On the road of propaganda for the capitalist “side” of Berlin, there are number of museums right next to each other. A Berliner sarcastically stated, “We have all of these reminders of what happened in the past, but we still keep doing the same things that got us here.” A commonly repeated phrase is that “history repeats itself,” and people tend to teach that despite the best efforts of everyone, the same things will continue to happen. What if, however, the reason that the same things keep happening is because people keep teaching the same things?
In a world without 100% literacy, people are undoubtedly vulnerable to whatever they are being told. If someone is spouting blatant lies, the only way to know any other truth is to do research and independently come up with the answers. Most people who are living life on the planet right now lack time to do anything other than exist. Therefore, when people start spewing lies, they can either ignore the individual, or absorb the lies and accept them as truth based on a limited amount of free time. So many decisions this year have been based on not having enough time to find any answers other than the ones provided.
Furthermore, all big information outlets have a lot of money and time–and have the idea of legitimacy on their side. The age of technology has produced a number of independent scholars, but most of them–myself included–lack the time, energy, and resources to produce and distribute materials that present a different perspective. Privileged people tend to only listen to others who are privileged, which makes it difficult for independent scholars to acquire time, energy, and resources. There is simply no way for people like me to quickly produce materials that can be verified before countless hours of lies are distributed by the mainstream media.
Most importantly, a vocal minority ensures that the dominant narrative stays intact based on their ability to produce barriers. Wealthy people own most of the publishing companies, and getting the approval of any of them is a nightmare of possible pitches, unavailable agents, and anxiety about missed phone calls. Employers are also demanding excessive productivity, meaning that anyone thinking about being an independent scholar also needs to be independently wealthy. Unsurprisingly, the only people who are independently wealthy are those who subscribe to the dominant narrative, leaving fewer voices of challenge.
More people are finding out that most of what people have been presented with about the past was a lie that a burgeoning middle class told themselves to feel comfortable about things they could avoid. Consequently, people are becoming scared that the same lies told in the past no longer placate people in the present, and information is more readily available on a number of platforms. “Everyone” was happy in Germany until the government collapsed, and elites are still wondering why, while the working class probably thought, “Finally.” Therefore, history repeats itself until someone other than insulated, privileged people start telling their stories.
Chasing A Dying Empire 