The exclusive Club
we are not part of
Are we prepared to give up our pursuit of personal freedom and privacy for the sake of survival?
By Georges R. Dupras
August 14, 2025
The late George Carlin, an American comedian and anti-war activist, warned his audiences about a private club that we, the average people, were not part of.
This elite club is apparently financed by a select group of seven or eight exceptionally wealthy families around the globe. Their goal, said Carlin, is to reset the current world order. To this end, they are promoting a form of totalitarian technology.
Due to a world population estimated to reach nine billion by the end of this century, as well as our systematic destruction of the natural environment, obviously, a significant change is required.
The facilitators are those who control the news outlets, large corporations, education, the industrial military complex, pharmaceuticals, banks, the development of artificial intelligence (AI), and all technological corporations.
Due to a world population estimated to reach nine billion by the end of this century, as well as our systematic destruction of the natural environment, obviously, a significant change is required.
The question is, are we prepared to give up our pursuit of personal freedom, privacy, free will and free thought for the sake of survival? Do we have a choice?
Environmental suicide
Our lifestyles are, without doubt, causing the destruction of the natural world, resulting in eventual environmental Armageddon. During the mid-sixties to about the turn of the century, there was some progress on pressing environmental issues. Since the turn of the century, however, we have seen a significant setback in the progress that had been achieved. The current political leadership in the United States lends credibility to my fears.
President Donald Trump’s very words, “Drill Baby Drill,” confirm that the political right seems destined to destroy any environmental safeguards that had been achieved over the last thirty years.
Closer to home
Clifford Lincoln, one-time Liberal Environment Minister in Quebec, describes just how we are complicit in this environmental genocide. He does so in the August 4 Gazette article Flying in the Face of Corporate Citizenship. He maintains that when environmentalism and economics collide, money always trumps environmental issues.
Money trumps logic
Now, make no mistake, I am in favour of economic development, but not economic growth, particularly if it is done at the continued expense of our natural environment.
Development aims to make things better, smaller, more efficient, and less damaging to the natural environment while benefiting humans and other animals. Growth is like blowing in a balloon, sooner or later it blows up in your face. As economies grow, the environment diminishes.
‘Growth is like blowing in a balloon, sooner or later it blows up in your face. As economies grow, the environment diminishes.’
Back to the Club
The objectivity of mainstream news comes into play here. There was a time when the news, broadcast by Walter Cronkite, was delivered in a style and composure that was admired and even copied. Mr. Cronkite always signed off by saying “That’s the way it is”, without further comment. He respected his viewers enough to allow them to think for themselves. Those days, however, are long gone.
Talking heads
Today, due to our fast-paced society, people don’t have the time to read beyond the headlines. The electronic media has also seen their audiences diminish in alarming numbers. These major media outlets, owned in large part by the right wing, have skillfully tried to reverse this trend by offering their readers or viewers another option.
Their newsprint or television news now comes with the addition of “Talking Heads”. Now you don’t have to read the entire article or watch every segment of the news because these “Talking Heads” will do it for you. They will digest it, regurgitate it and feed it to you in such a manner as to mirror their network’s political bent.
Conclusion
At any university or in any profession, you adhere to the standing operating procedures (SOP), even at a cost to your own beliefs. Failing that, you jeopardize any chance of success. At this stage, your success means that you have turned your back on what brought you to this point in the first place.
The key is to seek a balance, which is becoming more difficult over time. The pendulum keeps swinging from one extreme to the other, and the center point becomes more blurred each day.
George Carlin was right; we’re not part of the Club, but if we know of the agenda, we can offer options.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of its author and do not reflect the opinions of WestmountMag.ca, its publishers or editors.
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Mr. Dupras’ article relates to my long-held view that we need to teach critical thinking in our schools both at the secondary level (as students approach the age of voting) and in college (to reinforce the concept).
If people were given examples of how con-artists operate and gas-lighters sway opinion, they would be better prepared to critically examine what politicians, lobbyists, and others are saying in order to manipulate us.
I think of how fear is used to motivate people to vote a certain way; how our need to belong is used to keep people in line; and how guilt is used to gain compliance. There are many more examples.
We need to learn to question assumptions, evaluate evidence, seek out credible sources, and recognize biases, thus reducing our susceptibility to misinformation. This does not mean we need to be cynical but does mean we need to have a healthy dose of skepticism.
If these skills were taught in a mandatory class, it would help us all to more easily recognize manipulation when we encounter it.
Well said Ms Potter
Thank you Joan Sargent.
Completely agree with Doris Potter’s suggestion of education at high school and CEGEP level to help younger people make well thought out voting choices. If this had been the case, it is doubtful we would be witnessing the dismantling of democracy presently taking place in the USA.
Mr. Dupras’ article so timely, however, I believe when he writes of “economic development” in the context of his article, he is referring to “sustainable” development.