The Immense Power of the Media. Take Immediate Action

“The voice/ that could have been/ the answer/ and for fear/ was nothing”.

After (or in addition to) military, political, economic or technological power, what is now foremost and omnipresent is the power of the media. “No matter what happens, what we want to happen is what will happen”, is the attitude of certain magnates of the communications media. Whether through sound, print or images… the majority of citizens receive their news carefully selected or previously filtered. In some countries, high government authorities –even the Prime Minister- or members of the opposition parties have close ties to large media conglomerates including the press, radio and television… It is true that in some cases freedom of expression and opposition still exist, but they certainly have little room to maneuver.

Certain sports and athletes, actors and actresses –many of whom are controlled by their “managers”- are given exaggerated attention on the radio, television or in the press, reaching fanatical proportions to the extent that certain clubs dominate not only the leisure time, but also the very lives of many people, regardless of the quality of their players and their success on the playing fields.

News of important events that might make us reflect and adopt our own decisions and attitudes (and this is precisely what education is all about) are concealed, distorted or otherwise disguised. The meetings of the G8 (a group of plutocrats who attempt to govern the world) fill pages upon pages, while proposals for reform made by the United Nations as a whole or by its financial institutions (managed by the President of the General Assembly with the participation of Nobel Prize Laureates in Economics) receive only a few paragraphs. The same may be said of worldwide meetings such as the recent UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education (not even a line!) or with respect to the topic that for me (and for that reason I reiterate this) constitutes our greatest problem of conscience: the extreme poverty and hunger, which, in a horrendous genocide, results in the death of 60,000 persons daily, while we invest over 2500 million euros in useless weapons. This simple fact should be capable of mobilizing millions of citizens around the globe, but the powers that be in the mass media want these ethically inadmissible situations to continue to be ignored and, once they have received their financial “bailouts,” continue with the status quo.

This means that we all have to look the other way. All of us minding our own business. All silent accomplices. Silence, even when we should applaud the funds announced by the President of the Government to relieve poverty in moments of crisis. If the thousands who die from hunger each day are unable to awaken our sense of solidarity, what will it take to mobilize our citizens, especially today’s youth?

Gervasio Sánchez has expressed this not only with profound and courageous words, but with his moving photography. And what impact has this had? Very little. Solidarity movements could light the way to a future of inclusion, concord and mutual understanding. But if Sánchez’ photography of lives shattered by land mines or of those who die of hunger and neglect are unable to awaken our conscience, we will continue in the dark, in this simulated world in which millions of people live artificial lives, acting upon the dictates of the media. But I am sure that our youth will soon take action, and will become the flag bearers of an initial resistance, which will blossom into concerted action. Several recent literary works have set the stage to divulge the underlying reality, the real world, what lies behind so much window dressing.

“Money talks”: several Spanish newspapers, some of them quite prominent, have lost their dignity by openly contradicting the “values” they previously defended, commencing with the dignity of women, carrying despicable advertising with images and texts that may seriously affect the behavior of children and adolescents. Schools and teachers are almost always blamed… without realizing that it the mass media that so negatively influences our youth. The same may be said of advertisements for certain brands, especially foreign ones, which are not only in bad taste but also approach the limits of what may be considered tolerable. And in the meantime we continue to be spectators. It would suffice for an association of NGO’s to recommend a boycott of publications that contain these repugnant articles or the products of companies whose advertisements are as indecent as they are ridiculous.

Some journalists toe the line, others don’t: not long ago it was made known that a “live” press conference of an autonomous community official had been pre-recorded.

And, as has become customary but is also inadmissible, no questions were allowed. Press conferences have given way to simple press releases. Disguised as simple news, because there was really no press conference, while avoiding any contact with journalists. Some firmly criticized this tactic. Rest assured that sooner or later the truth shall be known. I am convinced –after having defended in UNESCO freedom of expression and the right to accurate information- that the age of citizens as mere recipients and witnesses is coming to an end.

Those who control information basically control our daily activities, including our free time. They control our lives. Through images the reigning “videocracy” impose their points of view on television audiences. Silent indifferent spectators, who fail to realize that they should never relinquish their only strength: being themselves.

It is time to take action, to rebel, to initiate a profound change toward transparency and a true knowledge of reality (the initial requisite for transforming that reality).

It is time to make use of all available communications networks, particularly digital ones, to counteract the omissions and concealments of the lying manipulators, the great “information empires” that, moreover, presumably spy on the “famous” to feed their gossip columns.

It is time to demonstrate the premeditated contradictions of those who have been bailed out, and who soon thereafter condemned the politicians of the very governments that tossed them a lifeline from public funds; the contradictions of those who, yearning for a Condor Operation, consider that the coup in Honduras “puts an end to a populist adventure of a constitutional president”; the contradictions of those who insist that the European democracies with the support of their multinational companies should continue to exploit the countries of Latin America, Africa or the Far East; the contradictions of those who immediately believe videos that are shameless fabrications based on the idea that there is always some truth in an accusation, aimed at world leaders –such as has recently been the case in Guatemala and Ecuador— who are no longer mere subjects and wish to become allies and partners.

It is time to take a stand, to join fora and services that facilitate the mobilization of citizens. We may very well be on the threshold of a new era in which the people will finally take the stage through their democratically-elected representatives, who will have been chosen with complete freedom and responsibility.

Let us refuse to be deceived any longer. Let’s say “no” to those who promote new cults, with ceremonies that attract large numbers of adherents, as a result of mass publicity on the one hand, and on the other the informational and conceptual “vacuum” that they have so skillfully created. Above all, young people must be free to be themselves and to refuse to follow the dictates of others. They should not spike their hair, wear low rise jeans or get tattoos unless they really do so on their own initiative. They must learn to distinguish the tendencies dictated from afar by the powers of the media that, while making huge profits, seek to standardize citizens in general and –what is even more dangerous- young people in particular. But we can now take action from a distance, thanks to new communications technologies. We can make ourselves heard. We must make ourselves heard. We must take a firm stand against this new form of submission and exclusion. A freer and transparent world is the legacy that we must leave to those who will come after us.

Let’s urge them, as in the 2008 Oscar-winning song from the film “Once”, “Raise your hopeful voice…/ you have a choice”.

The Time for Resignation and Silence is Over

For centuries people have been absent from the centers of power. The power of men –even today less than 8% of decision-making power is in the hands of women- accustomed to wielding absolute control over the lives of their vassals. Submissive and silent, in the best of cases they have at least been invited to vote. And that’s fine. I am very much in favor of voting in all elections, perhaps because I dreamed of having that right for so many years. But it’s not enough to have our opinions counted once in a while. As I have often written and said, democracy is actually being taken into account, and not merely having your vote counted.

The history of mankind is the history of submission, of unreservedly applying the perverse adage “if you want peace, prepare for war” which, logically, has given rise to an interminable succession of battles, confrontation and conflicts. The history of mankind is a bloody history, full of heroes, martyrs, unknown soldiers, mothers and families dressed in mourning…

At the end of the two great wars of the 20th century an attempt was made to unite all nations in peace, dialogue, and peaceful conflict resolution. But this was prevented by the great consortium of weapons manufacturers. And the inertia of the governing classes, who considered the people’s role in power to be that of mere foot soldiers, rather than the object and beneficiaries of their efforts. And having fallen prey to fear, citizens remained silent and contemplated the events around them as something totally inescapable.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, based on equal dignity for all, was intended to free mankind from “fear and want”. Everyone “free and equal… and acting towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”. It was essential to share, to dare to change, to implement that profound transition from subjects to citizens, from spectators to actors, from a culture of force and imposition to a culture of dialogue and conciliation.

The requisites for doing so are twofold: an awareness of reality to be able to transform it, and the willingness to dare to peacefully raise our voices, to make ourselves heard, to force them to listen.

As I wrote some time ago, “when we observe the world as a whole we realize how seriously irresponsible it was to transfer to the marketplace the obligations of our political leaders who, guided by ethical ideals and principles, would be able to implement democratic governance. When we observe the damage done to the environment –the air, oceans and land-; the progressive standardization of cultures, whose diversity is our wealth (while being united by universal values is our strength); the erosion of many relevant aspects of the democratic process that we built with our tireless efforts… The lack of response from individuals and institutions, and the resignation and indifference of so many is totally inadmissible.

The silence of those who have been silenced can be forgiven. The silence of those who choose to remain silent cannot. Taking advantage of the emotive reaction to the present crisis, it is urgent to make ourselves heard personally and, above all, as institutions. The scientific, academic, intellectual and creative communities… cannot remain in awe, perplexed and silent. They must join the powers-that-be –governments, parliaments …- to help build the democracy we yearn for at the national, regional and global levels.

Let no one who is aware remain silent. “The voice / that could have been the answer / but for fear / was nothing…” Or even worse: “once more / death will be / the price of silence / and indifference”.

United Nations, yes. G8, no.

The coup in Honduras could have been resolved rapidly by a strong United Nations, capable of quickly and efficiently fulfilling its mission as defined in the Charter. And the world would have been spared the drama of Darfur, the invasions of Kosovo and Iraq, the inhumane situation in Somalia during the last few years under the “war lords”, and the genocide in Rwanda and Cambodia,… to cite only a few examples of the events that would not have taken place or that could have been resolved by this worldwide organization which, on behalf of “the peoples” has the mission of avoiding “the scourge of war”.

But the most powerful nations soon replaced aid with loans, cooperation with exploitation, democratic principles –so solidly set forth in the UNESCO Constitution- with the laws of the marketplace, global justice that only a “democratic” institution can mete out with the discretion of a group of the richest “plutocrats,” initially only 7, then 8, or 20… What difference does it make? They were the great promoters of “globalization”, of the “market economy” (in May, 1996 at the height of globalization they even considered establishing a “market democracy” and “market society”!), and out-and-out privatization, transferring to large multinational corporations not only resources but also, what is even worse, political responsibilities. And they used the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) (which were initially created for “reconstruction and development”) as simple instruments for their ambitions. And they further debilitated the United Nations by placing the World Trade Organization (WTO) beyond its reach…

The system that they promoted has been a resounding failure, evidenced in the multiple (financial, environmental, nutritional, democratic, ethical) crises that we are experiencing as a result, in the words of President Obama, of their “greed and irresponsibility”.

And what is now required is not just a few changes –such as “bailing out” those who created these crises in the first place– but rather the transition to a new era, as I wrote several days ago. The “groups” of the richest must be disbanded and the Organization representing all peoples must be strengthened. The IMF and WB must return to their original functions and the WTO be placed within the United Nations, with a General Assembly composed not only by States, but also representatives of civil society (as is the case with the International Labor Organization –ILO, a “relic” of the League of Nations created by President Woodrow Wilson).

The war economy (3,000 million dollars spent on weapons each day, while more than 60,000 people die from hunger) must be replaced by an economy of global development, so that all may “be.” This is exactly the opposite of G8 and is the best means for building peace.