“Jesus said to the crowds, “Beware of the Scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the market places, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets.”
The word scribe means “to write,” and signified the man who was the keeper of laws, accounts, and so forth. A scribe was basically a copier of information from other sources, most especially, the laws and ideas of the master class in Judaism. So too today, U.S. scribes are the copiers of the laws and ideas of the master class in the U.S. Copiers indeed. The master class’ master lesson to their scribes is to always be impartial, neutral. For example, the New York Times proudly asserts, “Our fundamental purpose is to protect the impartiality and neutrality of The Times.” A man who helped lead the peaceful conversion of South Africa away from the apartheid of its master class, Desmond Tutu, wisely notes the purpose of neutrality, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” Neutrality is a value of the master class. It is disseminated in a world controlled by the master class. In part it is controlled by carefully cultivating relationships between members of the master class and their master class journalist universities and their student scribes. These are scribes who will eventually be paid to be copiers at master class news agencies the master class owns. For example, at the New York Times, which like the Washington Post, is owned by multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos; at Murdoch’s News Corporation that owns media internationally including Fox News and the Wall Street Journal; at Disney that owns Marvel, Lucasfilm, ABC, ESPN, Hulu; at AT&T that owns Time Warner, DirecTV, HBO, DC Comics and supports the overtly dictatorial OAN. Neither the master class with its corporate misinformation and disinformation, nor the scribes it molds are neutral. Together, they are forcefully molding people in the master class’ values. If scribes do not do so they will be cut off from access to master class members. Scribes will be unable to “accept greetings in the market places, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets.” No more invitations, interviews, tips, or scoops. We sub-scribers are thus, in turn, also molded in the master class’ values. It is achieved mostly via entertainment. We are pleasantly passive recipients and hence ourselves pleasantly passive copiers of the master class’ values. Values like prioritizing the masters class’ point of view; submitting to its rule over our democracy; consuming its advertisers’ products – tangible or ideological; supporting their war plundering camouflaged with nationalism; accepting violence as necessary, even good, more so, entertaining – be it the violence of Hollywood, Wall Street, or the Pentagon; promoting its cancel culture against peacemakers and thinkers; and rejecting news or knowledge that does not entertain us but challenges us instead. We will be molded to bristle at media that speaks truth. And thus, in those situations, many of us will concur with the master that the media is indeed the “enemy of the people.” We too will attack it when it does not entertain us and attempts to educate us instead. We will consume more and more of the master class’ values and only those values. We will watch only Fox News, until it too begins reporting truth. Like the master we too will call even it, “Fake News.” We will be cultivated into believing we cannot trust the media. But it is not a question of trusting the media, for we do trust the media – to be scribes of the master class; with its Conservative and Liberal wings. It is a question of trusting ourselves to be disciples of truth. It is a question of our not being sub-scribers, mere copiers of the master class and its values. Any wise, critically thinking person can read or watch any of the master class’ media – so long as we trust it is molding us for the master class and its values. Thus, the master class’ media, valuing as it does neutrality, will mold us to reject what it calls activist or advocacy media. But of course, the master class’ media is itself activist or advocacy media – from the master class and for the master class. It always has been. We need to find activist or advocacy media from the people and for the people.
“They molded us with the Mushroom treatment – We were kept in the dark. Then they covered us with manure. Then they cultivated us. After that they let us stew for a while. And finally, they canned us.”
Prayer: Spirit, keep us wise.
Question: What sources are molding me and from which I need to unsub-scribe and what other resources can nurture me in wisdom?
November 7, 2021 Gospel Mark 12:38-44 Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time