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Welcome to the Insane Asylum or: How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Big Lie - Chapter 3

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Welcome to the Insane Asylum or: How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Big Lie

Chapter 3

 

For those who missed chapters 1 and 2 in this series of 5, may I suggest you click the links below and read from the beginning before moving forward to this chapter? As I said in chapter 1, this isn’t 5 individual articles but rather 1 article broken into 5 chapters for easier consumption. While I did make an effort to ensure some continuity between the sections, it’s minimal and inadequate. Your reading pleasure would be best served if you read the chapters in the order presented. Thank you.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/welcome-insane-asylum-%E2%80%93-our-collective-psychosis-chapter-one

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/welcome-insane-asylum-%E2%80%93-our-collective-psychosis-chapter-2

 

The Public Lie

Chapter 2 ended with us discussing how a lie unchallenged becomes by default the truth for those who wish to believe the lie, or at least not fight the lie. And the vast majority of us go along to get along, rationalizing or ignoring just about anything in order to go with the flow and not stick our necks out. Not only does this set up a continuous conflict within ourselves, but we become just another part of the herd we’re always complaining about. Let’s dive into what’s going on here while looking at an actual example of bucking the trend and getting results.

How wide spread is the practice of accepting public lies and of not being truthful? Answering that question would require a book, but let me offer just one small public example of the insane amusement ride. And in the next chapter we’ll explore one possible exit. Last year a friend attended a county commissioner’s meeting, something he does every month. At that meeting he witnessed the most astounding exhibition of collective dishonesty and cowardliness he’d ever seen in a group of people. Rather than back away and go with the flow, his small but courageous act turned the meeting around and pointed the group towards an exit from their collective dysfunction and insanity. All this resulted from sticking his neck out just a little bit to make a difference and lead the way.

One of the commissioners made a statement that flatly contradicted something she’d said the previous month and which was on the record. It was a bald faced blatant lie and was done to gain political advantage for certain favored business supporters by spreading additional tax revenue their way. Everyone in the room, including the other commissioners, knew this. It was a lie that would become truth if it went unchallenged. And yet no one said anything. My friend told me that as he looked around the room he saw a bunch of very uncomfortable people. Of note, this commissioner is quite combative and a known intimidator.

This wasn’t a trivial lie, the so called white lie that supposedly doesn’t harm anyone. It had to do with setting the local property tax rate and her lie would have increased the rate 4% more than the huge interim increase of 16% set the month before. Since he had the official transcript of the previous meeting in his hand (everyone did) he interrupted the proceeding and read it back to her. He was courageously challenging a statement he knew to be untruthful (better known as a lie) and he was doing it all alone. This meant sticking his neck out and it was going to be uncomfortable, scary even. But what followed was surprising and instructive for everyone.

Of the 30 or so taxpaying citizens in the room, at least a third were publicly hushing him, urging him to sit down and not make a “scene”, presumably by embarrassing the commissioner by outing her lie. They were hissing at him for at least 5 minutes while he read from the transcript. Think about that for a moment. The taxpayers did not want him to embarrass the liar. They wanted him to effectively enable the commissioner to feel comfortable in her lie by not calling the liar (her) to task for her lie.

Of course, what they were really saying is that they, meaning the taxpayers in the audience who’ll be paying the higher tax that results from the lie they weren’t challenging, didn’t want to be forced to publicly acknowledge and confront the lie they’d just heard. If the lie isn’t challenged, we can all pretend it’s the truth and not a lie. This is the process by which public pixie dust is used to turn a public lie into a truth. I shall repeatedly return to this county commissioners meeting for more insight.

 

Defending the Public Myth

What’s not well understood by many is that psychologically once we witness a known or suspected lie, particularly a public lie by an “official” or person of perceived “authority”, and we don’t challenge it, we become silent co-conspiratorial keepers of the lie. It’s now our shared lie and we must defend it as we would the truth. Or at least not attack it, because for all intents and purposes it’s become the accepted public truth. We in effect become public myth keepers. Of course, I’m talking about unpaid public myth keepers.

After the lie’s become an unchallenged part of the public myth for a while, if the lie is questioned by anyone and the challenge is upheld, we’d be exposed in our complicit support of the lie, even if the exposure is simply to ourselves. We hide our lies from ourselves, thus we can’t expose our lies to ourselves. This simple understanding is important to accept if we’re to begin healing. We must continuously remember that we’re always and forever first hiding from ourselves. Thus we often will defend the lie as the truth or at least remain non committal regarding its veracity. This is the power behind official propaganda (lies) that aren’t challenged. We empower the propaganda by not challenging it.

As the public lie ages and it becomes further embedded in the public myth, we often incorporate the lie into our own worldview. To continue to reject it internally in the face of our public acceptance would create the pain of cognitive dissonance, something we naturally wish to avoid. Better to accept the lie into our internal web of myths, truths and lies we call our worldview. Of course, this increases the need to defend it even more.

Even further down the line, our personal defense of the lie, along with its endless public repeating, sometimes serves to convince us it really is the truth. We begin to believe the lie, which is now our lie, and even adopt it as our own truth. For those of us who never believed the public lie or never accepted the lie as a truth, this process is extremely frustrating and even frightening. Our mind quickly grasps the power of this deceptive dynamic and how it could seriously hurt us if we stood in its way. The same realization settles over those who awaken later to the lie, further impeding those of us who wish to expose a well established and publically digested lie.

 

The BIG LIE

A perfect example of this dynamic in play is the manner in which many of us publically and privately resist any credible examination of what really happened on 9/11. This subject is a publicly (and for many a privately) closed door and cannot be opened at all, not even a smidgen. If the door is somehow forced open a crack, the governmental, public and private keepers of the myth rush in to apply damage control. And if we’re confronted with obvious contradictions of fact or common sense, while we might publicly say we support looking a little closer, secretly many of us are desperate for this door to be quickly slammed shut once again, for the implications are too disturbing to contemplate.

From my conversations over the last 3 years with at least 20 people who have slowly come to realize there are serious problems with the official 9/11 “conspiracy theory”, nearly everyone has admitted to me they’d always had problems with the official story. And while many suspected there was much more to it than they were being told, they didn’t want to think about the ramifications if their suspicions were true. The clincher for many to remain silent and in denial was that no one of public “authority”, be it on TV or newspapers or magazines, seemed to be questioning the official story. In essence, the leaders of the herd, the hive hierarchy, were (and are) not accepting any questioning of the 9/11 public myth under any circumstances. This had the effect of stifling questions from those who would normally be somewhat critical of the government.

Now combine this personal uncertainty and doubt with government and private myth keepers publicly and viciously attacking anyone who questioned the official story and we have what could reasonably be called a hot potato. Meaning no one who’s publicly certified as a “sane” person (meaning accepted by the hive) with anything to lose would possibly touch it. The myth keepers rarely attack public doubters on actual scientific or logical grounds, other than to hold up the disgraced NIST reports as proof. This is because the official conspiracy theory cannot withstand an unbiased and logically consistent examination without massive inconsistencies becoming readily apparent.

Instead, the preferred method used to “discredit” anyone asking questions when they can’t defend “facts” are extremely effective ad hominem attacks, which directly threaten a person’s status within the hive. For most people, particularly those in the public eye or of substantial wealth and privilege, but even middle class Joe and Jane who work in private or public companies and mingle daily with other hive members, it’s public suicide to invite these attacks by asking questions. Thus self censorship is alive and well in America, helped along by clear instructions from the hive authorities that it’s best not to ask questions.

The people with silent questions about the official conspiracy theory see the public beatings received by other doubters and quickly determine the softer easier way is just to shut up and whistle past the grave yard. These techniques have been used for thousands of years but have been refined over the past 100 years in an effort to maintain the illusion of a representative republic and “freedom”. In particular, this applies to the so-called freedom of the press, which is a farce any way you slice it. Any serious study of the main stream media will inform you of their consistent support of the hive hierarchy.

The powers that be who wish to squelch troublesome inquires can’t exactly move directly to outright jailing or even execution (at least not yet) so the myth of a benevolent government and freedom for all is maintained using other methods. These techniques include public browbeating and harassment as well as the psyops crowd favorite of ridicule, innuendo and rumor mongering spread close to home and work. And for the more persistent questioners, the tried and true outright verbal and physical threats, IRS “investigations” and so on are in the tool box ready to be used. Of course, “accidents” for those “terrorists” who are gaining real credibility can always be deployed. One only need spend some time reading up on this subject to become familiar with how this is done.

The herd quickly learns that to question the official myth(s) of the hive means immediate and extremely public excommunication or worse.  Since many people are already filled with conflicting lies that create continuous internal turmoil, most don’t have the internal stability and conviction to withstand this type of character assault. It’s extremely difficult to swim upstream when you’re all alone and you can’t trust yourself to overcome the current.

Moral courage to act against the herd and your government isn’t “found” within most people; it’s developed over time and begins with deep personal convictions which often include basic honest assessments of themselves and their world. To believe and then parrot what the herd believes or what the powers that be want you to believe is not defined in my book as moral courage, unless the belief itself is capable of standing on its own as independently provable and self evident. This is rarely the case.

If the only thing backing the moral courage is the ability to bash someone’s head in, meaning raw power, this is actually a demonstration of cowardliness masquerading as patriotism or courage. I’m not talking about rushing the machine gun nest type of courage; I’m talking about deep moral convictions based upon personal awareness and deep understanding of oneself and others. There is a shameful explosion of moral cowardliness these days from the very top all the way down to mom and pop.

 

The Herd Polices Itself

Following this dynamic down to a more personal level, when others would question the official conspiracy theory in their presence, many of the people I talked to who privately doubted the official story would actually defend the official story in public as a way of publicly declaring to the hive that they were on the correct side of the line in the sand. Others would just remain silent. Three of the people I talked to at length expressed deep shame and regret for actually attacking public questioners of the official myth with name calling and ridicule, precisely the techniques they feared would be used against them of they opened their mouths to question.

This is a perfect example of the herd policing itself after the conditioning and indoctrination has been set. When I asked them how they felt while they were attacking the questioners, two of them admitted they felt excited, almost like an adrenaline rush, even while they were feeling guilty or ashamed. I’ve talked before about the pain killing drugs and chemicals the brain releases into the blood stream when we hear, see or even speak information that confirms our biases and prejudices, even if we don’t really believe them.

This subject can and will divide families because the validity and believability of the questioner goes a long way to supporting the credibility of what they’re saying. Since it’s very important to attack credible sources to maintain the myth, and family members often have higher credibility, in order to stay in our denial or to protect our hive status, we will (viciously) attack family members if need be. One cannot over emphasize the lengths we’ll go to when trying to hide our fear of being rejected from the hive. As I’ve discussed in other articles, the fear we all have of standing alone against public opinion, even in a one on one basis, is often determined by our perception of the danger to our standing in the hive, not by any moral, ethical or legal grounds or factual correctness.

The public beatings tell each person who doesn’t wish to buck the trend exactly where they should stand on this subject. In effect, the master’s boss has told the slaves what their opinion should be regarding slavery’s benefits, not only to the economy, but to the slaves themselves. Here’s the story; slavery is good, poking your nose around 9/11 is very bad, not shut the hell up and get back to work. And don’t forget to spend and consume, which will help kill the pain of your voluntary servitude.

This dynamic plays out in many different ways depending on how well the person is coping with life in general. There’s no average or normal way for people to deal with this type of personal dishonesty so that leaves everyone an out, saying to themselves that they’re special, that it doesn’t apply to them, that since things appear to be normal it can’t be that bad, whatever. The excuse isn’t important and doesn’t even need to be believable. And it applies to all public and most corporate policy, not just 9/11.

Some common methods I’ve personally seen used by people to avoid the entire mess and disown responsibility for “it” is to say “Look I’m really busy right now with a lot on my plate so I’m not going to deal with this.” Or my favorite “I’m not an expert on these things so I’d prefer to leave it to the people who know” which of course completely repudiates any personal responsibility to make any effort to know what’s going on. Once we accept and then begin to assimilate the lie, it takes on a life of its own. And in order to continue to lie to ourselves, we must defend the lie to others. Obviously, this level of public and private deception cannot occur in a healthy nation or within healthy individuals.

When thinking about this subject, I’m constantly reminded of an old saying. “You can’t con an honest man” because the con requires self deception by the mark, the person being conned. In order for the con to work, the “victim” must participate in their own fleecing. By definition and design, there are no “innocent” victims in a successful con, just poor traders in a market of greed, lies and self deception.

 

Keeping Me, Myself and I Separated

When I talk about disclosure or exposure of the truth or lie, I’m not necessarily talking strictly about public exposure. I’m ultimately talking about exposure of the truth to our consciousness, to us, to the inner monologue. All information, all “facts”, are held in our sub consciousness which always knows everything. Uncomfortable truth or awareness can and does surface to the conscious level for a variety of reasons, where it’s often quickly suppressed by the ego.

How we actually react often depends upon the web of lies we’re carrying, along with our intellectual capacity to construct plausible alternative realities that will allow the lie to (co)exist with truths and other lies. In this way, high intelligence can actually work against us for it allows us to construct massively complex and convoluted stories, each containing layers of lies that support other lies with enough truth mixed in to remain plausible. The capacity to concoct lies is only limited by our imagination and desperation to avoid the truth. Jeez, sounds like the Ponzi, doesn’t it?

However, average or below average intelligence is more than adequate for the task of creating self deceptions. We’re all quite capable of creating our own alternative universe where everything makes sense, just as long as we never pull it all together into one big comprehensive package. To do so would be emotional suicide because all the contradictions would suddenly be readily apparent to us. The genius of the BIG LIE, personal or governmental, lay with both its plausibility and its ability to be understood and adopted by the lowest commoner. “The terrorists did it because they hate us. Now shut up and get back on the hamster wheel.”

Sometimes the ego creates what could be considered multiple split personalities (but isn’t exactly) in order to keep the various lies and self deceptions separated and away from our conscious mind. While the ego is constantly attempting to keep the truth buried, sometimes it can’t for various reasons. For example, maybe a truth must be present consciously in some more restricted form in order for us to function at work. So barriers are erected in our conscious mind that allows us to hide these truths in plain sight without acknowledging them.

When considering this dynamic, I often think of those porous Chinese Walls our friends on Wall Street construct as an example of this. The so-called Chinese Walls allow everyone to participate in the public myth that both sides aren’t talking to each other and neither side can see what the other’s doing. The exact same thing happens in our consciousness. We see examples of this on ZH and elsewhere where people leave nonsensical statements using contradictory information to “prove” a point. They really don’t see the problem with their declaration. They’re blind to these contradictions because in their mind, it all makes sense. Their “facts” aren’t connected to reality in the same way as others.

 

Ignore that Cognitive Dissonance

You may remember an earlier article of mine where I described how the ego uses a powerful but narrowly focused spotlight to illuminate small portions of our mind to our conscious awareness, but never all of it at the same time.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/end-empire-waking-zombie-nations-psychology-consciousness-and-egoic-mind

This allows for the continued existence of facts that contradict each other without causing a total collapse. But this can and often does create a great deal of instability which can be overcome by holding extremely strong black and white opinions and views. This allows one to hold unproven, nonsensical or contradictory opinions that can’t be challenged because they’re set in stone and thus secure. This is functionally equivalent to the infantile practice of covering one’s ears while hollering “Na na na na, I can’t hear you”, something we’re all guilty of from time to time. This is an important tool for the serial denier.

This occurs regardless of how ridiculous the opinions may be because the strong black and white opinion is not intended to be based upon irrefutable facts. Its real purpose is to act as a buffer from the truth or other lies and self deceptions. We can see this occur all the time in ourselves and in others if we honestly look. Just peruse any discussion board for examples of this on public display. This also allows for changing troublesome facts once the light’s been moved. If information comes to light that changes pieces or the entire picture, simply change the “facts”. This also provides for the use of one fact to “prove” contradictory points or multiple views.

This explains how people are able to contradict themselves numerous times during a 10 minute discussion or even in the same sentence. Since there’s no central clearing or ethical standards board within ourselves to prevent double counting or misuse of facts, anything goes in the mind that deceives. After all, if we’re lying to ourselves, aren’t we the ones who determine if we’re really lying or not? Don’t we determine what our own (internal) personal ethical standards are? Who’re you calling a liar?

We all do this. The real question is to what degree do we lie and how “flexible” are our internal controls or personal ethical standards? Is it really a lie if we believe what we’re saying is the truth? What if our ego is so strong and effective at suppressing the truth that we can’t consciously remember our own lies? Are they then lies? Were they once lies but no longer since I can’t remember them? Is it a lie if it can only be accessed through hypnotism? It really is amazing how much we lie to ourselves. The only solution I’ve ever found to this vicious circle is rigorous honesty, starting within.

When these artificial barriers that separate lies or self deceptions begin to slip or collapse, we experience a painful cognitive dissonance (created by our ego to provide “incentive” not to look too closely) which often manifests in the form of a disembodied fear or anxiety. We’re not exactly sure what’s bothering us because we still haven’t consciously acknowledged the issue that’s causing the conflict. But we’re extremely fearful and have a terrible sense of foreboding, which is created by our ego to compel us to reject whatever it is that’s upsetting our carefully constructed worldview. We become extremely anxious to rid ourselves of this feeling as quickly as possible. The fight or flight impulse kicks in.

After creating the pain of cognitive dissonance, our ego then rushes in to apply damage control in the same way the public keepers of the myth do. In the rush to alleviate the emotional pain we’re experiencing we’ll often grasp anything we can that will displace the cognitive dissonance and it’s accompanying pain, including more lies. Considering the landscape I just described, it’s a testament to our capacity for self deception and tolerance of accumulated pain that we can even make it through the day. Increasingly we can’t and this escalating collective dysfunction, our insanity, is being outwardly expressed through our public leaders, legislators, regulators and corporations.

 

Psychic Firewalls

The dynamic I just described, but only touched the surface of, is not well understood beyond the field of psychiatry and those who forge and manipulate public opinion, including government and Madison Avenue. Spend some time reading about Edward Bernays and the influence he had, and still has from the grave, on advertising and propaganda worldwide. Many things we think we know about ourselves and our world are myths we were told and now tell ourselves in order to avoid or soften the truth. We’re much more susceptible to manipulation than our ego is willing to admit. In fact, much of this manipulation depends upon our own egoic insistence that we aren’t that easily manipulated, thus leaving us wide open to the very manipulation we deny being susceptible to.

Because we remain willfully ignorant to the capacity of others to influence us, we spend our day wide open to subtle and not so subtle messages and influences. This is similar to how susceptible our computer would be to hackers and viruses if we turned off our firewall and antivirus and browsed the Internet. I’ve read articles describing how wide open computers are attacked within 30 minutes, swarmed like mosquitoes in the Bayou. Pull up the detailed log of the firewall activity on your computer and be ready to be shocked by what’s going on in the background.

Now consider how many TV commercials, billboards, radio spots, magazine advertisements, Internet messages and “placement advertising” inside the actual television programs you’re exposed to on a daily basis. Not to mention the wide use of subliminal messaging everyone denies using, but yet somehow it still finds its way into commercials and political advertising of all types. This is occurring psychically to all of us on a daily basis even as we insist it can’t and doesn’t happen.

We’re sitting ducks to daily psychological assaults, yet we’ve become so conditioned to it (or we simply deny it) that we passively assume the idea to purchase that yummy MacSnot burger is our own home grown idea. In 30 seconds, the TV tells us not only that we’re hungry but that the MacSnot burger with fries and a coke is precisely what we want…..now. It even tells us how to feel about it. “I’m Lovin’ it!” Watch the commercials closely because there’s an entire story played out in 30 to 60 seconds using images, voice, text and music.

As simplistic as this all sounds, imagine this message pounding away at your psyche 3 or 4 times a day for years. Now multiple this one message by the hundreds of large corporations and thousands of small companies scratching and clawing each other for 30 seconds of your ears and eyeballs and it’s no wonder we’re all zombies to some extent or another. Pull up some research reports on the fast food, automobile, soda, beer, and other Fortune 500 companies and take a look at their advertising budget. We are outnumbered and overwhelmed.

In fact, if you sit down with the family for an evening of TV viewing without a basic understanding of how your family is vulnerable to these influences, you’re in effect having unsafe psychic relations with every single slime ball advertiser and political or corporate propagandist the network can sell time to. And this doesn’t even take into consideration the social conditioning and predictive programming underway during the endless hours of mindless TV consumption we subject ourselves to each week.

And yet we convince ourselves its all good clean fun, harmless really. After all, we know the difference between fantasy and reality, right? Nobody is forcing us to buy those big screen TV’s and MacSnot burgers. I’m doing it of my own free will. Well, I contend we’re not. Consider spending some time reading about subliminal messaging and the advertising and propaganda industry and then we’ll have a discussion about free will. I promise you the average person will spend no more than half an hour reading about this manipulation before s/he throws the book out or clicks on another web page, declaring it too crazy or scary to be true. In fact, it’s a little too close to the truth for our comfort.

Our insanity is worrying about the PG-13 rated movie our 5 year old might catch a glimpse of while allowing his or her still forming mind to be assaulted and conditioned by everything else. Are we nuts? Well, funny we should ask because we are. And the movie rating system is brilliant reverse psychology because it infers that if something is rated G, it must be “good”. I know that’s not exactly what they say but that’s the psychological takeaway. I’ve always found it interesting that they don’t rate commercials. Which means all the commercials we see must be rated “G”, as in good and wholesome.

To sit down in front of the TV, radio, magazine, book or Internet without your psychic firewall fully engaged and updated is madness. And I contend that this continuous bombardment of conflicting subconscious messaging, social predictive programming and conditioning is contributing to our escalating insanity, which is reflected outward in the form of the Ponzi and the collective madness.

 

Stockholm Syndrome

The behavior displayed by the people at the commissioners meeting can’t be dismissed as on par with someone farting in public, with everyone hoping to ignore the stench so as not to embarrass the poor gaseous fellow or themselves. In my opinion, what was exhibited might be considered a form of slave mentality, that of a conditioned mind that doesn’t wish to confront a perceived superior for fear of being psychically or emotionally traumatized. And of course, always lurking in the background is the silent but implied physical threat, in this case by the armed sheriff standing guard next to the commissioners table.

As my friend told me how his fellow taxpayers urged him to protect the liar, I immediately thought about the Stockholm syndrome. This term was first (widely) introduced into the public consciousness (and then rapidly buried as too uncomfortable) when Patty Hearst was kidnapped and then allegedly conditioned by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). I’m not passing judgment on the SLA or Patty Hearst, just explaining the process and how we’re all subjected to the Stockholm syndrome.

Here was Hearst, who was forcibly taken against her will, and yet within two months had not only come to speak positively about her captives and their cause but then publically demonstrated her acceptance by robbing a bank with her captives. At least that was her defense at her later trial. Regardless, the Stockholm syndrome is very well understood by those who wish to use it against us.

Just look at the public’s reaction to the Ponzi for parallels. While many people are angry, many others believe what they’ve been conditioned to believe, that we can’t survive without the big banks. And there are quite a few people who can spout from memory the banking cabal’s talking points in an elevator minute.

The public’s behavior exhibited at the commissioners meeting also showed the characteristics of abused spouse syndrome or battered person syndrome, where the battered and abused spouse is desperate to avoid upsetting or angering the abuser for fear of receiving additional beatings. The battered spouse will not only suppress him or herself in order not to disturb or anger the abuser, but will also suppress or even attack others that threaten to disturb or anger the abuser, which was exactly what was happening in the commissioners meeting.

There are even strong parallels to the behavior exhibited by inmates in WW2 concentration camps. I’ve read easily a dozen books discussing the psychology of the people leading up to and including their internment and eventual execution. Most people don’t realize that many nationalities were sent to these camps and an in-depth reading shows a broad cross section of personalities, cultures and nationalities exhibiting the same symptoms in the face of systematic and calculated brutality.

It’s not a pretty subject to study and I’m in no way condemning or condoning their behavior. No one can ever say how they’ll ever truly react under any circumstances until they’re inside the madness. I was sickened by what I read, of man’s inhumanity to man, and I can only hope I’d be able to display the level of courage many exhibited leading up to and during their captivity and, for many, execution. But the sad fact is that these brave individuals and families were often fighting their fellow sufferers as much as the Nazis. And for those who believe it could never get this bad in America, that’s exactly what they (Germans, Jews, Polish, French, Russians etc) said to themselves right up to and past the point of no return.

We can also find examples of similar behavior in the terrible dysfunction evident in families of severe alcoholics or drug addicts, where enabling or calming behavior is repeatedly offered by the spouse and family. Lies and broken promises are frequently not (directly) challenged by the spouse and/or other family members in order not to upset the alcoholic or drug addict. This is done time and time again in the false hope that he or she won’t drink, drug or abuse if encouraged to behave.

Many times, family members will come to believe that they’re the ones causing or triggering the behavior of the abuser or addict rather than anything the abuser/addict is doing. They’re told this by their tormentor (the Ponzi says the consumer is saving instead of buying, the people aren’t borrowing, the unemployed don’t want to work, etc) sometimes followed by a verbal or physical beating (recession, bailouts with taxpayer money, obscene bonuses etc) to cement the conditioning. Unfortunately the victim often assumes responsibility for “fixing” the problem (higher taxes, less services, no cuts for military or the elites etc) yet they can’t fix something they have no control over. The victim’s effort to “fix” is intended to placate and defuse the situation, which simply enables all the parties involved to avoid confronting themselves and/or the abuser/addict.

This makes sense when we understand that the family believes they can control the situation by controlling their own behavior, since the addicted person is clearly out of control. No one wishes to admit that the addiction itself has total control over everyone. Many spouses of drug addicts or alcoholics will even go so far as to make sure there’s a supply of drugs or alcohol on hand at all times to placate the insanity. “I don’t want to upset my spouse or he (she) might beat the hell out of me. It’s better to keep him (or her) drugged or drunk so I can deal with the rest of the family.” I’m not mocking this type of behavior at all for I grew up in this type of dysfunctional family. I’m intimately aware of all the dynamics of this type of insanity, having suffered from its effects for decades.

Looking at the bigger picture of our economic system and our political leadership, we’re only participating in our own insanity if we won’t first recognize this dynamic and then talk about it. But to do so requires opening Pandora’s Box and we can’t do this because the first victim we must placate is ourselves. Many of these “ism” diseases are diseases of denial. The drugs, alcohol, food, abuse, sex etc are simply the outward symptoms of deep inner dysfunctions, many of which I suspect trace back to and are expressed as our larger social ills. We can’t separate our personal problems from our cultural and social problems. We are all co-dependent.

 

National Suicide by Suppressing the Natural Survival Instinct

Consider that the behavior outlined above is being exhibited by the general population with regard to Congress, the Executive and the Judiciary, the banking cartel, the nation’s corporations and the regulatory agencies. The list is endless. Like the battered and abused spouse or the spouse of the alcoholic or drug addict, we constantly and falsely embrace hope that our country and culture will get better despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

We as individuals and collectively as a nation cling to any false hope offered by our abusers rather than gather our courage, stand our ground and declare no more. Our thoroughly conditioned and abused (collective) mind is almost totally incapable of defending ourselves from the abuser as long as we remain in denial. In our mind, denial appears to be the “sane” (or the least insane) way to survive in exactly the same manner the Jews, Poles, Gypsies and Russians (to name just a few) of Europe denied it would ever get as bad it as did. This is a horrible illusion, albeit a persistent one.

The battered and abused spouse/person must either stand his/her ground or flee not only to survive but regain some measure of physical, emotional and spiritual health. Since we can never flee from ourselves we use denial to flee while still occupying our body. No wonder we’re so screwed up. We must ask ourselves what is it that’s compelling us to use denial to suppress our basic and ultimate instinct, that of survival? It doesn’t matter whether I’m talking about the battered spouse or the family and spouse of the alcoholic, drug or food addict (the list of addictions is endless) or the government and corporate abused citizen.

As far as I can tell, the mechanism used to defeat the survival instinct we should all be exhibiting NOW is centuries of conditioning of both the culture and the individual. And that conditioning is accelerating on an exponential curve because the body/mind/spirit is rapidly becoming unstable. Like a leaking quart container of oil that’s extremely slippery, our grip (and the conditioning) must grow stronger in order to maintain control. However, this additional force increases both the leak and the potential for a catastrophic loss of control. Without dealing with the leak, the end game is certain and inevitable.

We are the victims and the perpetrators of our own madness. This vicious and suffocating positive feedback circle of our insanity might simply exhaust itself like so many cycles before with only a few tens of millions dead if we didn’t also possess weapons of mass destruction, be they derivative or fusion. I’ll save that topic for another time. But I will say that only an absolutely and totally insane culture would not only produce these weapons in quantities dozens of times greater than needed to kill (again, be they derivative or fusion) but also produce a strategy of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) or Too Big To Fail (TBTF) in order to protect ourselves from ourselves.

One of my favorite scenes in The Matrix, which was a wonderful examination of our individual and collective insanity, is when Cypher’s eating dinner in the restaurant with Mr. Smith at his table. Cypher is negotiating his re-assimilation into the hive, aka the Matrix. He says “You know….I know this steak doesn’t exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years you know what I realized? Ignorance is bliss.” Mr. Smith then states “Then we have a deal.” Cypher demands “I don’t want to remember nothing, NOTHING. You understand? And I want to be rich, you know, someone important….like an actor.” Mr. Smith, eager to please and seal the deal, replies “Whatever you want, Mr. Reagan.”

Sounds like the conversation we have with our ego and our leaders on a daily basis, doesn’t it? “I don’t want to remember nothing, nothing. You understand?” Our ego and our leaders are telling us whatever we wish to hear and believe. And the most important thing these lies create for us is the blissful ignorance we all crave in order to escape from our own insanity. So we fuss and cry a little until mommy brushes her nipple near our mouth. We know what to do from there, don’t we? And the selection of an actor as someone who’s important was priceless, since we’re all acting as sane individuals on our way deeper into our collective insanity.

Finally, one must laugh so as not to cry at the double dose of insanity of first demanding we not remember anything and yet requiring we “be someone important”. Even though we won’t remember if that order was actually fulfilled, even this final contradiction isn’t enough to prevent our willing embrace of the coming psychic numbness that ignorance will provide us during our suicide. Upon achieving blissful ignorance, Karma may place me in the bottom of a septic tank on clean out duty rather than playing second lead across from Marla Singer, but what does it matter because ignorance is bliss? You just can’t make this shit up because it wouldn’t be believable, a term which describes a measure of our intolerance for slices of the truth.

The standing of our ground must begin on an individual basis before it will ever materialize in the collective. The country/collective as a whole will not suddenly grow a set of balls overnight if we as individuals don’t posses them to begin with. Courage and power flows up from the individual, not down from the group. Just ask any military officer if this basic concept is true. Each soldier is conditioned to fight for his or her fellow soldier, not for him or herself.

This conditioned act of selflessness is what creates the collective consciousness of the fighting force and emboldens the group, which acts as a positive feedback loop that also feeds the individual. Each soldier willingly submits to the group, contributing to and feeding from the same source. But it all begins with the individual. Each individual must accept and surrender to the group in order to gain strength from the group, which in turn strengthens the individual.

 

Breaking the Conditioning

Breaking the conditioned mind is not as high a mountain to climb as you might think. Let me continue the story of the county commissioners because there’s more to be learned here. While my friend didn’t enjoy being ostracized by the hive members nor admonished by a few commissioners for daring to speak truth to power, he was able to “embarrass” the commissioners into upholding their sworn duty and talk about the lie.

And the tax rate wound up being set where it was supposed to be, at a 16% increase rather than 20%, admittedly a small but still vital victory. It wasn’t the ultimate tax rate that mattered; it was the fact that there was a fight for the truth that was of utmost importance. He had set a small but important precedent that could now be followed and hopefully repeated.

As he left the meeting, many of the very same people who had publicly shushed him inside stopped him and expressed their gratitude that he spoke out at the meeting. They were genuinely happy he’d stood his ground, despite their initial misgivings. Rather than be vindictive (and my friend assured me that his urge to verbally slap them was nearly overwhelming) he thanked them and then gently asked them for support the next time this happened.

These people weren’t country bumpkins or undereducated blue collar workers. He counted among them a lawyer, a professor at the state college, the local pediatrician and various business men and women mixed in among the “common” folk. And surprisingly the local county judge, along with other well dressed and obviously professional people he didn’t know or recognize. These were average to higher educated people who supposedly were well informed and highly motivated. This shows that we can’t hide in the myth that our problems are caused by the great unwashed and uneducated masses. It’s simply not true and shows our own unwillingness to speak truth to ourselves.

Many of my personal experiences are similar to my friend. I find that it’s the more highly educated and more financially well off (the middle to upper middle class) who perceive they have too much to lose by upsetting the apple cart and speaking truth to power. Thus they have a greater tendency to self censor, stuff their opinions and allow themselves to be intimidated by perceived higher powers. They are their own conflict of interest when protecting their own interest and will often bargain with themselves in order to keep what they have. Thus they willingly lose the small battles in the hope they’ll win the big battle, never considering that it will always be just small battles and they’re conceding every single one on the way down the slippery slope of denial.

While the poor and undereducated no doubt have their own delusions to contend with, for the most part they fully expect the better off to lie, cheat and steal and get away with it. They’re more realistic about their being victimized and thus they’re often less intimidated by power. I suspect some of this has to do with having very little to lose. I’ve said before that those with a great deal to lose will only act like they have nothing left to lose when they have lost it all.

 

Mother Nature’s Nose Candy

The poor and lower middle class are not the ones who are directly supporting the insanity in the same way as the middle and upper classes, which today might just mean anyone with a job. Zero Hedge readers must remember that we’re more likely to be the (small) exception to the rule merely because we’re visiting ZH trying to broaden our understanding. We can’t measure society based upon our views. But neither can we make broad and sweeping generalizations simply because we assume others are different, thus not as intelligent, motivated, aware etc.

I’ve made (and still make) this mistake myself and its seductive because it offers easy and compelling answers that conveniently mesh with my worldview. The solutions and answers I arrive at are telling me exactly what I want to hear. The endorphins and natural pain killers released by the brain when we hear or see what we want are dozens of times more powerful than that junk we can buy on the street corner or at the pharmacy.

No street pusher or head doctor could ever match Mother Nature’s selection of nose candy. And her “natural” high is mainlined directly into our blood stream faster than we can say Keynesian economics. Our insanity has made us natural junkies, wandering the intellectually barren streets for any information whore or economist pusher who’ll sell us anything that’ll confirm our perceived sanity, all so Mother Nature will release the good stuff. We blindly stumble back and forth from an arousing emotional high to an extremely painful cognitive dissonance to our next desperate fix to kill the pain. We’re no better than the filthy junkies we step over on our way to our hamster wheel in the corner office. Hold all my calls Martha; I’m getting high on Keynes.

 

Reinforcing Changed Behavior

Of course, at the very next commissioners meeting, a similar situation came up. But this time when my friend spoke up, a number of people immediately joined him in vocal opposition to the item on the table. Yes, he still had to go first but now he had some support. The abused had learned they could resist the powerful and live another day. And there was strength in numbers. My friend now reports that this flexing of citizen muscle has been growing for nearly a year and is to the point where people are engaging in other areas of the community.

It’s now spreading on its own and without his guidance. His fellow citizens found an exit from the madness of self censorship, of stuffing their objections and of feeling powerless. They escaped their subservience to their abuser and the self hate that comes from the groveling. And as an added bonus, the commissioners have been brought to heel. Everyone’s so intent on stopping the madness at the top that we never stop to consider that it all flows from the bottom, with ourselves on the first rung of the ladder. 

While he didn’t turn lambs into lions, the conditioned mind these people previously exhibited had been broken to a small degree. And every subsequent time they act against their conditioning, they become more confident in their ability to do so. They’ve begun to believe in themselves. They never liked being subservient but felt powerless to change their current condition because the herd, also known as the public collective consciousness, was acting the same way as they were and thus not supporting any desire they had to change.

We must remember that while we still retain the illusion we’re all free and independent thinkers and actors, in reality we’re highly codependent upon our masters for permission to do anything. This is why the conditioned mind will rarely break free on its own. It takes real courage for the abused mind to escape the psychological chains that bind. It’s not just the master that has control here but the entire cultural system and its psychological reference points that influence us, with all of them telling us we can’t fight back.

If you look critically at the messaging we’re receiving, we’re always told that it’s easier to go with the flow and to leave the driving to someone else. We’ve received no encouragement from the herd to overcome the risk of a lashing from the master if we resist. When my friend showed up and put his foot down, the others were at first frightened that blows were sure to follow, but then quickly became energized when they did not. He put an end (on a local scale) to an extremely powerful positive feedback loop that was acting negatively against the herd.

I’ve experienced similar results within my small community simply because I stepped forward and then asked others to help. The asking for help is extremely important because by doing so, we’re asking the others to invest in their future, to become active rather than passive, to be responsible participants and citizens rather than future victims. Asking for help also relieves us of the “oh oh, what did I get myself into now” buyer’s remorse of endless and thankless guard duty with no relief in sight. Finally, because we walk away with a sense of community healing and personal satisfaction, we’re more willing to stick our necks out again and again.

In Chapter 4 of this continuing examination of our collective insanity, we’ll look at the concept of control which leads to rethinking our perception of the problems and solutions, how fear is used to control us and how we use fear to control ourselves and how to make reality fresh every day. We examine the missing soldier dynamic, how it’s not what you have but how you use it and a visit with the Nailman, who explains that there’s no trying, just doing. You’re past the midway point so don’t stop now or you’ll miss the really good stuff.

 

Cognitive Dissonance - 06/07/2010

 

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Mon, 06/07/2010 - 20:49 | 400745 thomas_anderson
thomas_anderson's picture

I appreciate your reply and your polar opposite position to my position.  I am but a young man in this world (27) and for almost a decade already I have felt things inside my spirit (or instincts) that something is not right in the world. 

An example of this feeling of something is not right would be when Canada/USA decide that they are going to "liberate"  oppressed people in Afghanistan from their oppressors (Taliban).  How do we acheive this?  By using force and violence and in the process killing many, many innocent victims in the process.  How is it logical to bring peace through war?  This is but one example I list, but I see these contradictions daily and it would be illogical for me to think that is an acceptable way of living. 

I admit that sometimes I wish I could put my head back in the sand and just accept that this is the way things are.  However, in my own mind and spirit, once I learn something new, it is very difficult for me to forget or unlearn things. 

The only way that I can qualify what is the truth is to examine things through the lens of logic, and meditate on them and allow my instincts to guide me.  I further qualify this statement with past experiences where I have chosen to ignore my gut feelings only to reap negative consequences more often than not.  I can't say what's true for me is true for you, because it's a journey that is unique for each and every one of us, and something that we are constantly discovering as we progress through these lives we live.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 22:23 | 400814 RichardP
RichardP's picture

Welcome to the knowledge of good and evil.  You have passed from innocence into enlightenment (of a sort) just as A & E did.

We have been placed into a situation where there is far more information to process than any one of us will be able to process in a lifetime.  Not knowing what we don't know, and wondering how not knowing will impact our lives, should make all of us uneasy.  Yet we cannot live our lives if we let the fear of what is not known paralyze us.  That is  why we move on by mimicing our parents first, and later, mimicing people we have come to trust.

Wisdom comes from experience, and you are learning that people do not always use words properly.  Read George Orwell's "1984" if you haven't yet.  It addresses the misuse of words you speak of.  Trust your instincts, but also educate yourself.  I don't disagree with your position.  I just wanted to point out that, due to limits on cognition, all of us are ignorant of way more information than we are cognizant of.  If we can't be blissfully ignorant, then we are going to be constantly anxious.  And that is no way to live.

 

 

Tue, 06/08/2010 - 00:03 | 400968 thomas_anderson
thomas_anderson's picture

RichardP,

Thanks once again for the input.  I have read 1984 and watched the film as well, although I think I may have to read the book again as you've provoked me to think harder about the subject matter Orwell was writing about.  

I certainly agree that there are limits on cognition and how much information we are able to process and/or be aware of at any given time.  When you say that if we can't be blissfully ignorant, then we are going to be constantly anxious is something that I grapple with on a daily basis.  I want to be at peace in my life, and yet I want to know the truth (according to my own self) and live my life in that fashion.  It is definitely a balancing act to achieve this state of being I speak of, although I think it's one of those things I will learn to master over time with experience.

Tue, 06/08/2010 - 01:23 | 401036 RichardP
RichardP's picture

Stress about the stuff you have control over, and let the rest go.  That is not a call to stay uninformed about life.  Rather, it is a call to respect the limits of your influence.  Consider all the folks you've never heard of who are suddenly called to serve their country in some way - and they do an admirable job.  They were prepared for an opportunity that might not have ever come.  And there are folks who are equally prepared, and the opportunity never comes.  Be all you can be, but don't stress over the stuff you have no control over.  Yet - it is good to be ready to exert control if the opportunity presents itself.  Being at peace with onesself while staying involved in one's community is a balancing act.  No one ever gets it perfectly right.

Over and out.

 

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 22:28 | 400849 tip e. canoe
tip e. canoe's picture
great conversation gentlemen, gracias
The Little Boy Lost by wm.blake
(from songs of innocence & experience)
``Father! father! where are you going?
O do not walk so fast.
Speak, father, speak to your little boy,
Or else I shall be lost.''
The night was dark, no father was there;
The child was wet with dew;
The mire was deep, & the child did weep,
And away the vapour flew.
Tue, 06/08/2010 - 01:18 | 401039 RichardP
RichardP's picture

Perfect.  I have that Volume with that poem in it.  The truth that it speaks always touches me.  Perfect words for this conversation.  I wonder how many will get it.

 

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 14:56 | 400182 stickyfingers
stickyfingers's picture

Thanks CD. In past times, I believe something like this would be in a newpaper column, you know, back when there were more than four corporations controlling the news outlets.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 15:23 | 400251 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

Welcome to the "new" mass media. Someday soon, "newspapers" will be considered "alternative media". That day is not that far away. In fact, based upon subscription rates, it's already here. Just not fully accepted.

While I admit to enjoying the ink stained paper, if what's on it is propaganda tripe, it's not worth the paper it's printed on. I gave up on all mainstream newspapers about 5 years ago. I only visit their web sites to see what the latest propaganda is.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 14:47 | 400162 Sabremesh
Sabremesh's picture

This will be unpopular, but there is a glaring example of mass complicit denial which I suspect many ZH'ers are party to (and if you "knee-junk" this, you are probably one of them), and that is the question of Barack Obama's presidential eligibility. Even (in fact, particularly) intelligent, informed Americans just want this embarrassing Constitutional eligibility problem to "go away". I'm not American, and I think Obama is a thousand times better than Bush, but I am astonished that so many Americans are desperate to gloss over the fact that the balance of the evidence (and glaring lack of documentation provided by the White House) suggests that Obama may not be a "natural born citizen".

The complicit media which insists that Obama's eligibility has been "resolved beyond doubt", or that this is a partisan and not a Constitutional matter, and the mainstream ridicule of skeptics are all cynical ploys to avert any further scrutiny of the issue, and that is particularly noteworthy to me, as an outsider.

TLDR: No proof has been provided that Obama is a natural born citizen, and yet you probably want to junk this comment for even mentioning it.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 22:30 | 400855 Magat Guru
Magat Guru's picture

This is funny as shit. We are dealing with a conspiracy so massive, that said conspirators had the foresight, back in 1961, to plant an innocent-looking squib in Honolulu's daily newspapers alleging the live birth in Honolulu HI (USA since 1959), of a half-afro-half-irishbaby just in case the dude dicided to take a run at the Presidency 47 years later.

 

Sooooo massive that the State gov't here in Hawaii, voted OVERWHELMINGLY to allow the Bureau of Vital Statistics to refuse any further duplicate requests for B.O.'s Birth Cert from the nutcases who routinely request it up to 20x a week.

 

Soooooooooo massive that our Republican Governor Linda Lingle (who i thought was at least on par w/ a bag of smart rocks until she endorsed Aunty Sarah at the '08 GOP loserpalooza) went and signed the above bill without further comment.

 

Get over it, Sabre. His paper trail is prob'ly solider than yours.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 23:20 | 400910 CD
CD's picture

I don't really have strong emotions on this topic. I have an inkling that TPTB have sufficient resources to create a paper trail (as well as dozens of sworn witnesses, testimonies, memoirs, plaques, photos, etc.) and delete any unwanted documentation/witnesses/evidence to make all but a handful of people eligible for the office in question. Or, if needed, for jail, or the closed ward of a psychiatric institute, or an unmarked grave. As it is a given that he wouldn't be in the office without the approval and active support those pulling the strings; why not ask about that? The certificate itself is a meaningless red herring. Something for the family to fight over while the last of the silverware is removed from the dining room armoire and slipped out the back.

For what it's worth, it seems to me too much of a hassle to choose a candidate who might need such resume cosmetics -- but hey, maybe a magnetically charismatic black guy was what the country was deemed to need, and he was the ONLY one who auditioned well enough. But if this were the case, the preparations for this would have been afoot for a long, long time -- since 2004 DNC at a minimum.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 17:24 | 400488 RockyRacoon
RockyRacoon's picture

I just plain don't give a shit.  It's a round about way of stripping him of power.  Maybe you should be looking at why you want to do that, not the minutiae of how.  Principles should trump personalities, and I can guarantee you that pre-election this was looked at by the opposition.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 17:02 | 400432 eccitante
eccitante's picture

" I think Obama is a thousand times better than Bush"

I agree that you certainly must not be American because a lot of us here, probably the majority, see him as worse than Bush...In fact, we see Bush and Obama as two sides of the same coin (the coin being the one party system).

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 22:03 | 400824 uraniuman
uraniuman's picture

Yes mam/ man - I think you have it covered just about right! (speaking of your comment, of cousre). ......... Ok it was a double intendre.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 21:29 | 400786 MichiganMilitiaMan
MichiganMilitiaMan's picture

+1

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 14:25 | 400117 Trundle
Trundle's picture

It just depends on which lie you wish to promulate and what "evidence" you wish to believe.  For example, what belief system you posit and what evidence (or fraud) you wish to accept will determine whether you are labeled a "denier" or someone more "pure in thought".  You posit denial of certain "truths" with respect to certain issues, yet you rely on fraudulent/sketchy research to make your point that the person who denies is acting irrationally.  To wit, climate change based upon levels of carbon dioxide which is a feedstock for carbohydrate production in all of nature  and the shibboleth that vaccines as standard pharmaceuticals don't have significant side effects, in some cases.  Or the canard that the flu vaccine (including H1N1) actually works and doesn't contain hazardous waste levels of a neurotoxin.  Or that vitamin D3 at levels ranging from 5,000-10,000IU per day is not 600% more effective than a flu vaccine.  All belief systems are posited as truth (those who reject the "evidence" are labeled deniers), yet are in fact, something less than evidence based. Everyone's truth depends to a major extent on whom you depend for your salary and whose lies you wish to believe. 

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 13:56 | 400043 DollarMenu
DollarMenu's picture

This just gets better and better.

Thank you very much CD.

This material that you so freely share was not easily acquired.

I appreciate the hard work you've done to help make our travel along this road a bit easier.

Many years ago, I remember telling my co-workers that the biggest

addiction problem this country faced was the universal addiction to a paycheck.

The inability to go without even one limited so many potential alternative possibilities.

They were unable to see that the stuff they 'bought' instead held them captive.

I am eagerly anticipating your next chapter.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 13:49 | 400032 viator
viator's picture

I am having a hard time making any sense of this. Seems like a truther rant.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 14:55 | 400179 Cathartes Aura
Cathartes Aura's picture

I am having a hard time making any sense of this. Seems like a truther rant.

put "this" in a box, label the box "truther rant" - walk away. . . but maybe come back and check on it occasionally, see if it grows, or whines for re-cognition. . .

ya nevah know!

 

Wed, 06/16/2010 - 15:52 | 417832 JB
JB's picture

i find it hilarious that "truther" is used as a pejorative in light of the discussion at hand. hive think, mayhap?

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 14:14 | 400094 lilimarlene1
lilimarlene1's picture

Agree, besides. Been there. Done that.

Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

 

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 14:14 | 400093 lilimarlene1
lilimarlene1's picture

Agree, besides. Been there. Done that.

Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

 

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 13:42 | 400001 Wyndtunnel
Wyndtunnel's picture

Regardless of how the revolution goes down we still have to deal with the Won't Get Fooled Again paradox: "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss".  The most serious deficit facing the world is one of philosophy.  How else can we live? How do we defeat the current masters?  How do we clip the wings of the minority who always, always end up screwing things for everyone else.  I think this chapter begins to deal with that last question.  We need to develop a culture of truth. But to do so would nessecitate a big winding down of the SPEED at which everything happens.  But that doesn't address the fact that everyone born after Netscape might very well like that SPEED and don't mind that the Internet and HOW WE USE IT dumb down society by RENDERING it into a bastardized simulacrum of it's former analogue self.   By uploading our lives and thoughts, as we are doing right here in ZH, we atomize our SELVES.. we might reach a higher form of understanding (God knows I have) but at the same time we sacrifice time spent living and experiencing the phsyical world (and following ZH on your smartphone doesn't count).  We have to be willing to recognize what is Evil to our mental and physical wellbeing and be prepared to cordon it off..put it back in Pandora's box and write a new instruction manual on how to live with each other..  The Newest of New Testaments if you will.. One that is built around human secularism. For the battle that is being fought now is one of dogma.  The very same mechanism of living with lies that you describe above is the only thing, the ONLY thing that could explain how the majority of people on Earth are willing to live and die according to books that might as well have been written by Santa Claus.  Religion is the ultimate matrix generating technology for it gives people unspeakable moxy when doing things in their perceived God's name.  It has served it's purpose admirably but I have a very hard time seeing an improved future unless the moral discipline of Religion can be merged with the rational rigor of Science... God, or Knowledge, the Supreme Being, That Which is Forever Beyond the Ken of Man, whatever you want to call it lies BETWEEN science and religion.  Neither Science or Religion can lay claim to TRUTH.  But our greatest struggle is how to organize a bunch of hairless thrill-seeking monkeys to temper their animal spirits... What amazes me about ZH is that, from what I've read, the entire range of the political spectrum is present.  While there is a penchant for libertarian thinking, I don't doubt that the ZH readership is concerned, at the end of the day, with that age old economic mission of maximizing good for the maximum number of people.  The most important destination in that regard is what do we do about our relathionship to death?  How are we to live? Where are we going with the transhumanizing potential of technology? How do sheeple get over their historical habit of sleepwalking through life while the wolves help themselves to their labour and resources?  When the wolves are culled, how can we mitigate the emergence of the next generation of wolves from their sheeple's clothing?

In the end, as the Title Card Epilogue to Kubrick's brilliant Barry Lyndon stipulates:  "It was in the reign of George III that the aforesaid personages lived and quarreled; good or bad, handsome or ugly, rich or poor they are all equal now"

Tue, 06/08/2010 - 23:42 | 403019 blindman
blindman's picture

http://verbewarp.blogspot.com/2005/08/ad-infinitum-science-is-of-esoteric.html

for those speaking of "intellect".  consider the term as described.....

"

August 05, 2005
Religion and Science are of the same process and this process is the manifestation of Man.

Why?

Cause and Effect: Where 'cause' is Unity and Effect is
existence, in multiplicity

Where 'effect' is the manifestation process of the
emergent phenomenon, in this case man. The process has an end; the point of return
where this point is akin to royalty as gold; redundant and final.

Effect innately intuits itself as belonging to Unity - this is Religion - it is an innate evocation
It is Intuition. It is the Esoteric - the spirit

Whereas Effect also emerges and manifests to know itself! "Know Thyself"

Function (of man) which is functional Intellect is about enquiry of "Thyself". This process is Science. This is Science! The enquiry into ourself!

It is also the Osirian Cycle!

Intuition guides Intellect while Intellect drives Intuition or Science & Religion are of the same process. It has been said that they are Twin Sisters!

That is, on the path between Cause and Effect or between Unity and Manifestation (at that point of the finality phase of the Effect) the active agents of this process are the esoteric knowledge or the intuitive or the innate experiential knowledge of origin or of Unity - that is, from whence one comes - and the exoteric knowledge which is Science, or the activity of enquiry upon ourself - in complicit and therefore experiential process.

Hence we have the irrational or the contradictory complementaries of emergent phenomenon as evidence of this equation.

All else is of the 'right; hand and is 'technology" that is a recursive stratgy for existence. Technology is not Science!

I say right hand as opposed to left hand as Right hand is controlled by the left hemisphere of the
brain where the Left hand is controlled by the Right hemisphere.

The Right hand represents the 'technological' aspect of man or the 'exoteric' whereas the left hand represents the 'esoteric' or 'spiritual' nature of man.

This was called by the Egyptians the 'crossing' or the 'irrational' and by the Buddhists was represented by their symbol cadeceus whereby every emergent phenomenon in the Universe is of 'duality' which means consiting of contradictory complementataries.

Gender is not duality but yet another aspect whereby two unique entities both consisting of contradictory complementaries, where one has more of one aspect while the other the opposite, such as acid and alkaline -
both being acids, can interchange in coagulation and seperate in coalescence,
it is the same with male and female.

And in "electricity" where there is positive charge and negative charge, and
in plasma - positive and negative ions differ mainly by the number of electrons.

The objective being "polarity". But polarity signifies achievement; the end; the point of return, redundancy as so represented by gold.

Science therefore is a path towards becoming 'effect' that is, manifested 'cause' or the achievement of purpose. You become what your mind intereacts in complicity with, and hence the Cycle of Osiris - the science of the ancient Egyptians left us millenia ago, ignored and forgotten.

Unity --> Multiplicity --> Unity --> Multiplicity -->

or

Simplicity --> Complexity --> Simplicity -->

ad infinitum,

Science is of the esoteric whereby technology is of the exoteric.
Make no mistake science is of the left hand the spiritual aspect of man whereby technology is of the right hand or the mechanical aspect of man.
Is this not irrational?Posted by PeterJB at 5:42 AM

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 14:37 | 400137 nhsadika
nhsadika's picture

  Religion is the ultimate matrix generating technology for it gives people unspeakable moxy when doing things in their perceived God's name. 

> This is part of the big lie.  It is sort of the creepy propaganda they keep spewing us. 

The majority of the suffering in world history has not come at the hands or rabbis, priests, or imams.  Even the most pseudo-religious states like Syria, Saudia Arabia, are really dictatorships run by one family or another.   Death and destruction in the last 100+ years worse than anytime in history...why?  Imperialism, Stalin, WWI, WWII, Hitler, Facism, Korea, Vietnam, Communism...um ya.  Religion?  I think not.  

 

Basically, we must systematically debunk this entangled thinking.  Let's remember, western states have metted out their share of harm and  punishment - in the way of tinkering with foreign govts, "freedom-fighting", supplying weopons to despotic regimes,  enslavement via debt.  But we're not sitting here questioning the very notion of democracy because of it.   

Until we get to the root of the problem,  Nation States of various stripes are dishing out violence constantly in games of warfare and conquest we're not going to root out anything.   In fact, we've had a million deaths in Iraq (we can argue the number, but if we include Madeline Albright's "I'd say it was worth it" 500K Iraqi children from the era of Sanctions we get well over).   That's approaching a good percentage of the Holocaust, yet if you posed the question "Do you think the deaths in Iraq are worth the oil security we gained from the mission?"   I am quite sure you'd get 50% who say YES!  

 

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 16:12 | 400310 Wyndtunnel
Wyndtunnel's picture

The message of religion per se is not the big lie. I also have no problem with the mysticism of Religion, in fact Catholicism and Islam, in particular, would better serve their followers if they went back to emphasising the mystery of God and not focus so much on the influence of God in OUR physical world. Read "A History of God" by Karen Armstrong if you haven't already. It really opened my eyes when she explains how the Enlightenment caused Religion to stumble as it is in the face of the Rise of Science, that religions had to ascertain, with certainty, not only that God exists, but that he has purchase in the physcial world. For only as a phsycial being could it be allowed for the newly ENLIGHTENED people to accept God. The fact that you could not prove or disprove its existence using the Scientific Method was all for the better... For God as a hypothesis yet to be proven is better than a mystical god that no one understands and that offers no easy answers to life's problems. The idea that the advent of Science is what brought us U.S. style Evangelicals simply floored me. So when I say that Religion is a Matrix-like technology I mean it in the context of a constructed mechanism consisting of scripture, a psychological methodology honed over thousands of years and the human network to deliver it. In 1000 A.D. the Catholic Church WAS the Internet. I agree that it's too simple to say that people died at the hands of Religion, for religions are only the technology via which humans execute their plans for domination and control. Therefore it is not a surprise that ORGANIZED religions have proven to be the most powerful and most destructive for their are simply a framework to channel control over large swaths of the population.

Religion has played a part in most of the World's great conflicts. European hegemony was imposed on a good part of the World in the name of God. Communists might have banned religion but replaced it instead with their own dogma and the current clash between the JudeoChristian and Islamic worlds might ultimately be about the control of oil but at face value it is just as much about competing systems of control and command. Keep in mind that it was easier for a black man to become President than it would ever be for an Atheist. In fact the latter is extremly unlikely ever to occur since the separation between Church and State in America is illusory at best which goes to great length in explaining the moral hazard pandemic that is eating at the core of the U.S.A.

IMHO the World would be a better place if we had global standards of morality that were not based on thousand year old texts, however astute those texts' observations might be. We need new parables that reflect the challenges of living in the 21st Century as much in the realm of religion as in that of finance. We need to find a new way of describing our moral Universe that reflects our ongoing evolution into a predominately tech-based society with ever shrinking resources. I doubt that we'll destroy everything to the point of returning to the middle ages but I do think that representative democracy is at risk of being relegated to the history books as a very interesting yet inherently flawed form of social governance unless we find a way to bleed the system of big money and the destructive forces of influence peddling it engenders. Taking on religion, in my view, is a step in the right direction. For it is one of many shackles used to dupe people into complacency.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 21:19 | 400771 puckles
puckles's picture

"Global standards of morality"---well, whether "based on thousand year old texts" (I assume you are referring to Islam only--other texts are far older) or not, morality tends to be a cultural artifact in any discrete area of the globe. This is why you can have a European population that has steadily adopted an anticlerical viewpoint since the French revolution, while remaining nominally some variety of Christian, which is itself steadily eroding.  One can also be a Christian in Bombay, for example, married to a Hindu, and remain extremely reserved, never wearing anything other than a sari.  Or one could be Mark Sanford--enough said.

Methinks we need to rethink the morality business.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 18:30 | 400381 nhsadika
nhsadika's picture

- Most angry people are not angry because of religion.  They are, however, angry because they were dispossed, kept down, seen a brother shot, been or feel abused, feel ashamed.  

- Most wars are instigated from behind the scenes and sold to us on a platter of all sorts of false premises - yes including the "war on islam/terrorism", or the counter-myth-making "struggle for surivival and self-defense of Israel in the face of a world of hatred."  Zero, I repeat zero normal working families decide to go to War.  It is the Bush's, the Cheney's and a host of people who don't do the fighting and don't mind skirting the Constitution when needed.    

By issuing the idea that the current crisis may be about oil, but "is a clash between JudeoChristian and Islamic" worlds is the same old tired line.  Don't listen to me, let's see the last time that paupers were made to be international terror superstars -  bonus: you get to see Reagan deliver this like a movie script cold

29:15-30:50  http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-7581348588228662817#

"The simple questions are.  Will we support freedom in this hemisphere or not, will we defend our vital interests or not, will we stop the spread of communism in this hemisphere or not .  Will we act before while there is still time."  Told America that there is an axis of rogue states with Iran and North Korea that ran global network of terror.  Office of Public Diplomacy called this technique "Perception Management." The thinking was if you could control the perceptions of American people about events, that would help them bring you on board.   "Sandinistas in Nicaragua they would threatening Texas.   You could take small threats and make them huge threats. You could make Sandinistas look like they are going to conquer the United States."  

- Representative democracy, is not representative, and hardly appears to be a democracy. Holding elections does not make a democracy.  That is what they do in states we conquer, destroy a culture and insert an election ballot which does  not make anything but a quirky banal headline for the NY Times to report on the "progress of democracy";  while people are broke, don't have clean water, and the social structures of the past are destroyed.   Obviously, the reality is that a new financial elite takes over as the new power.  Here - in the US - we are  rich, and the opportunity of doing whatever we want (ahhh freeedommm ala "George Michael") but only because it   a) it is material freedom, and we are the consumers of the world   b) benefits the elites (corporations, bankers, and others) who serve to create a system that exports inflation and internationalizes the work.  Try really standing up for what you believe in what you think is right.    

Doesn't it appear that dark clouds are forming?  That we've hollowed out the middle class and pushed ourselves into debt beyond repair to enrich a small financial Wall Street elite.  Is it not the case that the Patriot act and other legislation is quickly being ushered in to control people as the storm clouds descend. 

If fact an inconsequetial number of pious or religious people have been involved in any of these shenanigans.  It is just the sales pitch :)  

Regards.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 13:20 | 399963 Mr Lennon Hendrix
Mr Lennon Hendrix's picture

I loved the first two chapters CD.  I took your advice and read them twice.  Made them a print and read so I could put it in my hand and walk around with it.  I study better that way. 

Peace brother.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 13:13 | 399934 Kimo
Kimo's picture

BRAVO!

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 13:08 | 399916 Henry Chinaski
Henry Chinaski's picture

Get a blog.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 13:34 | 399975 Miles Kendig
Miles Kendig's picture

What do you call Zero Hedge?  BTW, how does your statement apply to the article?  Fact is it, and you don't apply except as providing an example not to emulate.  Thanks for making that abundantly clear to all who will read these comments. It will save folks needless wasted time reviewing whatever you may have to say in the future. That is until you can demonstrate the ability to actually engage in the topic at hand.

Be Well

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 16:20 | 400333 Thoreau
Thoreau's picture

BTW, how does your statement apply to the article?

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 20:20 | 400647 Miles Kendig
Miles Kendig's picture

A Reply from me is directed to the comment, or two that preceded it up the "sub-thread" that is formed from a lead comment in a thread.  I challenge you to find a lead comment of mine that does not pertain to the topic/s covered in the article addressed.   WOW.  How tough is that to comprehend.  After all, this activity I have described is precisely what you have done on this thread. Thank you for actually running a lead comment on this thread related in some way to the topic/s coverd in the article while contributing to a sub-thread in the manner I have described.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 13:02 | 399900 suteibu
suteibu's picture

Great, CD.  Keep up the good work.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 12:57 | 399880 Catullus
Catullus's picture

This is really outstanding stuff, CD.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 12:20 | 399786 RockyRacoon
RockyRacoon's picture

Just to throw another log on the fire, if this has not been referenced already:

Special report: Living in denial

http://www.newscientist.com/special/living-in-denial

From climate change to vaccines, evolution to flu, denialists are on the march. Why are so many people refusing to accept what the evidence is telling them?

In this special feature we look at the phenomenon in depth. What is denial? What attracts people to it? How does it start, and how does it spread? And finally, how should we respond to it?

When a sceptic isn't a sceptic
Why sensible people reject the truth
How corporations manufacture doubt
Unleashing a lie
Questioning science isn't blasphemy
The truth is our only weapon

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 22:17 | 400837 jailnotbail
jailnotbail's picture

The science behind the study may be sound. But I think there's sufficient evidence calling several of the items of received wisdom it cites into question to make the article as much a study in the psychology of authority defining reality, and ironically, of the herd instinct that CD refers to in his piece, as the intended exposition of the dynamics of denial.

In fact, the article serves as good example of the way in which received truth is propagated by the herd, once it's been seeded. Since it appears in what appears to be an authoritative publication, the author of the article and the study are imbued with that authority. As they nonchalantly cite these items as instances of denial, not even deigning to mention the bases of the controversy which surround some of them, the implication is that any sensible person knows that they are settled matters of fact.

Several are not, but you would have to make an effort to find and interpret evidence to the contrary on your own, to realize that. 

Tue, 06/08/2010 - 06:16 | 401154 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

What study?

I guess you don't understand that this is an opinion I'm presenting and I never attempt to offer any "evidence" of what I believe to be true.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 16:26 | 400343 GNH
GNH's picture

RR,

 

Interesting articles about the concept of denial, but not sure I agree with their spin.  One quote regarding denialists, "All set themselves up as courageous underdogs fighting a corrupt elite engaged in a conspiracy to suppress the truth or foist a malicious lie on ordinary people."  So, if I'm denial, according to them, I'm denying, or questioning,  the generally accepted truth that the corporate media is spewing???  They use swine flu as a example -- the denialists are those that question if it was a real pandemic, and those that question if there were corporate/dollar motives for the pushing of vaccines.  Well, I'm in denial because I question the latter. 

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 18:19 | 400583 RockyRacoon
RockyRacoon's picture

Very observant on your part.  This may be the inner message!  Even a supposedly objective discourse can be polluted.  You are thinking for yourself and that may be the point.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 16:29 | 400348 GNH
GNH's picture

...and CD, according to their definition, you are also in denial.  <sarcasm>

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 12:58 | 399886 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

Very timely RR, very timely. Thank you for jumping on the top spot, thus assuring attention.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 21:03 | 400759 puckles
puckles's picture

CD, I entirely understand your argument, and indeed have lived it for years.  While I still unfortunately find it necessary on occasion to smile politely when certain kool-aid drinkers make idiotic remarks (for example, "Isn't it wonderful that all the bailed-out banks have repaid their Tarp funds?  The plan is working..."), I don't do it where I live, or with people I respect.  

Regarding 9/11, please take a look at John Judge's work; I briefly interned for him, and I can tell you that the man is utterly honest in his research.  NOT EVERYBODY believes the 9/11 Report. This man is no tinfoil hat job.  Unfortunately.


9/11 Source Bibliography, by John Judge, 11/4/04

http://www.google.com/images/srpr/nav_logo13.png); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; cursor: pointer; display: inline; margin-right: 3px; height: 14px; vertical-align: 0px; width: 14px; margin-left: 5px; opacity: 0.5; background-position: -117px -117px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px initial initial;">


Miller, John and Michael Stone with Miller,Chris; The Cell -- Inside the 9/11 Plot, and Why the FBI and CIA Failed to Stop It. (Hyperion, NY, 2002) ...
www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/JohnJudge/911biblio.html  http://www.judgeforyourself.us/  

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 22:28 | 400850 Dirtt
Dirtt's picture

"While I still unfortunately find it necessary on occasion to smile politely"

I can't and don't anymore. Call me Mr. Blunt or Dr. Evil or whatever but don't call me late to verbally knocking someone in the skull. 

Yeah yeah yeah.  I know sugar is better than spice but sugar stopped working.  If we don't get the voting population walking upright with their heads out of their butts before November then kiss this nation goodbye.

Mon, 06/07/2010 - 22:12 | 400832 tip e. canoe
tip e. canoe's picture

"our choice seems to be between a new war or a new world"

jah mon...thanks for sharing puckles (love the pug face btw)

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