People have always used bribes to influence public opinion. Today, some of the wealthiest countries in the world have bribed their way to respectability.
We know bribery is taking place when countries that allow slaves to be bought, sold, and owned are not held up to the same standards as Western countries’ ozone levels.
We know bribes are being paid when brutal practices like female circumcision are ignored but “equal opportunity for women” is a common theme.
Bribes focus populaces away from failures in public public programs and focus attention on the need for more spending. “News” will focus on the occasional child molester far more than the intentional “illiterification” of generations of schoolchildren.
We pay several times more for electricity because providers of wind, coal, gas, and oil generators make generous payments to keep people thinking that “nuclear power is dangerous”.
The killing of women for reasons of “honor” is tolerated because those who could be outraged are bribed not to be.
The contents of “News” papers, magazines, and broadcasts are mostly placed by the generous payment of bribes.
Understanding the existence and use of bribes is important. We must learn to watch for their effect. One way is to ask ourselves, “Who would have paid for that?” every time we watch the news. That discipline will show us a great deal about the way the lower world works.
