Letters From Facebook Jail: Day 2

Just imagine what the response would have been a hundred years ago if it was announced that the United States Post Office was being given to one of the wealthiest people in the country to do with whatever he liked. The howl of the populace would have echoed through the decades so that it would still be ringing in our ears today. Our correspondence, one with another, is too important a thing to be left in the hands of a single person or corporation. Why, imagine someone a hundred years ago telling you you were banned from sending a letter to anyone for a month because you had sent a letter that did not meet with community (read corporate) standards. Absurd, isn't it? A hundred years ago, they did not have the reverence we do today for the sacred duty of making profit. A hundred years ago, America's wars for freedom were still too fresh in our citizens' minds to allow so much control over the flow of information to be held in so few hands.

Fast-forward to today and the power Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook have over the flow of information. Not only has it for the most part usurped the Post Office's role in carrying messages from one area to another, it has assumed other valuable roles as well. For example, 45% of people say that they are getting their news from Facebook. That's a lot of power. That's a lot of responsibility, too. But being a corporation, Facebook has no responsibility beyond their investors. That's not you, the user. Of course, Facebook does need to show a degree of responsible behavior in order to keep their customers happy. But that's not you, the user, either. Unlike the United States Post Office, you are neither the owner nor the customer. You are the product.

Yeah, you should have figured it out when you found yourself getting something for nothing. That's not how capitalism works. Hell, that's not even how the Post Office works. If you haven't been buying a stamp for every Facebook message you share, you should have realized you were doing something for Mark Zuckerberg in return for the opportunity to see cute puppy pictures. You were giving him access to your data, which he in turn sold for a profit. How much? Well, the last I looked, Mark Zuckerberg was worth $60 billion. Depending on fluctuations, he may only be worth $50 billion at the moment, but look for him to rebound as the power of Facebook users declines and the  information Facebook provides users continues to be restricted. Mark Zuckerberg is not going to make more money by insuring you are better informed about the issues you should be worrying about. He'll get richer by selling more advertising so your mind is occupied in contemplation of buying things you don't need with money you don't have.

There are people who are financially and politically motivated to make sure you stay stupid, fearful, and impotent. I don't know how to break this to you people, I don't know how to break through the inertia so that it becomes a conscious thought which is capable of directing your actions. The wall of propaganda is immense, the science of marketing and manipulation well-studied and well-financed. And the pictures of animals doing funny things is undeniably attractive. I can only continue what I've been doing, what so many people are doing: point out the lies, the distractions, and the censorship required to have you continue to be unaware of your situation, afraid of change, and feeling unworthy to be in charge of the society to which you belong.

Perhaps there is one more thing I can do. Perhaps it is the most important thing. I want to remind you that you are a human being who has a certain inalienable right to dignity. You are better than what they tell you you are.

You have a right to freedom of speech. When they try to take it away from you, they will say they are doing it to protect you. They are not there to protect you, they are there to profit from you. This is pretty obvious: if they were there to protect you, they would have volunteered to join the armed services and sent their children overseas to serve in the wars they pushed.They didn't and they haven't. If profit were their motive, they would be obscenely rich. They are.

You have the right to know what's going on in the world. They may tell you you're not equipped to deal with clever Russian memes that seek to undermine your confidence in the system. Well, I've got news for you, if you're not equipped to handle the ham-fisted manipulation of Russian propaganda, you've surely fallen victim to the U.S. propaganda machine, the slickest propaganda machine the world has ever seen. If you're worried about Russians and not about homegrown propaganda, it's only because you've been propagandized. If they were worried about getting you the truth you need, Zuckerberg and others would be spending their money in order to insure that Facebook is a top-notch information-supplying company. They would not rely on NGOs (e.g. Atlantic Council) funded by foreign agencies, weapons manufacturers, and oil companies to decide what truths you should be exposed to. Again, the obscene wealth possessed by Mark Zuckerberg shows where his interests lie.

You have the right to be in control of your country. People who have an incurable obsession with obtaining money long after they've had every monetary need/desire/fantasy satiated are going to tell you differently. Don't listen. You're at least as good a person as those who have enough money to buy islands, politicians and spaceships while children starve to death. Stand up for yourself. Be like your ancestors a hundred years ago, who never would have tolerated the means of communication being controlled by a few absurdly rich people. Be like your ancestors over two hundred years ago, who decided that America would not be controlled by a few who had inherited their wealth and position. Be an adult, in control not only of your life but the society of which you are a part. Because people, not money, need to be in control of humanity's future.

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