Megalomaniacs throughout the ages have all desired the same thing: control over the hearts, minds and actions of humanity. This battle has caused more deaths than all the plagues, combined. There seems to be something inherent within us that desires a leader, or father figure; this may have been useful in our hunter gatherer days, but it has now become lever of manipulation for would be rulers of society. I also think that inherent need is where the God hypothesis originated. Moreover, the ideas of good and evil I also think came from this need, though juxtaposed against the fear of the unknown and real dangers, (like lions, tigers, and bears, oh my!) it’s hard to say for sure. Though I am sure some evolutionary psychologists out there have a far better understanding of this than I.
This need is exploited by politicians in different ways, to different ends as well. You see this in fatuous political arguments that are stunning examples of cognitive dissonance, such as: my body, my choice. This is a sentiment that shows how cognitive dissonance effects both sides of the political spectrum. The Left says a woman’s body is her business when it comes to abortion, but then they support forced experimental vaccinations through Federal mandates even in children. These two ideas are so conflicting that if one were in a political vacuum, it would be easier to see than a stop sign. The Right suffers from the same cognitive dissonance, just in reverse. I can at least empathize with the folks on the Right insofar as their abortion argument, whether it comes from a religious framework or is just a tender-hearted person that lives their life with an incredible empathy for other people. These are not my personal declarations; this is just what I have observed over the twenty plus years in which I have been politically aware. Personally, I think the choice of the individual should supersede any personal or political argument, for or against. Everyone should stop trying to force their beliefs on everyone else in society, as I think this is one of the main factors in the downfall of entire countries. Michael Malice once said, “if you think some people are better than others, you’re on the Right, if not, you’re on the Left.” Which definitely has some truth to it. The idea that people are born equally is so far removed from actual reality, that culture has to be the main reason for people believing in the idea of equality. There is a balance in nature, but certainly not much equality to speak of, as any nature show will make absolutely clear. I say “believing in” because a belief from my perspective means that no matter how much evidence to the contrary, a person, in a way, chooses to believe something even if on an unconscious level. Beliefs are levers once pulled they allow the powerful use those people to their own ends, (e.g., like the CIA funding Islamic extremists over the last 40 years to cause chaos in the Middle East, even while the DoD was fighting against the same people the CIA was and is funding and arming) We must realize that propaganda is curated for all of us, especially in the age of personal propaganda devices and all the news consumed being owned by five corporations or less, depending on how you count them. This paradigm is not conducive to free expression and thought, which causes more biases, more cognitive dissonance, society wide emotional distress, and only helps the totalitarians because only they know which way is up.
Online arguments:
This is something pretty much all of us have engaged in on social media at one time or another. These days I prefer to use the argumentative types as teaching moments; examples from which others can learn what not to do when trying to engage in civil discourse. When engaged in any argument, I like to carefully listen to or read to understand what the person is trying to convey, not all people are gifted with words, especially when emotions are involved, so I try to keep this in my mind when having discourse with a stranger. The dunking that goes on online can be fun, but it has become a detriment to our society as a whole, so let’s try to keep that in mind the next time we read someone’s comment that elicits an emotional response. We all have more in common than we have differences, this is of the utmost importance to remember as our comments feed algorithms which are currently being used against us on a daily basis. These algorithms feed the free-floating anxiety in everyone that doctors Malone and Desmit have spoken about so eloquently in the age of covid. We can no longer allow this to happen… as we have already crossed a dangerous rubicon of which I fear there is no safe return.
A path forward:
Be skeptical, be kind, and above all else when you speak to strangers, treat them as you would like those same people to treat to your children. Meaning: treat them with patience and understanding, as a person’s level of ignorance will vary greatly from subject to subject, so it’s important to keep that in mind; especially when talking to your political opponents as we must remember the effects of propaganda. Enlighten your children and loved ones to the games that are being played to the best of your ability, be that sharing your own knowledge on a subject, or sharing works like mine, (and work from much smarter folks than I) with those people willing to read them. Together I think we can stop the totalitarians, divided we will lose everything in which our Nations' sons and daughters fought and died for over many generations. This will be the dying of the light: unless we change the course of history, together, as one people.