Translation?

When I worked for a Fortune 500 company, I was trained to speak publicly for training purposes and announcements.  In every instance, I was told to speak at a level understandable to the entire audience.  “If you speak so that a doctor in the audience understands but not the rest of the audience, you leave the majority with nothing.  Speak to the most basic level of your audience and every member of it will understand your message.”  It made perfect sense to me.  And it worked.  However, I refuse to believe that this information has not made it to the mainstream media.

My entire life (which is a long time) I have watched TV news broadcasts, special reports, Presidents addressing the nation and debates.  After every single one of these, a news anchor has then spent at least the same amount of time as the speech itself if not longer explaining to me what I just heard.  Now, I understand the need for an attorney when dealing with contracts written in legal ease, but are news broadcasts being done at such a high level the average person such as myself is incapable of discerning what was just said? And if they are – WHY?

Are you under the impression that I require an interpreter? 

That brings me to my next point.  Facebook, Youtube and all the other technologies we use to communicate, and thought were so wonderful when they first came into our lives are now showing us what we did not expect: Censorship.  That’s right!  Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerburg have appointed themselves the guardians of the Galaxy when it comes to information dissemination and will make the final call on what is and is not acceptable information for us to be reading.  The question we need to be asking ourselves is who appointed them?

Bill Gates, while clearly a very intelligent man when it comes to computers, is no more superior a human than any other smart person who focused his energy in one direction at an early age.  Mark Zuckerberg, an expert at writing code, took an idea that belonged to someone else and “tweaked it” to create the Facebook empire.  He, in the process, demolished the friendship he had with the only person close to him.  That person ended up suing him (as did the individuals who had the original idea); all of whom won their suits.  Bill Gates, confident he could come up with another life changing idea – gave us common core.  It changed lives alright.  There isn’t a young person who endured this tedious method that emerged from the education unscathed.  If you have ever attempted a math problem using common core, you would sooner gouge out your own eyes than use it twice!

So, these men – these entrepreneurs now billionaires have decided that because of their good fortune which must certainly come from their own superiority to others, deems them the keepers of truth; the guardians of information and judges of what is right and wrong for us (the little people) to be reading.

I’m afraid I’m going to have to throw the bull shit card.  If Bill Gates was concerned with “bettering” things for mankind, every subscription of Microsoft Office would not have a yearly purchase renewal price attached to it.  There would be the initial purchase price – that’s it.  Not happening though, is it Bill?  Oh he and his wife, whose only claim to fame is marrying the man who earned himself billions, have many philanthropic ventures that they invest in; all of which earn them very prestigious spots within the world stage and afford them the audience to contribute on these world stages as subject matter experts – which they are not.  And then there is Facebook; the social media platform used to connect people – and it did in the beginning, now offers us between every other post a tidbit of wisdom written by someone behind a curtain in a land far far away OR an advertisement for a product MADE IN CHINA that we can purchase and obtain in 6 weeks or more.  As soon as Instagram became popular, you purchased that so as not to have a communication platform you did not control.  And, let us not forget the fund-raising initiative Facebook has copied from GoFundMe or YouCaring that will provide a mechanism to raise money for those in need FOR A PRICE.

You guys have got to be kidding!  You have not once demonstrated an ounce of giving a shit for anyone (inside or out of the US) for any other reason than to generate even more revenue for your empires.  And now, you are going to independently decide that you are the gatekeepers of the universe?  You decide what is fit for us to read, discuss, believe and eventually how we are to maintain our records, our currency?  And don’t even get me started on vaccines!

Dr. Ben Carson has separated more than a few pair of conjoined twins; a feat that is not only impressive, but God-like.  I dare say I would rather be hearing his opinion on vaccines than yours; not yours after the two of you confer over which company you should back for your investment into this – just his opinion – period.  He has, after all, a lifetime of medical expertise WHICH YOU DO NOT!  What’s that?  Dr. Ben Carson’s area of expertise is not immunology?  OMG!  Neither is yours!!!

If no one has told you yet, you are both just people; just like the rest of us. Yes, you can now buy your own island and that power has afforded you the attention of those the rest of us only read about.  But you are still just men – Men whose wallets only symbolize the size of their egos. 

What deeply saddens me is that it is obvious (to me if no one else) that you only respect those with as much money as yourselves – and that eliminates virtually everyone else on the planet but a select few.  It is that total lack of respect that raises my concern that you are not going to act in my (or anyone else’s) best interest.  Your only concern is for you. That is the litmus for which I determine that you should not making decisions for everyone else. 

I speak for only myself – but you all (Gates, Zuckerberg, anchors) need to knock it off!  This is the United States, land of free speech.   I believe you have the right (as we all do) to speak your minds.  But do not decide for me that which I should and should not read for myself and determine if it makes sense.  Do not decide for me what information I can be exposed to and do not belittle me by putting your ‘spin’ on information I just heard with my own ears.  Please grant me the same respect you entitle yourself with.  And for God’s sake, don’t trounce the constitution of the very country that afforded you the opportunities you have taken full advantage of early in your careers.  Just because I cannot buy it – doesn’t mean it isn’t my country too!

R-O-A-R!!!!