Which is the more obnoxious?

The Media or The Social Media?

When I was a young man, I travelled both to high school in Brooklyn and
after to my clerk’s job at William F Buckley’s National Review at 150 East
35th Street in Manhattan from the Woodhaven Boulevard station (Queens) of
the New York City’s elevated transit system.

Before boarding, I stopped at the kiosk below the station and bought a copy
of The New York Times that I would read on the trip from the suburbs to The
Big Apple, and which I had to toss into a litter bin before entering the
National Review offices for fear of losing my job. The NYT was Mr Buckley’s
most hated newspaper and I did not want to offend him.

Entering the railroad car I immediately sniffed the smell of ink (petroleum)
and paper (trees) that emitted from the many passengers’ newspapers and
who were reading them on their way to school and work. But if you entered
a railroad (subway) car on another occasion, when there were no crowds in
it, some other odor could be inhaled: The sweet smell of gums and bubble
gums that had apparently been spit out onto the floors of the trains. If the
gums were gooey they gave off a more pungent scent; but, there also were
many other wads of gum spewed out on different occasions, but they had
turned black and were less sweet-smelling. Perhaps it was a mixture of
Wrigley’s peppermint and, my favorite, bubblegum?

The NYT is a broadsheet newspaper, so the custom was to unfold it, then
fold it again lengthwise. This was done so as not to take up much space in a
very, very crowded railroad train when commuters were catching up on the
news. The Daily News, a popular NYC tabloid, was read less probably
because it was so cumbersome to open and read in a crowd. We have to give
credit to many Americans for being curious to learn.

The masthead of the NYT is bold and impressive; and, underneath the title
on the front page there is this intrepid slogan: “We print all the news that’s
fit to print.” If one takes this motto seriously, one must conclude that it is
rather stupid. How could anyone believe that a newspaper could print all
the news in New York—or even the world—that the 1960s had to tell. At the
time, the world’s population was 3,000,000,000. As I write this essay, it is
quickly arriving at 8,000,000,000 people.

To make the expression even more ridiculous, in the basement of the NYT,
where in the old days before the invention of the computer, typesetters
typed the entire edition with a machine, almost like a typewriter, that
dropped each and every metal letter into place later to be printed and sent
out for distribution throughout the city and the world. One clever
typesetter fixed a sign to the wall of the typesetting room that proclaimed:
“We print all the news that fits.” ( !!! )

Voilà!

Now to the nitty-gritty. If no newspaper, magazine or television program can

divulge “all the news that’s fit to print,” even in its own environs, how is it
that these journalists and their editors can be counted upon to let us know
what is actually going on here and then there? They will claim they are
doing their utmost best to do so, and, we would secretly want to believe that
they are doing so. But, this is a lame excuse. There are numerous downsides
to the profession of Journalism, and one of the most obvious is that
Journalism is an exaggeration of an exaggeration. If a news article is a
genuine scoop, it will be seen again and again in various other news outlets.
Different versions of the news story will, obviously, be altered somewhat to
fit the needs of each publishing entity that will have the effrontery to
proclaim that their versions are the most dependable, valid, and interesting.
(“Once a newspaper touches a story, the facts are lost forever, even to the
protagonists.” [Norman Mailer, The Presidential Papers, 1964]).

(President John F Kennedy was said to read a large number of newspapers,

from different cities in the United States, each morning, and it was even
said he was a speed reader. What I think they meant by “speed reader” was
not that he read each and every word of all the newspapers he read, but that
he scanned the headlines of those newspapers to get a general idea of what
was going on, and not the slant of one or two newspapers. He read only the
articles he thought he could learn from amongst all the advertising glut
surrounding them. I live in Italy and often the towns’ libraries are filled
with newspapers, local and national, available to readers so as to encourage
them to read. In the close to forty years that I have exclusively used Italian
public transport, I think I have seen not more than ten or so Italians
reading a newspaper! Try reading the headlines of more than one “rag” to
get a whiff at what might be The Truth!)

In addition, Journalism is a business. Cute (female)and coiffed (male)

newscasters have to be paid. Staff members are in search of raises. The cost
of paper and ink is skyrocketing. Competition is excruciating. Dog-eat-dog
newsgatherers go to all and any extremes to bring home the journalistic
bacon that will be sold to the public who are intensely interested in what is
principally bad, enticing, and even semi-pornografic—if that is what
readers, after all, are after.

Advertising and advertisers pose still another quandary. How many stories
have been squelched for the interests of advertisers and their advertising
paybacks in order not to lose valuable contracts that are expended for the
expenses of a newspaper, magazine, and/or a TV news story/interview. In
Journalism, then, the bottom line is money. It is on the mind of every editor
and media owner. Even if we could trust them to “print all the news that’s
fit to print,” for what reason would they be doing us such a favor? Love, bro?
Every journalist or editor must be asked “What did you leave out today?”
Can we trust them when they must decide on “killing” one story or another
—both for precious editorial space, or orders from above—from the
newspapers, magazines, or television programs’ owners. It must be quite
embarrassing, disheartening, for journalists to be told that their forthright,
even trustworthy story has been nixed at the behest of those in charge of
them.

Is the journalist, then, just a pawn? Is a journalist a frustrated author? Is a

reporter a frustrated journalist? With the over-exaggerated, over-stimulated,
over-fed, fake state of Journalism, one has the impression that newsmongers
are more interested in what they are thought of than they are in what
thoughts they have. But this dilemma is not unusual when a society is
cracking up, and the purport of life of a people is running helter-skelter, is
confusing, silly and self-generated—when citizens are asking what their
country can do for them, and not what they can do for their country
basically because little is functioning efficiently—or operating exclusively
for the few. There exists a cult of the privileged class in the DisUnited
States. (Please see and read my The Cult of the American Privileged Class on
www.scribd.com/thewordwarrior.)

ANTHONY ST. JOHN was a journalist for The Hollywood Herald (1972) where he
was free to interview subjects of his own choosing (Chris Evert, Frank Borman,
Jane Chastain, the president of the University of Miami, various Miami Dolphin
football players, Mickey Rooney, et alia). He worked part-time as a reporter for The
Miami Herald (1973) performing various tasks including obituary editor, police
desk reporter, and general assignment reporter. He was a part-time reporter for
The Gainesville Sun (a New York Times Company,1974) where he “covered” University
of Florida public events, and was assigned to the city of Gainesville's government
meetings. He was a copy editor for The Daily Journal in Caracas, Venezuela.

On Saturday 26 May 1973, I was summoned to the Miami Herald’s city desk
and instructed by the editor that I had been assigned to cover the arrival of
President Richard Nixon at his “summer White House” on the lovely Key
Biscayne. A “Herald” photographer would accompany me. My story, that was
published on page two of the 27 May 1973, 382-page Sunday edition, began
so: “Sixty-eight high school students took 16,645 petition signatures to the
Key Biscayne White House Saturday, but were upstaged by an Indian girl in
a bikini and her Irish setter.” As the student group marched asking
President Nixon's administration to donate $10,000,000 towards the
purchase of the Big Cypress Swamp, Raven Floating Cloud, a Yuma by
birth, appeared with her dog on the lawn of a neighbor of President Nixon.
Ms. Floating Cloud exclaimed to reporters and TV reps that she had met
Nixon the day before while walking her dog around the presidential
compound in which she was staying with a friend whose house was on the
enclosure's property. (Secret Service agents were all over the area.)Nixon
told her, she said, “I'll see you later.” Ms. Floating Cloud said “I was so
excited I couldn't speak.” On page two of the Sunday edition where the
story was spotlighted INDIAN GIRL UPSTAGES MARCH TO PETITION
NIXON ON SWAMP, there appeared two large pictures, side by side: one of
demonstrating high school kids and the rather attractive Ms. Floating
Cloud.
Imagine that those sixty-eight high school kids had had a smartphone. That
they had taken photos of Ms. Floating Cloud, and her appearance had gone
viral throughout the United States and the world. That her “I'll see you
later” quote from the president of the United States was not a falsehood.
That the images would hint that the president might be dating a beautiful
woman. What if the kids' photos had reached millions of spectators. How
many, of, say, 2,000,000 viewers, would pruriently think Nixon was having an
affair. How many of them would think Nixon would never think of being
unfaithful to his wife. The sheer number of “tweets” would dilute what the
real truth was, because people would be called upon to offer their personal
feelings about President Nixon (“Tricky Dick” and “Would you buy a used
car from this man?”) without wanting to be interested in the accuracy
concerning the matter. Journalism could then continue its march to
adulterate what is veracious in favor of that which is salacious. Media top
executives know that what tantalizes—what panders to the masses—offers
more viewers, offers more advertising revenue.

Nevertheless, in the 1960s and 1970s, Journalism was more subdued, and
because it was more low-key, there was less haste—haste makes waste—and
stories rang with a greater sense of authenticity to them even when they
might have not been so bona fide.

The Miami Herald, at that time, was perhaps the most modern, sophisticated
newspaper in the United States. Reporters' desks were outfitted with beige
IBM Selectric typewriters, and we did not insert sheets of white paper into
them. We were supplied with thermal paper on which we would print four
different pastel colored copies that would be sent to different news desks
for confirmation and editing by more experienced editors and copy editors.
Misspelt words were very rare at The Miami Herald. But The Truth?

Things that were happening in 1973 included the following: Watergate

burglars’ trial began...Roe versus Wade allowed most abortions to be
legalized...Haldeman and Ehrlichman resigned...a dozen medium eggs cost
$0.25...a FORD Galaxie cost $3,883...a gallon of gas cost $0.40...the world's
population was 3.9 billion...Henry “The Carpet Bomber” Kissinger won the
Nobel Peace Prize...the Sydney Opera House opened...the Vietnam “War”
drew to an end...the Sears Tower in Chicago was finished...the United
States' Senate passed the War Powers Act...Soyuz 12 returned to Earth...the
United States’ kidnap victim Paul Getty III was freed...Alexander
Solzhenitsyn published Gulag Archipelago...the GPS was developed...the
first mobile phone was manufactured...the construction of the World Trade
Center was completed...Picasso died.

Although 1973 was chosen randomly for this article, it still is suggestive of
some important events which would come to bear heavily upon the
historical, economic, social and political dynamics of American History,
including these two: The mechanics of the downfall of President Richard
Nixon who would resign in 1974; and, the defeat of United States' troops in
Vietnam. Nixon's criminal activities would remain fixed in the psyches of
American citizens, and his behavior elicited a distrust of American
politicians that yet remains steadfastly part of the American opinion of
lawmakers and the Washington and Wall Street elite.
Enormously damaging to the American state of mind was the military loss
stomached in South East Asia. Not only did the United States suffer 58,315
Killed in Action, 153,303 Wounded in Action, 1,618 Missing in Action, and
766 Prisoners of War, the almost 3,000,000 service people who had served in
Vietnam (for one year), brought home any number of physical and psychic
scars that would corroborate the fragility of the wisdom of their nation's
political and diplomatic leaders. Thousands of American soldiers were sold
heroin in Vietnam, and they returned home not with medals but with drug
addictions that would open the doors for a nation-wide drug problem that
has never even come close to being eliminated. (The English drugged the
Chinese with opium; and, the North Vietnamese drugged the Americans
with heroin!) Many high-ranking Vietnam “War” veterans would later seek
ways to vindicate their Vietnam losses by trying to meddle in the affairs of
others in the world—with mini incursions, “police actions”—that might
help to re-establish the military superiority of the wobbly American nation.
Americans are a wonderful people—if they are not bombing you!

Let us bring the direction of this conversation to a more sophisticated level.

With the pell-mell way of life that many people are fumbling around with
these days, we must admit that the veracity of things in general is being
thinned out so much, we are having difficulty attempting to know what is
real and unreal, honest and dishonest. This stress is such a source of anxiety
that for some individuals it is intolerable. It is easy to understand why 50%
of the world's pharmaceutical production is consumed by Americans who
represent 4.38% (1973) of the entire world's population.

But the why is what we are concerned with here. One illustration is the
following: It is easy to come upon—especially in affluent families—a “Toy
Room” for their children. The kids are loaded up with toys and plastic
“junk” that they do not need, or are inclined to appreciate. If a two-year-old
has hinted that he or she likes horses, the grandmothers, mother-in-laws,
aunts, sisters and mothers load up the “Toy Room” with dozens upon dozens of
play horses that they have purchased while they were on their jaunts from home.
The kids do not learn to value one or two toys—their “toy experience” is an
overload of stimulation—like exaggerated Journalism!—that serves to confuse and
cancel any sense of discrimination the young youth might be able to cultivate but
are prevented from doing so. The kids become zombies of “collectionism,”
consumerism, and they learn to have a lot of one instead of a like of one or two.
When they pass from adolescence to adulthood, these “men” are
programmed to possess a plethora of female conquests, and the “women”
are “softwared” to believe their Shining Prince Charming will come riding
in like some gift that they will later have to throw into their “Toy Room.”
Their “Toy Room” has become a “Men’s Room” filled with one lost love
after the other. Never satisfied with their personal lives, these pathetic
characters seek solace in material rewards never knowing the meaning of
love, affection or companionship. Men brag about the number of seductions
they have notched on their sexual pistols; and, women cry with their
girlfriends lamenting that they could not achieve romantic love with one of
their recent fornicators who then are blacklisted by them for the rest of
their melancholic lives. These women cannot make a commitment because
they expect only to be made happy by someones. In fact, their habit of
arriving late is considered a sign of importance, and they are determined to
be monumental. If not satisfied, their quick “loves” are whimsically turned
into evil someones. They know not how to give, to love. They become
shrews. Having so much, they know not how to be happy with even a little.
They are professional grouches. They complain about everything under the
sun, and do not know how to enjoy themselves. They live out their lives as
old maids. As their lives draw to a close, they are shriveled up like prunes
not ever having felt the love of another person. If they are married, they
spend the day nagging at their husbands or wives—counting his or her
money, if he or she has any. The only time they act harmoniously in front of
their husbands or wives, is when they take them to a psychiatrist—upon the
advice of their lawyers—because one of the partners has told them time and
time again: “If you don't stop hen-pecking me I will leave my money to my
dog (or cat),” the only sentient being from whom the spouse has ever felt
any affection. These often barren brutes, both men and women, vent their
hate when their governments must import immigrants and refugees to
guarantee the stability of their nation's population. Foreigners are looked
upon with disdain because they are doing for them what they are inept at
accomplishing: the generation of their own race! Outlanders are instructing
the natives how to do what pigs, dogs and cats have known to do for
thousands of years—and they are furious with the outsiders. If you ask
these sterile savages if they have any sympathy for an African woman—who
has to trek, back and forth, seven or eight kilometers each day to fetch water
with which to cook for her family—if they have one iota of understanding
for her, they huff that that is not their problem—not realizing that it is now
obviously the problem of Europe and will eventually become the problem
of the United States. Remember, globalization's dilemma is that
“underdeveloped” nations are stealing as they have been taught by the
“developed” ones since 1601. And they are very much more deft at it!
In America, one of these spoiled brats, Donald Trump, has become
President! Because of him, the United States is aloud with trite, uncouth
Trump sayings denigrating the honor of females—men’s mothers, sisters,
wives, and girlfriends. Is this what you wanted? Do you think Trump should
have been vetted because he cheated on his wives? No! He should have
been crossed out because he might cheat on you, my American friend!

Imagine the Roman Catholic cardinal of New York telling Donald that he
has not been so respectful of “The Sacred Sacrament of Matrimony” and
that he should set a better example! Let's imagine what he would say:
“Listen, cardinal, those who voted for me knew damn well before the
election that I would like to f**k every woman in sight who appeals to me.
So what? Why then did they vote for me? Kennedy and Clinton had lovers
in the White House, and I intend to do the same. Cardinal, just grab them
by their p*****s!” They voted for him because they think exactly like him!

* * *

Ex-President Obama once said that there is a pervading sense of injustice

that has taken hold of Americans. And it is my belief that the successes of
the social media giants are the prime movers, to a great extent, of this sense
of injustice, and I believe even more that the sense of injustice that the ex-
President of the United States refers to is indeed real and dangerously
threatening to the American republic.

From the day we are born, we are inculcated with the notion that in the end
we will die. This is not a comforting feeling, and philosophers have debated
this construct for centuries—including Schopenhauer in his idea of the will
to live. But really very few people have any desire to live—that is, to
authentic themselves—because they, these couch potatoes, are resigned to
make the least effort to distinguish themselves. This is not to say that there
are not people who do wish to differentiate themselves from others. Yet, if
you think about a bell’s curve, you will understand that the majority of
people will not ask what they can do for their country, but what their
country can do for them. At one side of the bell you will understand that
there are few who are doing what they can to improve themselves and make
a better world for us to live in. Then, at the other side of the bell, you will
notice that there are few people who wish only to self-destruct and bring as
many others with them as possible.
That, truly, is not a happy place to be in, nor should we expect to find
felicity in it. Before the computer, people had to rely on newspapers. But
when the newspaper was exposed as the fraud it is, and the computer came
to the rescue allowing people to express their own feelings and not some
journalist or editor’s sentiments, social media became worse than a pseudo,
it became ground for crybabies, discontents, and even journalists and
editors. Its scope was very large indeed, and its maliciousness for the
general public was shattering. People were only left to state their claim on
this Earth already in flux and confusion for centuries. Good for you Mary
Jane, we are all happy that your cat knows how to log in to your computer!
The social media “giants” offered Fame, Fortune, and Friends to billions of
people duping them with History’s grandest Ponzi scheme.

Will the eight billion people on our planet, sinking deeper and deeper
every day into a black hole of greed, corruption, hedonism, and implacable
ignorance, blow out the Candle of Life; or, will they come to their senses
and save themselves from themselves and the rest of us who want to live in
peace and cooperation with all and make this world a much better place to
live in?

Ten Diagnostics Prognosticating

Anarchy
I
THE ECONOMY
The economy is stagnating...the simplicity of tradition is garbled by the
new-sprung, maverick global economic “system”...unemployment is
staggering...there is the mindset of economic gloom...the fear of exclusion
from the global economic forum is intense...the cost of living is on the
rise...the country's debt is beyond reason...financial gurus, with tongues in
their cheeks, speak confidently about coming rebounds...the cost of raw
materials is unconscionable...high-priced items keep losing sales...luxury
priced items are exclusively in the domains of the wealthy and later will be
ID badges flashed to segregate the “haves” from the “have nots”...quality is
being compromised...there exists an imbalance in the management of
resources...being in a sort of panic, stock and bond markets fluctuate
incessantly in turmoil...there is a plethora of “experts” speculating about the
future of the economy—about “the can being kicked down the
road”...taxation impedes investment...there are curtailments of bus, train
and ferry lines to save on energy...economic growth is based on monetary
deterioration...there is social, fiscal and environmental “dumping”...internal
consumption is flaccid...gold and silver are overvalued...commodities are
too often regulated by hostile political factions...

II
THE PEOPLE
There exists a pervasive sense of apprehensiveness...everything seems to be
fluttering...people are racing from one place to another...they are spinning
their wheels without gaining traction...there are horrible examples of road
rage...ungraciousness is the norm...legal and illegal drugs are being utilized
exorbitantly...the joys of food and drink have been transformed into escape
mechanisms...birth rates are affected...foolhardiness keeps the elderly
functioning...a doom is thought to be imminent...the people pick apart their
politicians for bringing them into dire straits...the blame game antagonizes
the mood of the people...the citizenry surrenders itself to
idleness...gambling is extensively employed out of desperation...stadiums
are used to vent the frustrations of individuals who consider themselves
victims of social injustice...enmity towards immigrants and minorities is at a
high...on-the-rise soup kitchens are overflowing with jobless, desperate
individuals...stress exacerbates the health of citizens...health clinics are
flooded with sufferers who have no real apparent illnesses...the cost of bus,
train and ferry fares has risen...wages have been chopped down...streets are
less congested because more and more car owners cannot afford fuels, car
taxes, and tolls...people live day to day without planning long term...there is
little solidarity among the people because people are so despairing and
busy helping only themselves...the rate of suicide is above the
normal...people steal wood from parks and estates to warm themselves in
their homes because they cannot afford gas or fuel...pellets for burning
often consist of waste matter and even toxic organic materials taken from
hospital garbage containers...trains are uncommonly overcrowded...people
are scavenging vegetable, fruit and citrus products from private
farms...right-wing political groups are appealing to otherwise politically
moderate citizens...water and electricity charges have skyrocketed...the sale
of arms is outrageous...
 III
THE POLITICIANS
Politicians have lost their credibility...they rant and rave on television talk
programs...political leaders claim there is one solution to a multifaceted,
complex political dilemma...there is no cohesive political will even among
members of the same party...graft and corruption, rampant in political
parties, victimize the electorate...pols are afraid to appear in public, and
many of them must be protected by armed bodyguards...elections are held
to quash citizens' frustration, but no resolution of problems is
effectuated...political debating is argumentative, and participants confuse
listeners with specious, circular reasoning...politicians are excessively
facetious...lawmakers struggle, on television and social networks, to placate
infuriated citizens—but with little success...demagogues call for the
elimination of all existing political parties...

IV
THE GOVERNMENT
The government is coy, cautious...every law or amendment is carefully
measured to preclude the impossibility of hostile reactions from whatever
social strata...there is the sense that government must be impervious to
emotion, to rapid change...a mask of seriousness is worn to convince the
electorate that the nation is not suffering a calamity...the newspeak of
government officials is repetitive, authoritarian...promises are made, then
not kept...confused, contradictory statements emanate from one then
another administrative unit...journalists are paid to regurgitate the regime's
propagandistic language marked by euphemism, circumlocution, and the
inversion of customary meaning...ostentatious displays are put on to remind
nationals that they are part of a grand tradition—a ploy used to appeal to
the “common sense” of patriots...the country's head of state appears stern,
uncompromising...
 V
THE MASS MEDIA
Corporate media holds sway...advertising is a social, political and economic
mainstay that sprays itself into the lifestyles of all who inhale its unrelenting
vapors...messages to buy are constant, hypnotic, subliminal...an unreal, false
portrayal of life is disseminated by the use of sterilized presentations of
perfectly visualized, counterfeit audio-visual mise-en-scènes...many
individuals are taken in to believe in something that does not exist in
actuality...newspapers, print and on-line, vie to influence readerships
frequently without regard to honesty...journalists are often plagiarists...the
scrap for scoops is often indecorous...corporate media is closely aligned
with governmental agencies and banking authorities...Advertisers have
become Dictators of Happiness and sell Trinkets of Vulgarity.

VI
THE BANKING SYSTEMS
Banks know no peace...many of them are on the verge of bankruptcy...their
employees are bending over backwards, legally and illegally, to render bank
balance sheets balanced...consolidated financial statements are
vague...intra-group transactions are indistinct...foreign subsidiary reports
are disorienting...hedge accounting is nightmarish...cash flows go up, then
go down...ethical requirements are fudged...there is a backlog of loan
requests...bank loans are difficult to negotiate because banking institutions
are plugging holes caused by maverick on-margin expenditures...people are
emptying their savings accounts to pay for living expenses...government
subsidies to banks are used to pay bank losses—not to offer loans to
stimulate the economy...excessive bank service rates are applied to account
holders to recuperate diminutions...bank customers are not the focus of
attention...bank survival is the order of the day...bankers are thought of as
thieves (many of them are)...

VII
THE AUTHORITIES
Crime knows no point of satiation...the police and military forces are taking
courses that instruct them on how to deal with insurrection...contingency
planning is overdone...police stations are filled with equipment to protect
officers from violent crowds...police overreact easily and en masse...the
military, always on alert, is called up only as a last resort—but more and
more regularly...if policemen and policewomen are underpaid, they are
caught up in a double-bind dilemma both sympathizing with and
disagreeing with the protestors that they are ordered to hold at bay...

VIII
THE SCHOOLS
Children suffer the mass confusion, too...teachers strike on a regular basis
because budget cuts have eaten into their salaries...heating in schools is
turned on intermittently to save on fuel...classes have been doubled-up to
reduce teacher costs...school repairs are not accomplished...materials for art
and music classes are scarce...lunches are not nutritionally balanced...water
faucets are turned off...children come to school tired and
hungry...investment in sports facilities have been reduced or eliminated...

IX
THE BUSINESSES
Bankers and builders are busy developing urban spaces...tourism is not
vibrant...small businesses are closing at a rapid rate unable any longer to
compete with chain stores...larger businesses are also struggling in an ever-
increasing competitive environment...hired help is not content because
employees are losing their benefits and are threatened with
redundancy...business concerns must allocate funds for expensive,
sophisticated surveillance equipment...shops are closed wherever one walks
in downtown areas...doctors, dentists and nurses are volunteering their
services...store rents are exorbitant...inflation is insidious...articles are
unavailable because companies making them have gone out of
business...food products are often not genuine and laboratories are
overflowing with tests monitoring health standards...
 X
THE CRIME
The crime rate is increasing...white collar and blue collar criminal activity is
limitless...resident and business burglaries are terrorizing
neighborhoods...people are afraid to walk the streets even during the
day...drug dealers and con artists slip through police controls...prisons are
swollen even with accused individuals who have not been permitted access
to due process...assaults against women are very much more
frequent...counterfeit money is prodigiously permanent...shoplifting is a
major concern at all points of sale...credit card thefts are implacable...the
elderly are key victims targeted for swindles...tax evasion is overwhelming
fiscal planning...more and more, violence is an organized phenomenon
which often sucks in the unemployed, idle youth...gangs and other groups
are springing up with the claim that injustice is the norm, and if one desires
justice, it will never come from established institutions but must be grabbed
at in desperation, by mob rule...cyber crime is extortionate...people are
taking self-defense courses instead of dance and exercise training...

The above on-going list has been compiled from the numerous experiences
the author, who has lived on four continents, has witnessed during his lifetime.
Readers are welcomed to contribute their common sense to the compilation.
Thank you.

Ten Diagnostics Prognosticating Anarchy

Authored by Anthony St. John
7 February MMXIII
Calenzano, Italy

Which Is the More Obnoxious?

The Media or the Social Media?
Authored by Anthony St. John
1 February MMXXIII
Calenzano, Italy

www.scribd.com/thewordwarrior
anthony.st.john1944@gmail.com

* * *