Back in the day, we are led to believe the masses couldn’t read and were generally illiterate. So, how did they get the news and all the necessary info to know what was going on in the world? They didn’t, and as far as I can tell, it wasn’t required. You didn’t actually need to know what was going on in a town or village far away at any given moment, let alone other countries.
It seems we are a bit obsessed now with news, having gone from newspapers and set times for programs, it’s now relentless and continuous. But if you did need a way for people to be ‘informed’ with what you wanted them to know, I see how maybe the Town crier would have been the first talking newspaper, before printed ones. Shouting whatever the general folk needed to be aware of. Seems even more intrusive than these days, where you can avoid it, to a point. Because they require it for the continuous charade of politics, democracy, emergencies and so on. It moved on from shouting the news at people, to newspapers as mentioned above, once everyone was educated enough to read them of course. Even within that, they still managed to have class divides as with the rest of society too. Giving the impression that only smart people in suits read newspapers, or people of a certain background. Must have realised they were missing out on lots of money and ways of manipulation, so the ‘daily rags’ were put out there. And how did they make this accessible to everyone before television? Newsagents, sounds quite formal really doesn’t it? Agents of the news, to distribute and pass on whatever was deemed important by editors and their financiers to move and sway public opinions and wants in a certain direction.
And this is where many have turned unwittingly into a town crier now given the platform of self-publishing and social media, probably myself included. Noting the irony when someone says they can’t believe people haven’t heard of all the impending changes, or devious organisations behind it all. So, they brief them. Thereby ensuring that person is now aware, but it’s a double-edged sword. Because it also spreads the propaganda and makes sure it filters through to even the most distant and unconnected folk. Even though it’s no secret and we are seeing very real actions as a consequence of those organisations, some people aren’t equipped to deal with it all mentally, either ignoring it, or just plainly not seeing it or that if they do, not seeing the problem. Not after such an exhaustive few years, so I can see why there may appear to be apathy towards it. Others just don’t have the capacity to see where it goes, or understand the further consequences to come. But whatever does happen, you can bet there will be a carefully crafted and laid out story to appear when needed, for distraction and entertainment, and to keep the focus shifting from one thing to another, hoping that no-one will see How it starts to tie in…
