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Come on a journey through time and space : The Mighty Print.

13 April, 2008

 When we think about the might of print. We think of it in relation to its ability to change the world we live in, through force. The bible has created for us an ethical doctrine from which we must live by. Michel Foucault argues text has been used by the catholic church to deter free thinking people from revolution. He uses the example of sexual desire, the bible does not require us to be embarrassed by our sexual desires in some points it even promotes it. And yet, confession boxes where spawned out of the dark ages. A place where people go to express their shame for looking at another man’s wife. In the west we have given in to this most basic form of societal control. Sexual experimentation is sinful here, whereas, in the east it is celebrated.

Just as text has been used to quell the violent overthrow of power, it has also been used to start revolutions. Like that of the text written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels ” The Communist Manifesto”. Which to the dismay of the authors led to the deaths of thousands of supporters and the inevitable corruption of the manifesto. Elizabeth Eisenstein discusses how text transformed the “Italian renaissance to a permanent European renaissance” . Text was said to implement Protestant reformation, make world literacy a realistic goal, changed family life, politics and modern science. An epic display of the powerful might of books.

I wonder if we are as effected by text today? If Marx and Engels wrote the manifesto in the year 2008 would it have started anything?

I Doubt it… We are completely under control, Our affluent lifestyles have made us fat, disinterested and complacent. Money is the only fuel for any progress. Work, family life and admittedly university are all institutions that base their success in life around monetary gain. If we remember back to when we were children what were our parents REALLY fighting about, in fact what do we REALLY fight about today.

When someone argues about why communism can’t work they say why would I be a doctor when I can make the same money driving a bus. One would hope that a doctor is really wanting to help people not only for the sake of their bank accounts, but because that’s what they genuinely believe they should be doing.

Why are we starting to notice that the legal system is flawed? Because Lawyers make more money the more cases they win, and are willing to do whatever is necessary to make a name for themselves…for money. But some cases weren’t meant to be won it is the ethical responsibility of the lawyer to know when they are defending a real criminal. But ethics don’t put food on the table. not in this society anyway. So the only way out of this dead end existence is some kind of massive revolution. But I don’t think the text will be found in print. It will be on the internet…. in blogs….much like this one. Mwa hahahahaa

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