FEAR -- Part I

[Craig Browning]

Over the past few years (a decade or so) I’ve started noticing a frightening trend; how everything we seem to hear via the media – not just the news but certain facets of “entertainment” and most particularly the views expressed by the so-called religious current and those political entities that seek to manipulate their confidences – the promotion of paranoia and distrust. While it’s not so much “new” we’ve seen it cycle throughout history for eons, it is certainly surpassing a level of application, giving to us all the psychological need for escape. Conveniently our handlers have seen too it that we all have pacifiers that meet said need, switching the quality and sensory lull of said toys in such a steady manner that we’ve become compulsive in our dependency around such things; our ego insisting that we have the latest and most perfect, be it in the form of a Cell Phone, Lap Top or Home Entertainment Center – the many forms of the 21st century phallus that everyone, male & female; old & young, seems hell-bent in proving that theirs is the biggest. Their obsession and focus on said deterrent, keeping them blind to the fact that the world is slowly in decay – society is being eroded, and they (WE) are responsible for it; we are literally signing away our freedom and integrity in exchange for some toys.

Whenever a magician creates a miracle on stage or at arm’s length, misdirection is his ally; he forces you to watch what is not important, what is to be the intrigue, rather than allowing you to see what his personal reality is; his ulterior motive which, fortunately in such cases, is for the sake of innocent fun. However, armies and organizations have used this very same tactic for centuries so as to lay rule over the masses and manipulate their would-be foes. The irony however, is how many times the same exact formula has been applied and how many times the general populace falls for the deception, giving the lie their fullest sense of dedication; so much so that they would betray friend & family so that the invented truth that’s being encouraged by their “leaders” is validated and the fellowship given ground – advancement and thus, social-political influence via validation.

Seems I recall someone stating something along the lines of “Tell a lie big enough and often enough with the deepest sense of passion and it will become seen as the truth in all things.”



For close to 2,000 years we’ve seen a Romanized Jewish Cult prey upon society under the banner of righteousness and morality while showing next to neither, even to the point of bastardizing the essence of its own scriptures for the sake of carnal gain and glory – an institution that has so well mastered this very mode of obfuscation, so as to seemingly blind its patrons of its own array of blemish and hypocrisy. An institution that has turned brother against brother, parent against child and nation against nation time and again, even to the extent of justifying enslavement, imprisonment, persecution and genocide. But this demon has another face to it. . . several in fact, allow me to introduce them to you;

The Politician – while we’ve seen this breed roaming the planet since the earliest of known civilized times it only came to know extreme position and “clout” upon embracing the essence of one of the three primary Abrahamic faiths with Christianity standing at the lead. Every politician that utters the name of Jesus and lends praise to the Good Book and the supposedly single Deity it is said to represent “wins” (including the obvious idiots out there, or need I remind you of America’s first 8 years in the 21st century and the mess it’s made?)

While most of Europe has matured enough to ignore silly pettiness when it comes to a politician’s beliefs America hasn’t; in the 1960’s everyone panicked over the Kennedy’s because they were Catholics and as everyone knows, with a Catholic in the White House the Pope will automatically take rule over the nation, right?

You might not want to believe it, but that was the actual mentality of people during the whole Kennedy campaign, including Bobby’s. Similarly, the political efforts done by members of the Black, Hispanic, Jewish and even American born Asians all came to know slander by the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant majority -- those “good Christians” that believe God & Jesus were White Wealthy Americans vs. the Middle-Eastern peasants with rather dark tans, that they actually were. But hey, we needn’t confuse the truth with all the facts. . .

The Propagandist – what we’d recognize as Media Experts in today’s world, individuals that have studied human beings, trends, demographics and most importantly PSYCHOLOGY in order to manipulate the minds of the masses. Their favorite weapon being FEAR. . . fear of not fitting in, of not looking “right”, of being one of “them” (pick an out-cast), fear of calamity and loss, fear of others and their intentions. . . name it, these individuals will exploit it by packaging it up in a way that plays to one’s ego and paranoia.

Technology for an example, strokes our ego because we can own a neat James Bondish gadget but at the same time we are compelled to constantly replace a perfectly good device like a cell phone with the next one that comes down the pike out of fear of being seen “out of the loop” but there’s a catch to all of this as well – fear that Big Brother is watching us and knows where we are, what we do at all times because of our Cell Phone, PDA, etc. and worse, there are big nasty bad guys out there that know how to hack our toy and steal all of our personal information; some of them even do it “legally” for the sake of aiding other Propagandist when it comes to projecting trends and molding the next new toy to fit our psychological sense of “necessity”

On one side this cycle promotes a false sense of economic growth and commerce as a whole, but as I said, it is only as a façade in that this constant course of exchange creates environmental issues both, through its production and then later, in the act of destruction and (hopefully) recycling. . . and this is just the soft side to it all, look at what this silliness has done to society, how it has taught us to not interact on a face to face, I can reach out and touch you, basis. How the new “normal” is having close exchange with people that live thousands of miles away and whom you aren’t likely to ever meet in person and yet, you cherish that relationship or maybe I should say “those relationships” just as you would someone you go out and play the links with or have a few drinks with every week at the same old local pub, etc.

The Propagandist helps us to believe that this is ok – cool. They side-track us from considering the other truths known about human interaction and our literal need for physical contact; not sexual though that is important, but simple comradely interactions – fist bumps, hugs, pats on the back, a kick in the butt (both, literal and metaphorical). How will one of our virtual friends know when we’re not acting right and discern that something’s wrong and thus, call us on it? How can they “be there” for us when calamity has hit your home/family/community or whatever else that leaves you out of touch and unable to solicit them in the moment?

It’s something to consider but there’s more. . .

By way of these three primary sources – Religion, Politics and the Propagandist glue that binds it all together – we are fed a constant diet of fear, doubt and that handful of ego boosts that help us to ignore and even doubt all that other negative stuff that gets pointed out or we might even suspect from time to time. But take a short look at things this weekend; count how many commercials emphasize some form of fear. . . how many play to your ego’s need for “revenge” by way of frivolous law suits and the thought that a.) you may be a “victim” and b.) “they” (whoever that might be) owe you (even though you know deep down inside, that such is pure horse pucky). But you are afraid of two things; you “Might” have a disease or injury with long-term effects and too, you may not get your share of the multi-million dollar pie the vultures (lawyers) are chasing (of course, you’re focused on the fantasy of “your share”, totally oblivious to the fact that the lawyers can take as much as 60% of the winnings for themselves).

But as I said, tally the number of messages you are being hit with that incite some form of fear, be it not fitting in, image issues, political/religious condemnations…. The range is quite wide and malleable but it’s amazing to actually see. Even more amazing – unsettling – is noticing how much of it affects you directly and why.

I don’t personally believe in “victims”, I believe that we “volunteer” for various aspects of fate in simple, often stupid ways, the most common being that we see the sign-posts but ignore their warnings – we forget about how history repeats itself and thus, we don’t elect to not see very specific trends and similarities – we don’t listen to what our gut is trying to warn us of in order to not knowingly become victimized by the manipulators.

Just some food for thought.

[Twain Shakespeare]

[NinjaPuppy]