MovieChat Forums > The War on Democracy (2007) Discussion > Hard for average North Americans to watc...

Hard for average North Americans to watch

posted 16 years ago by RJC-99
10 replies | jump to latest

If you've been coddled by a nationalistic, pro-empire media all your life, watching John Pilger's films will seem at best like being trapped with an incredibly rude fool and at worst like being forced to take dictation from the devil.

Relax. Watch and learn; you have a lot of time to make up for and a lot of ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN and New York Times propaganda to undo. The process of removing your brainwashing may leave you befuddled and angry, or complaining of "preaching" like at least one poor IMDb reviewer. But as your glorious imperial military likes to say: pain is just weakness leaving your body.

[–] cwoliver-1 16 years ago

LMAO.

It would appear that you've been drinking purple Kool-Aid, RJC-99.

[–] red_orchestra-1 15 years ago

Nice way of putting it. I used to some kind of pro-war neocon myself, I even supported the iraq war to start with, lol.

[–] Emathy 15 years ago

Well said, RJC-99. I think it's extremely difficult to be too cynical when it comes to politics (and I do mean ONLY politics)--including (perhaps especially) with people whose views we support. Unvarnished truth should be the ultimate goal. I think even those of us who did learn to question what we were taught from the start have hang-ups about it-- I'm one, but I certainly don't enjoy finding things wrong with my countries of citizenship (Canada), birth, and family background, or the country where I live now. I love all of them and I honestly would prefer such wrongs didn't exist.

All people of all nations around the world share the need for a strongly held core belief that they are good and admirable people with a noble history. In both Canada and the US, We ARE good people but our histories are not so noble as we'd like to believe. Our peoples have allowed themselves to be manipulated or led astray--and we must recognise this. Cognitive dissonance is very, very painful... but I think it's so very, very necessary to fight it and go after the truth. It's ignorance of the *truth* of history that causes us to repeat it.

I greatly admire countries like Germany, South Africa, and various South American countries (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, etc.) which have made serious, credible efforts to recognise and *publicly document* horrors in their pasts. Lest we get wrapped up in patriotic fervour and allow further atrocities in our name, we must all recognise that our nations' leadership is fallible-- they can be bought or work for their own ends. While we do all complain that they are not working in the public interest during our tired "Left" vs. "Right" partisan squabbles... we should seek the truth-- whose interests ARE our politicians working for?

[–] BulmaPunkRocker 9 years ago

Wow, thank you for your words, Emathy.
I was born and raised during the last years of military dictatorship in Chile. I've always felt that no one cares about us, third world citizens, in the rest of the world, besides a few european organizations, but that was back then. No one cares about us now, and how screwed up our people and our society is.
To read your words, that you admire the efforts of common people like us, to document what actually happened and seek some kind of justice (not revenge), it really reaches my heart.
My generation is really "anti-politicians", sadly we don't believe in a real democracy. Our country is way too damaged. Our parents were naive and they dreamt with real democracy (not communism, not marxism, democracy). But we don't believe in anything. Everything is capitalism, consumerism, we work too much for few money and we don't even have time to complain.
It's encouraging to read some of the posts here, of young northamericans who dares to search for the truth and to demand to their leaders for a change.

Please excuse my terrible redaction, english is not my native language.

[–] autochthonous 15 years ago

Pilger's style is polemical and antagonistic, but his survey of the facts is sound. Those who can take the wax out of their ears long enough to investigate the facts know that the frothing rage this kind of story evokes in idiotic imperialists is a sign of how little substance there is to their position.

[–] MuddPiez 13 years ago

I am an "average North American" and other than your off base assumptions, you're right. I am 19 years old and heavily studying history and international relations. i don't think I was brainwashed to believe that the U.S does no wrong, but the wrongs of my country have been conveniently skipped over in my history classes growing up. I am a part of a generation where information is available with the click of a mouse, we are becoming more informed, more critical and questioning of the motives of our nation leaders of the past and present.

One could call me naive, but I consider myself an optimist. The U.S will learn from it's past mistakes, and young people like myself will not follow in the faulty footsteps of our mothers and fathers. There is no denying the arrogance of North Americans, but we have been humbled and continue to be humbled as the years go on.

[–] lattar1 12 years ago

While I find the previous post's words encouraging, it sounds like you are still asssuming your leaders act in good faith. One major leap in the west and supposedly all over the world is to not only question the motivations and genuinity of our current leaders but also the very system we live in. Whop does it serve? Is all the mishaps and injustice really a byproduct or is it included in to the design?. We really need an open mind and curiosity to investigate politics based on what has occurred/is occuring and look at facts behind various already formed opinions and conclusions. We really need to think for ourselves and stop accepting already formed theories, whether they be from mainstream or alternative media. 'crazy talk' or consensus.
I often hear people talking what is going to happen and where this is going is bad. What IS, is already bad enough. The difference between actions and words when it comes to politics and common depictions about modern societies 'rightfullness' is really straggering.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] crowley-4 9 years ago

Based on the released dates listed on IMDb, I gather this was never shown on US TV or in US cinemas?