Towards the end of 2010, I gave a lot of thought about what I could do in 2011 to create a better life for myself and my family - and the world around me. It is amazing to me with all the technology and incredible breakthroughs I've seen in my lifetime, I've notice a severe decline in a lot of things that should be better - not worse.
We have the ability for hundreds of channels on the TV. Yet the majority of the media is owned by a small handful of huge conglomerate corporations purely focused on selling products or corporate interests.
Our food is also controlled by a small number of huge corporations, promoting profits over customers' well being.
Looking at every aspect of my daily life, I began to see how deep corporations had rooted themselves, and began thinking about how I was supporting - and paying - for corporations to act against my own - and others' best interests.
But what could I do about this?
One of my favorite quotes of all time is by Albert Einstein:
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
Around 2001 or so, Micheal Stinson, Don Waller, and I created a website called "Take Back The Media." Through animated political attack ads and boycotts, we raised awareness and made some news, but still, it required the three of us to create content or ideas, and while we all dedicated our time, we were limited resources (and remember, this was in the days before "Web 2.0") and it wasn't a sustainable model.
We were outraged by the huge corporate ownership of the majority of media and the fact they were not operating in the best interests of the public (a prerequisite for obtaining broadcast licenses at cheap, cheap governments subsidized prices), and instead operating in the interests of their bottom line and their shareholders.
Ten years later, I realize huge corporate ownership is not only affecting the media, but nearly every aspect of our lives, and is growing like metastatic cancer. But today, we have a whole host of tools we didn't have in 2001, and Micheal Stinson and I plan to take another shot at creating some resources to allow individuals the ability to fight back against the corporations, or at the very least, bring quality back into their lives, and to borrow a corporate slogan from Walmart.... Live better (for real)!
We have the power to vote, every day with every dollar we spend.
If we go to McDonald's and buy a McDouble for a dollar, we're voting one dollar towards - and promoting - ammonia disinfected beef. And if we go the local farmer's market and buy a dozen organic eggs from our neighbor, that's a vote against the dozen eggs from the mass produced chicken farms, and a vote for folks who treat their animals humanely and feed them quality food.
The intention of this blog is to investigate the corporate influence on the lives of the authors, Julie Sigwart, and Micheal Stinson. It isn't meant to lay some guilt trip on folks for gulping down one of those said deluxe beef-ammonia burgers.
The reality is that corporations are a part of our lives, and to completely disassociate from them would be difficult, if not impossible. But with a little research and some diligence, I believe I personally can make a difference for myself, and this blog will document Micheal's and my journey over the next year to reduce our consumption of corporate, over-processed, low value products. We're hoping to inspire others to do the same, and we welcome your comments.
We have the ability for hundreds of channels on the TV. Yet the majority of the media is owned by a small handful of huge conglomerate corporations purely focused on selling products or corporate interests.Our food is also controlled by a small number of huge corporations, promoting profits over customers' well being.
Looking at every aspect of my daily life, I began to see how deep corporations had rooted themselves, and began thinking about how I was supporting - and paying - for corporations to act against my own - and others' best interests.
But what could I do about this?
One of my favorite quotes of all time is by Albert Einstein:
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
Around 2001 or so, Micheal Stinson, Don Waller, and I created a website called "Take Back The Media." Through animated political attack ads and boycotts, we raised awareness and made some news, but still, it required the three of us to create content or ideas, and while we all dedicated our time, we were limited resources (and remember, this was in the days before "Web 2.0") and it wasn't a sustainable model.
We were outraged by the huge corporate ownership of the majority of media and the fact they were not operating in the best interests of the public (a prerequisite for obtaining broadcast licenses at cheap, cheap governments subsidized prices), and instead operating in the interests of their bottom line and their shareholders.
Ten years later, I realize huge corporate ownership is not only affecting the media, but nearly every aspect of our lives, and is growing like metastatic cancer. But today, we have a whole host of tools we didn't have in 2001, and Micheal Stinson and I plan to take another shot at creating some resources to allow individuals the ability to fight back against the corporations, or at the very least, bring quality back into their lives, and to borrow a corporate slogan from Walmart.... Live better (for real)!
We have the power to vote, every day with every dollar we spend.
If we go to McDonald's and buy a McDouble for a dollar, we're voting one dollar towards - and promoting - ammonia disinfected beef. And if we go the local farmer's market and buy a dozen organic eggs from our neighbor, that's a vote against the dozen eggs from the mass produced chicken farms, and a vote for folks who treat their animals humanely and feed them quality food.
The intention of this blog is to investigate the corporate influence on the lives of the authors, Julie Sigwart, and Micheal Stinson. It isn't meant to lay some guilt trip on folks for gulping down one of those said deluxe beef-ammonia burgers.
The reality is that corporations are a part of our lives, and to completely disassociate from them would be difficult, if not impossible. But with a little research and some diligence, I believe I personally can make a difference for myself, and this blog will document Micheal's and my journey over the next year to reduce our consumption of corporate, over-processed, low value products. We're hoping to inspire others to do the same, and we welcome your comments.
