Chapter 2: What are the dangers inherent in the conglomeration of the media?
How might these dangers be addressed?
The media is an increasingly powerful entity that controls the flow of information from
their sources to the public. The average individual only receives information from mainly
passive and readily available sources; he does not seek it out himself. Thus, television is the
often the mode of choice and the programming shown on the television the only information
consumed. Other common sources are the internet and newspapers.
All of these sources of information have certain biases inherent in the ways they are
presented. Therefore, the sponsors of these sources, that have power over the sources, have
power over the individuals who consume the information. This power can be wielded to the
advantage of the sponsors and their political agendas. When there are multiple sponsors for
each source, the information is filtered through a mesh of different competing beliefs and
agendas.
When the media sponsors start merging, there becomes a sparse few left running the
show. These sources have much more power as large conglomerates. When a few
corporations control what and how the public knows what it knows, they have entirely too
much power. Individuals are unable to make unbiased decisions when there is no alternative
form of information than the one presented. The conglomeration of the media has shifted the
control of the country from the voting public to the few controlling the information given to
them. By outlawing the megamergers that allow such conglomerations exist, we could
attempt to reclaim the bit of free information we still have.
Chapter 3: What is the nature of slavery today, and how does it differ from
slavery in earlier times?
Slavery today differs from slavery in earlier times. Previously, slavery was a much more
racially driven institution. The traditional notion of a slave is the concept of chattel slavery,
mainly forced upon Africans stolen away from their native homelands and their descendents.
Any ‘colored’ person was looked at as less than a person, legally he or she made up only 3/5 of
a person. The prisoners were called slaves and were forced to do manual labor for their
owners.
The other type of slave common in that time was the indentured servant. Indentured
servants indebted themselves to wealthy individuals travelling to America and worked to pay
off their debt once they reached the shore. They were not judged by their skin color, only by
their impoverished status in society. Once they had worked enough to pay off their debts,
indentured servants were free to go.
Slavery today is illegal, at least formal slavery. Sex slaves still exist and are often young
girls sold into human trafficking after being tricked with promises of legitimate work. These
slaves are illegal. There is also said to be slavery in the impoverished neighborhoods in
America. We are all slaves to money here. Those of us with enough financial power can buy
our freedom, not literally though. Those without cash power are constantly tied down to
working for small wages and never having a chance to rise in the ranks. These people lack the
