“Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle” is a 2009 book by Pulitzer Prize winner, Chris Hedges.  He makes a very detailed and persuasive case that the majority of Americans (and those enthralled by American culture, which includes very many Canadians) can no longer distinguish between Reality and Illusion, which has historically signaled the death knell for cultures and empires.  The most obvious parallel is the “Bread and Circuses” policy used to distract the citizens of the Roman Empire as it crumbled.  Our present distractions/ entertainments are not that much different from the Romans 2000 years ago – sex, violence, pre-occupation with spectacle and the lives the famous.. in our case even the fleetingly famous, as in “reality stars”. 

However, our technology is able to deliver these distractions much more powerfully, 24 hours a day and wherever we are, especially if hooked up by i-phones, blackberries etc. Movies, TV, wrestling, professional sport, pornography (especially internet), video games, gambling, alcohol and drugs etc. all combine to put us into an over- stimulated, stressed and distracted state, which has become an addiction.. we can’t do without it. An increasing number of personal addictions are being (belatedly) identified: drugs, alcohol, eating, gambling, pornography, sex, prescription drugs, video games and much more.  2500 years ago, the Buddha pointed out that we suffer when we become attached.  Addiction is overwhelming attachment.

If “entertainment” preoccupies us, at the very least, we have less time and energy to devote to the challenges of real life, which are neglected and subsequently turn into crise (and often are still ignored!).  This numbness and desire to escape is obvious and widespread throughout North America.  No one wants to be “bothered” or “bored” by seeming complex and “remote” or “far off” problems..

However, Pop Culture is not only a passive escape, but is often used to deliberately distortion reality by the Power Elite and the Corporations ---which own and monopolize all the major news/ communication,/marketing/ entertainment organizations.  Have you ever wondered how come a certain person (or product) suddenly appears in all the magazines, TV shows etc and is proclaimed a “star” or a “hit”?  There are just a handful of companies controlling the Biz and everyone in that industry depends on them directly or indirectly.  Those who are a nuisance or threat are simply ignored, shut out or in extreme cases, crushed.

The power of media manipulation has of course moved into politics and government.  The Republicans are far more aggressive in using this power and more openly aligned with the Corporations as the Bush-Cheney administration showed.  The Iraqi invasion was sold to the American people (and the world) on blatantly false “facts” – there were never any ‘weapons of mass destruction’ and the administration know this.  Bush, Cheney, Rove, and Rumsfeld simply wanted to take out Iraq for oil and other personal reasons like avenging Bush’s father and getting work for companies like Haliburton, which Cheney used to run.

What is even more shocking than this deception is that the average American has failed to hold them accountable!!... even though thousands of American soldiers were killed and injured and the Treasury depleted by $ hundreds of billions (which could have pumped up the economy, Education or Medicare).  The same thing is happening now with the Depression/ Recession.  People have forgotten (or have bought the Republican diversionary spin) that it was Bush’s de-regulation and Corporations-first policy which was responsible for the crash.  Such disasters cannot be fixed within a year, but that is what people expect and have been turning on Obama for months – well short of a year when many of those same people were escatic over his election.   All this suggests to Hedges – and to me – that Illusion is indeed gradually replacing Reality in North America (and elsewhere).  The techniques that are used to distract and manipulate us when we watch a movie or play a video game are now being effectively used in every aspect of our culture and society.

In my last post, “Is Democracy in Danger”, I pointed my finger mostly at Corporate Society.  Corporations are also manipulating Popular Culture, media etc, but individuals must take responsibility.  We spend our hard-earned $ on all the garbage that the Entertainment industry throws at us and we make the decision not to investigate (or even bother to remember) the issues that are challenging us. We decide to numb out.  Happiness, whether individual or collective, will never come about through numbness, dumbness, meanness, exploitation and violence.  On the contrary, that is the path to collapse…the signs of which are becoming increasingly frequent.

The greatest spiritual teachers and philosophers over the millenia have taught greater self-understanding and awareness, which if skillfully practiced, lead to higher levels of morality, compassion and wisdom – understanding ourselves, the world and how they are intricately interconnected.  They recommend living fully in each moment – the Now -instead of trying to escape it.