Land of the Free

I started this a while ago and thought I'd finish it off and post it up here.

This isn't an anti-America rant. This is an anti-capitalism rant, using the american flag to respresent what I'm trying to portray, as the majority of America is highly consumer-orientated. Had the British flag been so appropriately designed, I would've used that one to avoid the sharp lashings of those who hate american critique so apologies there...

I guess when I originally made this I wanted to show that democracy is not real. I'm talking about highly capitalised countries - the USA and UK. Using the American idea that the citizens live in freedom and have freedom of speech and the like, I want to challenge this view.

I don't believe democracy or freedom exist because of personal experience... I don't believe it exists because capitalism does not allow it.

The interests of capitalism are purely one thing; PROFIT. Nothing else matters; the environment, or the creatures that inhabit it. Capitalism goes hand-in-hand with our governments and thus, anything that challenges this giant monster will be squashed as soon as possible. The government is in complete control, and the idea that anyone has freedom to stand up for what they believe in is a complete facade.

I came to this conclusion after deciding to use my right to free speech, and test the democracy system here in the UK. We are apparently entitled to demonstrate our opinions about something we disagree with, yet whip out a banner for an entirely peaceful protest and the emergency services (999) are called, the police requested, and up they pop - battons, video cameras, riot vans and all. Uhm, I thought expressing our opinion in a form of democratic protest was legal? It's actually not, as the police will deliberately try and find something to arrest you for - graphic photos on a banner, noise pollution of a megaphone, trasspass of a company's property... techinically even standing near the premises is somehow a breach of this Great British Law.

Aside from the world of demonstrations, I also wanted to depict that even though people may believe they are "free", I think that under capitalism you are always a slave while you submit to its values; materialism, selfishness and money, money, and.. oh I nearly forgot - money. Because I personally don't see these as having any worth at the end of the day - being happy is more valuable than any amount of those little pieces of metal and paper with some persons' face stamped on it.
Companies need to sell products. But actually, we can be happy with what we need and should be content with the wonderful things we already have. But this doesn't generate money. Since we only have a limited number of needs, companies invent a product then market it as if you "need" it... I find this particularly dispicable. People want to subscribe to these ridiculously materialistic lifestyles as they think this is what they need to satisfy themselves and make them happy.. yet to do so they need stressful jobs with hugely long hours to pay for all of it. What's the point of spending all of your time working for these possessions when you're never around to 'enjoy' them anyway? How can anyone want to spend more time with their briefcase than their family? Thus my point is, the overworked nation are unhappy because of the system they are trapped in.. that's why 25% of all drugs prescribed on the NHS are anti-depressants (the government don't want anyone to look into the actual cause of their depression, they'd much rather drug everyone up with a quick cure to stop them questioning!)...

I could go on forever. This has turned into an essay and it really wasn't supposed to. I still feel I've left out half the picture here but I can't help thinking anyone reading this is now probably drooling into their keyboard with a digestive biscuit stuck to their forehead

I'l definitely shut up now, but I haven't written this for a debate or a flaming, although I'm sure I'll get both, I just wanted to express my stance on a few things