I generally have the TV on when I'm on the computer.  In the back of my mind, I kind of listen to what's going on... when I'm riding the bat from the Undercity to Kargath, I'll spin around and watch what's on.  The history channel is 60 here... which is a nice, round number, so I usually start out there.  61 is TLC and above that is garbage like MTV and the Spike channel... below it is the Discovery Channel... so I hang out there a lot. 

 Today, they're talking about Freemasons.  There's an ominous undertone to the show... they're talking about the founding fathers. 

 Now... I fully expect there to be Freemasons reading this board.  I know you're out there.  I don't want to offend anyone and their secret clubs, but I'm also not going to exhaustively research all of the history and current events around Freemasonry in order to make a blog post. That said....

People are idiots.  The concept of historical context escapes them.  The purpose of this asinine show is not to inform, it is to spread fear.  They are painting the Freemasons as a devil-worshipping cult and saying that Washington DC was designed to be a temple to their beliefs.  I'm not exaggerating and I'm sure there are others who have heard this.  My problem is that I'm not reading this on some wackjob web site, this is on the fucking HISTORY CHANNEL.  If you want to see a parallel with modern times, look at the Masons as a political party like the Democrats or Republicans.  They were a large group of people with some common goals and beliefs... and members of the group were key players in the formation of this country.  This show is painting them all as devil worshippers which makes modern folk think of the devil worshippers that we are familiar with... baby sacrifices, witchcraft, black masses, eternal damnation, etc.  This sensationalist bullshit that is designed to make people think that America is built on a foundation of evil pisses me off.  None of it is about providing facts and educating, it's about emotional control.  I'm not saying that the Republicans are behind it... it's the History Channel producers.  In a Machiavellian way, it's smart... you see what gets people to watch your channel and you run with it.  We love to be 'informed' as to what we need to be afraid of, we're conditioned for it.  Watch the news any night... find out why your salad might kill you!!!  We're trained to zone in on what we need to be afraid of... and that is fucking bullshit. 

 I'm not going to live in fear.  I'll eat the salad.  I still eat at Taco Bell.  I'll take a cruise during the hurricane season.  I'll drive across town in winter without a survival kit in my car.  I don't lock my doors because there's a black person walking down the street next to my car.  I'll use the terms 'snowman' and 'mailman' rather than 'snowperson' or 'postal worker'.  It's this kind of cowering compliance to passive-aggressive oppression and fearmongering that makes me want to move to Switzerland.