I had intended to write a post about egos and their negative effects when I sat down with my computer in lap tonight, though as I made my rounds on Facebook I came across a news article which caught my eye. At first glance it comes of as a positive story about a gay rights (stop there if you think this is the place for hate-mongering towards people in the LBGT community, everyone deserves rights whether you agree or not and I will not entertain comments to the opposite). However, once I began reading this article, it really sunk in what was occurring. Here’s the article, so that I don’t have to explain all the details to you:
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/feb/07/google-russian-anti-gay-laws-winter-olympics
Assuming you just read that, we will continue on. What bothered me here is not that a stand is being made for gay rights, but that a major corporation is trying to openly and directly influence a major global power. You may carry on about how much you hate Russia or Putin, or think this is absolutely awesome, but let me attempt to explain to you why this is potentially one of the most terrible things you could allow to happen. Why it really started picking at my brain like a plot to a movie that may or may not star Luke Wilson.
When one country attempts to persuade another country to change its views it is called politics and is usually carried out by appropriate representatives. This helps to keep good order and relations between countries. There is a formal face to be presented so that proper communication can be established. This keeps one side or the other from feeling snubbed, because they can at least express their own opinion in the form of debate or discussion. As well, this representative is ACTUALLY given authorization to speak upon the behalf of the governing party. If this wasn’t considered to be the appropriate way of doing things we would have never developed government systems and put people in charge in the first place.
Now, what we have run into with this corporation trying to influence a nation is a limited group of people, with albeit, good intentions trying to force political change in a country in which they don’t live. Still sounds somewhat harmless, yes? Lets think about what this opens the gate way towards. Once corporations begin influencing government affairs openly and publicly, we will wind up with political candidates being promoted by corporations. Instead of voters making the choice between pro-choice or pro-life, we’ll have simpletons that know nothing about their candidates, their views and values, and will base their opinions on whether or not Yahoo likes them. People complain enough of party politics and picking between republican and democrat, well now your choices are going to be Coke and Pepsi’s respective candidates. Oh, you like Apple? Apple likes this guy, so don’t worry about the fact that he wants to tax the ever-loving fuck out of you. Apple says he’s good because we told him what we wanted him to say so that we will back him in his candidacy.
These corporations aren’t benevolent, appointed, we got your best interest in mind kind of guys. The corporate world can be rather cut throat and that typically leaves ruthless and self serving individuals at the top. Am I saying that’s the case with Google? No, I can’t speak on that because I don’t know. I actually really like Google from my limited experience with them, but that’s not the point. We are treading a dangerously idiotic path to let a name brand dictate political influence and foreign policy. Any moron can be lured into voting towards something he knows nothing about if you tell him his favorite truck company likes this generalized political concept. And to fall hook-line-and sinker for it, as the saying goes, you only are allowing the world to slip straight down into the garbage disposal.
Please stop handing over your common sense. Stop going with the motion of things, the movement of the crowd in the riot, analyze your surroundings for at least a split second, and then make your own decisions towards the event in which you have found yourself. Read between lines. Gather information. Make informed choices when you have the time to think things through, go with your gut when you have no other choice. But either way, stop blindly pressing the buttons of the world, before you accidentally hit the big red one labeled “NUKE”.
Its got what plants crave.
Arctic Specter 