball broadcasts.

My prime gripe: When Fox National broadcasts their Saturday game of the week, they start off with a "patriotic" shot of a plane swooping off of an aircraft carrier, American flags flapping, etc. What the hell does that have to do with baseball? Can't they stop pushing the Bush wars on us for at least a few hours so we can watch a friggin' baseball game? If I want to watch military exercises, I'd join the damn military.

Second gripe: It gets worse every season, but this year is just gruesome and it happens on all baseball broadcasts, regardless of station (I have the MLB Extra Innings package on my dish). Every play involves a "Chevrolet Drive of the Game" or the "Comcast Call to the Bullpen" or the "Hood Ice Cream Double Play" or the "AFLAC Trivia Question" or the "Jack Daniels Six-Pack Coolers Line Score" etc etc etc etc. Every flipping play, every flipping STATISTIC, now has a corporate sponsor. It's like a thousand commercials between commercials.

I grant that the networks need to find revenue to afford carrying the games, but isn't that what commercial breaks are for? Good God, it just never ends, the constant fucking horn of Corporate America blowing up your butt.

Okay, I feel better now. Thanks for this topic, it helps to vent.

[SpaceCatMeetsMars]

9. Hood Dairy put on one of the most obnoxious disruptions I ever saw

Back in 2000 there was this amazing regatta of old clipper ships from every country that traveled around the world. I forget the name of it, but it was something that happens every so many years and JFK was instrumental in starting it back in 1960.

When I saw it, it was so beautiful, these majestic old ships coming up the harbor past an old lighthouse and the rocky coast of Maine. The sailors from all differemt countries stood on the decks. There were also smaller sailing vessels.

You could feel like you were looking back in time - EXCEPT for the giant hideous Hood Blimp with the TV people on it hovering right over each ship as it went by. You wonder if some people ever think about anything but advertising.

[Neecy]

10. agreed

Their grotesque defacing of Fenway Park - a big plastic milk jug hoisted over the bleachers - is disgusting. It's almost as bad as the Chevron cartoon car that's been stuck on the outfield fence at the Coli in Oakland, or the Coke bottle in San Francisco.

Pretty soon the players will have a Kentucky Fried Chicken logo tattooed to their foreheads.

[InkAddict]

12. Sports Fan Revolt

When the commercialism tab for spectating became such that I was priced out of actual attendence at a NFL football game,major league baseball game, hometown hockey game, I simply stopped spectating and following these organizations nonsence. The personal fubars of publicity perpetrated by the prima donna multi-million dollar players' also has ruined by enthusiam to give the teams or the players the time of day, and if I can help it, their pushy obsequious sponsors.

[CBHagman]

15. I couldn't agree with you more, CalamityJane.

On the one hand, I understand people's need to display the flag. There's nothing whatever wrong with that, and I have more than a few poignant stories about that.

However, I squirm every time I see another advertisement for a cheesy item (teddy bear firefighters, flag sweaters, etc.) meant to cash in on people's desire to display the flag. I think it was the political humorist Barbara Holland who observed that Chinese workers are certainly being kept busy keeping up with the demand for flag items.

The other thing that drives me completely into a rage is the tendency to mistake PR (for example, Bush's appearance on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln) for true military leadership and sacrifice. This sort of tendency has allowed the chickenhawks to wrap themselves in the flag while urinating on actual veterans, many of whom sacrificed a great deal.

Remember all the sneering at Michael Dukakis for his tank ride? Well, it's only recently that I learned that Michael Dukakis actually did serve in the Army. So the photo opportunity impressions matter more than the actual record, according to the media and his political opponents.

Tom DeLay (R-TX) sneers that he wouldn't want to see Ted Kennedy in a flight suit, a la Bush. But Ted Kennedy (D-MA) did serve in the Army, and neither Bush nor DeLay did. We'll skip over Bush's record in the National Guard.

It gets worse. All of Ted Kennedy's brothers served in the military, and one was killed in action. What right does DeLay have to sneer at actual veterans and skip over the service record of the Kennedy family?

I won't even get into the case of Saxby Chambliss (May he get his comeuppance) and his attacks on the decorated veteran Max Cleland.

Anyway, society just seems to be accepting this, except for a few vocal folks (including veterans!) who have called the chickenhawks on the carpet about this. We're going to have make a lot more noise, though, and force people to think uncomfortable thoughts. The administration just wants us to go on blindly consuming and not daring to ask questions. We must continue fighting back.

[ArkDem]

16. Does this sound familiar?

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

[blm]

17. OMG, Calam...I feel exactly the same way EVERY DAY!

Every aspect of our lives from religion to diapers to our government gets SOLD TO US!

[Kazak]

18. Yeah, it's about enough to make you wanna...

:puke:

[Mari333]

19. Its a Corporate Country

When I went to Ireland and the UK, I was amazed at the care and thought that people took concerning their national sites, and neolithic /paleolithic sites such as Stonehenge and Avebury, and other sites...someone in a pub there said
"If Stonehenge were in the US, they would have the security guards dressed as Elves, and american flags flapping on top of all the stone columns"...
I laughed because, by golly, he was right!

[bloom]

20. If you don't watch TV - you don't see it

I've been debating about whether to get reception or not - (it's either Satellite or nothing and right now it's nothing.)