CONSUMER SOCIETY

Free

If you look in Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, you will find about a page and a half of definitions for the word "free" and its derivatives. If you listen to many political debates, you will find the word being misused. Following September 11, chief Monkeyboy said that the attacks occurred because we are "the brightest beacon for freedom." A major culprit in the misuse of the word has been the advertising industry, even from the very beginning. According to historian James Foner, the early advertising industry "hammered home the message that freedom would now be enjoyed in the marketplace" and many goods "took 'liberty' as a brand name or used an image of the Statue of Liberty as a sales device." How different is that from CNN having a star spangled frame for its newscast? How different is it from radio stations urging listeners to tune in for the latest on the "war against terrorism"?