Zeitgeist and the Global uprising of popular movements

By Shyamalee Mahibalan

“Obama is a marketing dream, unlike Calvin Klein or Benetton he’s a brand that promises something special, something exciting, as if it might be radical, as if it might enact change” - Jonh Pilger –Writer, Vietnam Correspondent and author

(October 30, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) According to Pilger it was Edward Bernays in the 1920’s who invented public relations as a euphemism to propaganda. “Deploying his uncle Sigmund Freud he campaigned on behalf of the Tobacco industry for women to take up smoking as an act of liberation, and at the same time he was involved in the disinformation that was critical in over throwing the government of Guatemala”. The invisible government Bernays had in mind brought together all media PR, Press, Advertising Broadcasting and the power of branding and image making, in other words disinformation. This was the beginning of a new global empire creating a new world order.

As history records it after the Second World War it was Roosevelt who instructed Churchill to give up India, to give up colonialism and to end European power in the world, so there could be just one Empire to gain control of the world. While Churchill grumbled along the way to give up India Emperor Roosevelt’s Vision was to set the stage for a new empire. According to Gore Vidal Roosevelt’s meeting with the Saudi King Ibn Saud was a turning point in the history of the empire, it set the stage for the control of Middle Eastern oil.

To day this empire seemed to be crumbling, its foundation is shaking the corporate marketing America is losing its image. The propaganda war created by Bernay’s is losing its objective. To day amidst a falling dollar it faces exploding deficits and mounting debts.

Many millions of Americans including our own families and friends are grappling to understand the meaning of America and its future. Despite a crumbling America Barak Obama and his government recently increased its war budget to a whopping $ 160 billion for more war, reinstated military commissions, excused torture and kept the Bush Gulag intact.

Who says Obama is Zeitgeist? It was the Zeitgeist who voted Obama in. Zeitgeist movement came to limelight when Peter Joseph produced a documentary on 911 the truth and posted it on You Tube and it became an instant hit among netizens. The millions of Americans and grass root movements along with activists who dreamed of change voted the first African American president to the white house. A very clear majority America wanted to end torture, end war and wanted a sustainable future. While the empire has shed its cloak and its walls are cracking and while fascism reigns in, why do we fear and fret that if we do not bow down to America we are on the wrong side of justice. While obama kept silent on Gaza, excused torture, increased war spending and given Pentagon unprecedented powers the mainstream media strangely kept silent. The young in America are kept so dumb down by the media that a recent survey has reveled American kids losing out to Asia in Math’s and science. I guess the Sri lankan TV stations can draw similarities with the American channels with their imitated versions of American idols and dancing stars, they can find 100 different ways to dumb down a society.

Going back in time to the eighties in Sri Lanka, the JVP uprising symbolized a change great reforms to us school children who were on the verge of reaching adulthood. We had great teachers who emphasized the importance of Karl Marx and the thinking of Machiavelli for change. It didn’t take us long to realize that it was all a big lie and that our leaders deceived us. That Karl Marx and Machiavelli was not change, but we still had our mindset to change the world.

To day in an era of Facebook, my space and You Tube our heroes are online and the network is global; this had made it difficult for our leaders and powers to hoodwink the people, since their actions and rhetoric are all being watched. If it was the likes of Arundhathi and Noam Chomsky who gave voice to global Issues then, now the world has heard Howard Zinn, John Pilger, Amy Goodman, Naomi Wolf, Naomi Klein, Gore Vidal late Edward Said and economic Hit man John Perkins, the list is endless. These are global voices breaking free from deception and descent. If love can make people break norm and look beyond ones own self, so is truth. Love and truth are perpetual. As Aung Saan Suu Kyi says Love and truth can move people. It is indeed interesting to find out why Secluk Ozbek , a Turkish University student hurled a shoe at IMF chief? Well he was a seeking the truth, he like many others knew what IMF and the World Bank stands for. John Perkins revealed how the poor nations were cheated in to debt in his Economic Hit man. There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation says John Adams one is by the sword and the other is by debt. Gone are the days where the people are kept in perpetual darkness. This remarkable change that has swept the world and this generation of global voices cannot be fooled by the powers anymore. At the rate the world is spinning, most certainly there would be many more shoe throwers in the future. Racism, nationalism and all types of hatred has no room in these global movements. You can call them dreamers or reformists or even radicals; these truth seekers want a world free of nuclear weapons, wars, poverty and promote social justice. Latin America today is a shining example it has risen from being the backstreets of America to a vibrant future. As Pilger says “Look at Latin America less than 20 years ago there was the usual despair, poverty, uniforms and uniforms running unspeakable regime. Today perhaps after 500 years there is a revival of people’s movement based on indigenous cultures and languages, in countries like Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Argentina, Social movements and grass roots movements have risen above” “For the first time the Israeli sporting body find themselves isolated for its war on Gaza, Israeli ships are being turned away in Australia and South Africa, this is how apartheid South Africa was defeated. This is how the great winds of the 1960’s began to blow; this is how every game was won”

Here are the excerpts of Pilger’s speech given at the Socialism 2009 in San Francisco
“Obama the brand has crippled or absorbed much of the anti war movements or peace movements in America, out of the 256 democrats in congress just 30 are willing to stand up against war. You’re kept in a perpetual state of childishness.

Winds of change are taking place with great popular movements growing all over the world.”

“Activism doesn’t give up, activism doesn’t fall silent, real activism has little time for identity politics, which like exceptionalism can be fake. The American way of life began as an advertising slogan. Today we are presented with an extraordinary opportunity, thanks to the crash of wall street and the revelations from many ordinary people that free market has nothing to do with freedom.” Something is stirring in America and all over the world that is related to a great popular movement”.

-Sri Lanka Guardian