The recent British general election which has seen a new government takeover by another generation of political leaders there has been touted as entertainment by the mainstream media. The BBC World Service reporters and so-called analysts kept talking about how “interesting” the situation was and what would happen in government now that Britain has a hung parliament.

A hung parliament that has produced a coalition government since there is no majority party in charge. It is a government whose life mainly seems to depend on the level of disagreement among the politicians forming it. Britain, like most other countries, is facing a massive budget deficit of 12 per cent of its GDP which may be the largest among the world's major economies.

The new government in Britain has just announced that it may have to enact, for starters, US$8.9 billion in spending cuts to bring some semblance of sanity to the debt burden already riding the shoulders of the populace in Britain. The number of unemployed in Britain has risen to 2.51 million in the first quarter, the highest level in 16 years.

How is electing anyone to solve such problems in a country supposed to be 'entertaining'?

But this is how the mainstream media portrays all politics so that it can be milked for all its worth in order to promote their own industry, and ensure that they themselves stay employed.

Just look at the elections in the US, especially the Presidential elections, to see how much of it is a semblance of a Hollywood gladiatorial contest rather than one that reflects the seriousness of what is happening. The obvious gain for those who wish to control others using the media is to create a distancing of the population from political affairs to ensure that all affairs of state should solely remain in the hands of politicians.

So we are kept busy trying to sustain ourselves through the daily grind while 'watching' the regular Political Idol show that takes centre stage of the news. Our participation tends to be limited to simply pushing the voting buttons (like dialing in for American Idol) every few years, then go back to keeping ourselves distracted by our salvation – the entertainment industry. We are constantly in need of distraction and 'entertainment' which is surely a handicap for anyone opting for some sort of anchor point and spiritual balance in their lives.

Media distraction and the entertainment approach to world affairs is how people are kept away from empowerment. This is how they are effectively shut out from properly participating as democratic citizens in their society and from being able to put up and elect genuine change makers into office: the mainstream media and their mega corporate owners will be doing all they can to dumb things down to ensure that you vote for a personality, think about the gossip that surrounds them or exaggerate through fear mongering what they are proposing to get people worked up and addicted enough, to keep the media industry alive.

Yet at the same time we are kept at a distance from the reality of the importance of what is taking place in the politics of our world. You can be engaged and interested about who is winning an Oscar at the Academy Awards, but in the end you are still just another spectator, without whose support there would be no entertainment industry in the first place. Think about that.

Where is the democracy or justice or human decency in any of this? And most people say, well what else can we do.

This is understandable considering that many of our priorities, for those who are still employed, are things like when can we get hold of the next Apple 4G iPhone? Apparently, for the second time, Apple has conveniently 'lost' its so-called 'hot' product and this time in Vietnam. Once again it is receiving lots of free publicity for its product. And people are falling for the ruse, discussing all about it and, more importantly, want to own it.

People do not see that the product is not the iPhone itself but themselves. They are the human commodity that is being bandied about by large corporations and the mainstream media as they allow themselves to be manipulated away from any soul searching and improvement of the mind and spirit. People have allowed themselves to becomes pawns whose appetite can be whetted and used the way the manipulators want while removing earnings from them at the same time.

All in all, a pretty good deal.

Here is the rub: the world is in on the brink of economic turmoil, in a constant state of absurd and manufactured conflicts, acts of terror and violence are given full publicity all the while and there are countless people the world over (including the so-called developed world) facing and living in poverty, but the mass consciousness of people is focused on an iPhone.

Is it any wonder why people sense they are disempowered and that they must resign themselves to forces 'beyond their control'? Well, that is because we have allowed this situation to arise.

Imagine turning our attention away from the media manipulators and commodity mongers of the world to helping those around us and hold properly accountable those who are in public office, or even starting to read and think critically for ourselves by relying less on the mainstream media and using more discernment in everything: that would give some of those who want to keep us distanced, disillusioned, and despairing a real run for their money.