ARAB SPRING, U.S. WINTER

Recently, I read an article in Newsweek about Syria and the violent repression of its citizens who want freedom and democracy:
http://www.newsweek.com/2011/06/05/out-of-the-shadow-of-fear-in-syria.html

How disgusting. Fear and greed and ego run amuck.
I wrote another post about ego on my other blog: Kulture Vulture:
http://kulture-vulture.blogspot.com/

I don't understand how those Arab dictators get to be such brutal, self-centered, selfish people. What makes a Qaddafi? What makes a man like Bashar al-Assad?

I believe that the old saying is true: Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Why is that? Are we all susceptible to the corruption of power?

As my old acting coach, Alex Bruhansky, used to say, "Inside me there is a multitude." I believe that any action, taken by any person in the world, no matter how brutal, is something that any of us could do, given the right circumstances.

It's human nature, folks. But I don't find those brutal impulses within me. Maybe I haven't been put in that position.We don't know what we would do until we are there.

Do we have that here in the good old USA?

No, of course not. The lions of Wall Street aren't greedy, selfish bastards. Are they? You tell me. This is from CNBC:

"...in the three months between July and September, US businesses netted more money than in any quarter since the government started keeping records. ...
"American companies produced profits at an annual rate of $1.66 trillion, according to the Commerce Department.
"While the overall economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent, profits increased 11.5 percent..."

Our country is not owned and run by greedy, selfish people, is it?

Naw. What makes you think such a thing? But the top 1% of rich people own 40% of the nation's wealth. That fact is from USC:
http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html

So what, folks? We don't live in a brutal dictatorship, do we?

I'd say it's at least an economic imbalance. The Golden Rule: He who has the gold makes the rules.

-- Roger

© Copyright 2011, Roger R. Angle

CNBC:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/40350345/When_Will_Record_Corporate_Profits_Translate_to_Jobs

THE FACEBOOK MOVIE - TRIVIAL PURSUIT

I finally watched the Facebook movie -- "The Social Network" -- last night.

I found it trivial and superficial. The only issues are who is going to get the money and who is the biggest asshole, i.e., the most self-centered, self-aggrandizing and most obnoxious person in the movie. I didn't care about either question.

The flick is well done -- well acted, well filmed, and well edited. I loved the opening scene and liked the first half, more or less. But as the story developed I got less and less interested. There is nothing meaningful at stake. It reminds me of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" I don't care.

And I still don't know how Facebook makes all its money, or why people think it is a big deal. Maybe it is a big deal just because it makes a lot of money.

Ho-hum. Wake me when it's over, when the country matures a little and stops worshipping money.

-- Roger

© Copyright 2011, Roger R. Angle

http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/The_Social_Network/70132721?trkid=496624#height1970