HOME 
Edición Nº 21
Opinión
I Disembarked the Ship… and you?
by Mercedes Luna
In 1494, Sebastian Brant published one of his books titled Ship of Fools. Aboard this curious ship, traveled a collection of fools described in 112 chapters, and the author put himself as the head of the troop of fools. After harvesting fame throughout all of Europe, the people understood that many of Brant fool's still remain by our sides. Thomas Murner continued with his work and later published books such as: Conspiracy of Fools, Brotherhood of Scoundrels, etc.
In these moments, there’s a storm which lashes the entire world. The same, demands from the world’s citizens so that we may dispose of the cruelty which characterizes us so we can begin to say things as they are and as we see them. We just have to observe our surroundings so we can understand a bit of what is going on.
Very subtly we are being controlled. Technology is carrying out a social organization which little by little dominates the way in which we live. The same goes with the other aspects such as, financial, labor, educational and everything the human mind can imagine. To better understand this we can start with something small, the television, for example. On the small screen, there’s a commercial which shows a group of people eating out at a cafe and one of the women wants to pay for her food with cash and she is so clumsy that she is unable to gather all the money she needs from her wallet and ends up without eating. Later, other commensals arrive and, in one second, their checks are ready and paid for without any problems... using, of course, their credit/check cards. The purpose is to show us how easy it is, if we forget about our cash, to use the credit/check cards. What the commercial doesn’t show us are the consequences we must face once we use our cards. Cash on hand isn’t what it used to be. It isn’t beneficial for anybody, is what the experts say. However, I ask myself, “What would happen if there was a terrorist attack or any type of natural disaster and the ATM’s (automated teller machine) would stop working? What would happen if for some reason our systems would crash and we wouldn’t be able to pay at stores for different things we needed?
Some sectors of the press allow themselves to be manipulated and, therefore, only transmit what they are being told to communicate. In this manner, many journalists keep the public uninformed and the honesty of journalism is given away to a third party. Yes, dear reader, we are being manipulated and controlled, and a clear example is found when we go to the supermarket and use our discount card, which we ourselves sign up for at customer service, because with it we can purchase food at a cheaper price. However, with that card they know exactly where we live, the amount of times we visit the market, what type of brands we prefer, what style of life we follow, if we purchase junk food, if we own pets, if we have sensitive teeth or not, the type of music and books we read (and with this) the beliefs and ideas we have. The same occurs with the location where we rent our videos. They ask for our membership card and with that they learn a little more about each of us.
Little by little and always making us believe that everything is for the user’s benefit, they have begun to also manage our financial life as well, since through automatic payments banks take money out of our bank accounts to pay our bills. What could we possibly complain about? How they help us save money on stamps? How we don’t have to waste time anymore filling out a check? How we don’t have to waste money or time in buying and filling out envelopes? It would be unfair on our part, to not appreciate all of the benefits which are being offered to us. But we must be careful because in these moments, there are banks that do not allow you to completely empty out your bank account. There exist specific clauses, to protect you, and for this reason they will not give you your money in the time requested, but in the time your bank sees fit.
It is becoming common to find on the telephone, gas, electric, cable bill, etc... extra cents being charged. If the user wishes to complain, he will find it very difficult. They are only open to the public from Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm. Just at the times when the people are at work and unable to make lengthy personal calls. The majority opts to not complain about those few cents added to the bill, but step by step, adding a cent here and a cent there they are raising little by little our water, electric, cable, telephone, etc. Peculiar right?
Meanwhile, communication media, instead of showing these types of news, they show us the famous classics from the decade of the fifties. It seems there is a group of scoundrel brothers who are underestimating us since we believe everything they tell us without question.
However, in my personal case, I don’t believe everything I hear and I analyze profoundly what occurs in my surroundings. For that reason I have gotten off the ship of fools. I refuse to form part of the crew of this ominous ship. I prefer to take off my ingenuousness clothing, my shoes of cruelty, relinquish all of my attire, and launch my nude self into the clean and clear waters, than be accompanied by scoundrel brothers, dressed in falseness and shipwrecked, like it is bound to soon occur, in dirty and turbid waters.
For this reason I, already disembarked the ship. And you?
Prohibida la reproducción total o parcial del contenido de este web site sin autorización