This blog’s visitor numbers, by country, show the United States taking an oscillating percentage between 50 and 70%.
I’m happy, living in the U.S., that there are that many folks from other countries visiting and hope their number increases…
Still, many people see the U.S. as leading the way in democratic freedoms.
Sad to say, politics and corporate agendas are swiftly eroding true liberty in the U.S. and it becomes particularly painful when I see its action in the publishing industry.
But, publishing houses are corporations and are, in turn, owned by larger corporations…
And, corporations and politicians are the current “masters” of humanity.
My novel treats of this phenomenon but goes further and has the corporations completely absorbing politics—no more parties or candidates, just The Corporation…
Perhaps my book will be banned one day………
Yet, even though freedom to publish is aided by all the initiatives in self-publishing, the political climate is darkening and the pall of population control is widening.
What of the non-fiction world, where authors attempt to uncover plots against freedom and clear the murk of political obfuscation?
It’s becoming somewhat like the novel, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury…
In case you’re of the mind to ignore the dangers from crushing oppression of humanity’s freedom, I dare you to watch this video:
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That’s a **great** video. Another aspect I find of interest is the textbooks coming out of the education publishing houses. There’s always been an apparent agenda as far as I’m concerned, but as a parent it drives me bonkers.
That’ s a great video, absolutely terrifying. Another question is what happens when access to the internet is controlled by a government or a great corporation. Look at Syria or China.
Textbooks are problematic in my country, too, Simone. The school textbooks my daughter’s school uses are okay. I used to teach German to immigrants. When I started about fifteen years ago the courses were mostly paid for by an institution called job centre in British English (Sorry, I don’t know the American word) We had every freedom where textbooks where concerned and, as every teacher knows, worked with several books and used lots of additional material. Then the federal government in Berlin (Who by the way has no influence on the schools) took over the German classes, created a new sub division of the ministry and … published a list of textbooks. They came from the big publishing houses, were obviously put together in haste by people who knew nothing about language teaching and they introduced learners to such a perfect Germany, that neither the learners nor I recognized the place.
Thanks for your personal insights into this, Martina.
As far as education goes, my experience of astrophysics papers passed by the peer-review system is that they must be the “party” line or they never see the light of day—at least in the journals. Though, we still have other avenues of publication but much more effort must be expended to get salutary knowledge recognized by funded institutions…
Why, I’d love to Alexander. :-) I think with Martina’s comment I was considering language in general, but now I can step back some to mere words. How about the books of Mark Twain? I wonder how he’d feel about his books being rewritten for modern times.
Personally, in life I try to avoid words used to marginalize people. In the story I’ve been posting, I did make use of two words that have been used by others to define me. I decided to use the words to describe a hang out joint and a type of house. I was amusing myself mostly, but was delighted when one of the readers picked up on it. :-D
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That’s a **great** video. Another aspect I find of interest is the textbooks coming out of the education publishing houses. There’s always been an apparent agenda as far as I’m concerned, but as a parent it drives me bonkers.
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Yes, Simone, stifling young minds—may become a crime in future society—akin to arson or murder…
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That’ s a great video, absolutely terrifying. Another question is what happens when access to the internet is controlled by a government or a great corporation. Look at Syria or China.
Textbooks are problematic in my country, too, Simone. The school textbooks my daughter’s school uses are okay. I used to teach German to immigrants. When I started about fifteen years ago the courses were mostly paid for by an institution called job centre in British English (Sorry, I don’t know the American word) We had every freedom where textbooks where concerned and, as every teacher knows, worked with several books and used lots of additional material. Then the federal government in Berlin (Who by the way has no influence on the schools) took over the German classes, created a new sub division of the ministry and … published a list of textbooks. They came from the big publishing houses, were obviously put together in haste by people who knew nothing about language teaching and they introduced learners to such a perfect Germany, that neither the learners nor I recognized the place.
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Thanks for your personal insights into this, Martina.
As far as education goes, my experience of astrophysics papers passed by the peer-review system is that they must be the “party” line or they never see the light of day—at least in the journals. Though, we still have other avenues of publication but much more effort must be expended to get salutary knowledge recognized by funded institutions…
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Interesting. Both your comment, Alexander, and Martina’s. Language is another matter to consider. Who is deciding all the details of that? :-)
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Simone, could you expand on your comment, “Language is another matter to consider. Who is deciding all the details of that?”?
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Why, I’d love to Alexander. :-) I think with Martina’s comment I was considering language in general, but now I can step back some to mere words. How about the books of Mark Twain? I wonder how he’d feel about his books being rewritten for modern times.
Personally, in life I try to avoid words used to marginalize people. In the story I’ve been posting, I did make use of two words that have been used by others to define me. I decided to use the words to describe a hang out joint and a type of house. I was amusing myself mostly, but was delighted when one of the readers picked up on it. :-D
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Thanks, so much, Simone, for that extension of your comment :-)
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