http://nypost.com/2013/11/18/census-faked-2012-election-jobs-report/
“The manager of a fruit and vegetable shop places in his window,
among the onions and carrots, the slogan: “Workers of the world, unite!”
Why does he do it? What is he trying to communicate to the world?
Is he genuinely enthusiastic about the idea of unity among the workers
of the world? Is his enthusiasm so great that he feels an irrepressible
impulse to acquaint the public with his ideals? Has he really given more
than a moment’s thought to how such a unification might occur
and what it would mean?
I think it can safely be assumed that the overwhelming
majority of shopkeepers never think about the slogans they
put in their windows,nor do they use them to express their
real opinions. That poster was delivered to our greengrocer from
the enterprise headquarters along with the onions and carrots. He
put them all into the window simply because it has been done that
way for years, because everyone does it, and because that is
the way it has to be. If he were to refuse, there could be trouble.
He could be reproached for not having the proper decoration in
his window;someone might even accuse him of disloyalty. He does
it because these things must be done if one is to get along in life.
It is one of the thousands of details that guarantee him a relatively
tranquil life “in harmony with society,” as they say. Obviously the
greengrocer is indifferent to the semantic content of the slogan on exhibit;
he does not put the slogan in his window from any personal desire to
acquaint the public with the ideal it expresses. This, of course, does not
mean that his action has no motive or significance at all, or that the
slogan communicate nothing to anyone. The slogan is really a sign, and
as such it contains a subliminal but very definite message. Verbally, it
might be expressed this way: “I, the greengrocer XY , live here and I know
what I must do. I behave in the manner expected of me. I can be depended
upon and am beyond reproach. I am obedient and therefore I have the right
to be left in peace.” This message,of course, has an addressee: it is directed
above,to the greengrocer’s superior, and at the same time it is a shield that
protects the greengrocer from potential informers. The slogan’s real
meaning, therefore, is rooted firmly in the greengrocer’s existence. It
reflects his vital interests. But what are those vital interests?
Let us take note: if the greengrocer had been instructed to display the
slogan “I am afraid and therefore unquestioningly obedient,” he would
not be nearly as indifferent to its semantics, even though the statement
would reflect the truth. The greengrocer would be embarrassed and ashamed
to put such an unequivocal statement of his own degradation in the shop
window, and quite naturally so, for he is a human being and thus has a sense of
his own dignity. To overcome his complication, his expression of loyalty must take the
form of a sign which, at least on its textual surface, indicates a level of disinterested
conviction. It must allow the greengrocer to say, “What’s wrong with the workers of the
world uniting?” Thus the sign helps the greengrocer to conceal from himself the low
foundations of his obedience, at the same time concealing the low foundations of power.
It hides them behind the facade of something high.” Vaclav Havel, The power of the powerless
Do you get it yet? We are living in Havel’s “Post totalitarian” dystopia where the dictator has been replaced by the entrenched power of the state. You must obey, because if you don’t there will be consequences. Do you think that these faked numbers are an isolated incident or part of a pattern of brown nosed sympathizers scrambling for a position in the system?
“This system serves people only to the extent necessary to ensure that people will
serve it. Anything beyond this, that is to say, anything which leads people to overstep
their predetermined roles is regarded by the system
as an attack upon itself And in this respect it is correct: every instance of
such transgression is a genuine denial of the system. It can be said, therefore, that
the inner aim of the post totalitarian system is not mere preservation of power
in the hands of a ruling clique, as appears
to be the case at first sight. Rather, the social phenomenon of self
preservation is subordinated to something higher, to a kind of blind
automatism which drives the system.”