Forum Post: Political impotence, Interpersonal Skills, Judgements, Love, Openness, Propaganda
Posted 12 years ago on Feb. 27, 2012, 7:40 a.m. EST by Middleaged
(5140)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
My guess is that if we knew how to talk to each other better, we would be able to see through Propaganda better. So I want to Posit that if we all learn Cognitive Errors for our personal life, we will make the world a better place. So I am reprinting something from an other string which I recognize as Cognitive Errors.
1.All or nothing thinking: Things are placed in black or white categories. If things are less than perfect self is viewed as failure.
2.Over generalization: Single event is viewed as continuous failure.
3.Mental filter: Details in life (positive or negative) are amplified in importance while opposite is rejected.
4.Minimizing (or Maximizing/Inflating): Perceiving one or opposite experiences (positive or negative) as absolute and maintaining singularity of belief to one or the other.
5.Mind reading: One absolutely concludes that others are reacting positively or negatively without investigating reality.
6.Fortune Telling: Based on previous 5 distortions, anticipation of negative or positive outcome of situations is established
7.Catastrophizing: Exaggerated importance of self's failures and others successes.
8.Emotional reasoning: One feels as though emotional state IS reality of situation
9."Should" statements: Self imposed rules about behavior creating guilt at self inability to adhere and anger at others in their inability to conform to self's rules.
10.Labeling: Instead of understanding errors over generalization is applied.
11.Personalization: Thinking that the actions or statements of others are a reaction to you.
12.Entitlement: Believing that you deserve things you have not earned.
13) Exaggerating Reality: Taking a situation and declaring it will be the end of the USA, or Freedom, Or Liberty, or the Constitution.
14) Invoking Patriotism: Projecting a life or death frame work to get people to go to war, take up arms, condemn a country, condemn an enemy - often with no pretense at real analysis.
15) Name Calling: Thinking that calling someone a name is a way to WIN an Argument. Name Calling is never effective and is Really a Power Play (an attempt to make yourself more powerful).
These were posted by ChristopherABrown on separate thread several months ago. I have seen these before 20 years ago in Dr. David Burns Book "Feeling Good".
For my own personal communications improvement I would post the following:
ChristopherA Brown;
I wonder if many of us could benefit more from considering the abilities of our audience. You know we can try to write to a 6th grade level, and we can try to be more step by step in presentation. I'm sure you do that if you are a movie maker. The forum as a medium is sort of limited.
Looking at your web page a little and thinking about some comments on problems in forums. As far a 9-11 goes, inside job theory, pre-planted explosives, etc. This is controlled information and I'm guessing that people in demolition sign agreements with bond holders and/or government agencies - to not reveal the technology of bringing a building down in it's footprint.
I've put off a big writing project idea for almost 2 months. I'm not the smartest guy, but writing help me realize my abilities, talent and maybe creates a record of where I am at and maybe where I am going with current events.
The Point is that
1) Americans don't really share a common mind or binding agreement on the Future of the US
2) Americans don't share the same Education, History, Culture
3) Americans are polarized
4) Americans shout each other down, because they don't know how to have talks, discussions, debates, etc
5) The Dumbing Down of US Peoples is Real
6) Propaganda is Real
7) There are Classes based on Money
8) There are Classes based on Judgements like Physical Appearances
9) Judgements of Each Other Separate US People Politically and make us Politically Impotent.
That said US Organizations do try to control us, try to control our opinions, try to control our judgements, and send us simple messages that are repeated on TV and Radio.
I have travelled outside of the US and beleive the world is a big place full of information that I did not learn. I have a lot of catching up to do!! It is facinating how many convert actions that the US Political Machinery has been Engaged in to influence politics in foreign nations.
THE CONCLUSION IS WHY WOULDN"T the powers of our big religious, covert, political, corporate organizations work for their own benefit and against us. WHY WOULDN"T THEY PLANT SIMPLE MESSAGES TO KEEP US SEPARATED Politically. WHY WOULDN"T They Provide Us with FALSE HISTORY and Coverup History.
Additionally, noticing News about "Calls for Drones for use in Crimes", we don't really know the motivation of anyone asking for purchase of drones which might also have "service contracts". I would posit that all local, state, and federal government spending should be framed in the context of the US Constitution and the US Bill of Rights. I admit that Police departments could use new strength or tools, but QUESTION if drones are displacing emergency personnel and where the Money/Funding is coming from. And the borders are still wide open during a so called war on terror, so it is disingenuous to say it is national security in some situations.
Don't you find it a bit odd that, if you went to a public school, you learned about propaganda in the fourth grade? Thus, you were given the tools early on to recognize and combat those who seek to control the narrative.
Remember, much of what was known about propaganda was attributed to Nazi Germany. I'm guessing that teachers as a group are anti-war, and in the 4th grade were mostly women (a more liberal group). Vietnam was still a strong memory when I was in public school. I'm not sure when I learned about propaganda. I learned some folk music in Elementary like 'One tin soldier rides away'. I ended up doing a piece about propaganda in college and knew I was uninformed. Folk music may have been an exceptable way to teach about war after Nixon.
But Propaganda is like a 100 years old.
Propaganda is much older than that. And no, by the time you hit fourth grade then you are already learning about types of propaganda.
Well girls are smarter than boys sometimes. Propaganda was just a big word that maybe some day I was going to learn.
I suppose I had some some missing pieces in my education. But I watched a lot of TV.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda#Ancient_propaganda
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behistun_Inscription
Okay I see we can separate modern US Propaganda from Ancient Persian Propaganda in 515 BC.
The current public relations industry is a direct outgrowth of Lippmann's and Bernays' work and is still used extensively by the United States government. For the first half of the 20th century Bernays and Lippmann themselves ran a very successful public relations firm. World War II saw continued use of propaganda as a weapon of war, both by Hitler's propagandist Joseph Goebbels and the British Political Warfare Executive, as well as the United States Office of War Information.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda#19th_and_20th_centuries
I absolutely agree with all nine of your points; and I think most American (liberal and conservative) would also agree. But just understanding them is not enough. Every one of your points is a major issue all by itself.
I don’t see the problem as a lack of understanding. More like a lack of interest by the masses. Basically people aren’t interested in any ideas that don’t fit into their too comfortable lives. Yea, they know things are really screwed up; but what can they do about it attitude
I think the American culture and economy will crash. I think it naïve to feel anyone will be able to change the American public attitude before it comes crashing down. And as much as people will suffer during the aftermath of a collapse, I don’t see any other way to get the public to alter things.
Yes, I tend to think there is a lot to say about what is missing in US Culture. I'd like to write more and explore the subject, but often I am a little negative. Consider these points also:
1) We pick on or make fun of smart people, geeks, or people that look different.
2) Our Heroes are strong, muscled, outgoing, judgmental and maybe smartassed - like in the movies. We like the young and good looking.
3) There has long been an anti-intellectual background to our culture. I'm guessing it has something to do with the right wing conservatives, and the suppression of communism and progressive ideas from universities (like Noam Chomsky).
4) We don't value people that are not from the USA. We don't value other languages. We don't even understand that American is not only North America, Central America, and South America, but includes Mexico and Canada. And therefore we don't value other cultures and even make fun of European Culture from which we spring.
5) Killing foreigners, destroying their economy, creating millions of refugees is a crime against humanity, but we don't admit it. Some of us say nuk 'em, make it a parking lot. We don't even count the dead in places like Iraq or Afghanistan, so we don't have to answer to it or answer questions about our war strategy.
6) There is no sense in going 6000 mile to fight against a guerrilla war. The guerrilla has no logistics, no bases, no supply lines, no equipment. The war in Afghanistan and Iraq by definition are a waste of money, lives, equipment, resources, and have no basis in logic.
7) We don't admit that going to war with Vietnam was a mistake and that we started the war with a false flag intelligence operation (Fraud). I can understand the threat of communist missile in Cuba. But there is no way that communist in Korea or Vietnam were ever going to hurt US National Security.
8) We don't admit that Money and Lobbying Creates a Conflict of Interest in the US Congress. But in fact we have laws against conflict of interest in all of our legal systems.
We are confused by overly complicated systems. We dont get analysis of news. We get Shock Doctrine and Crisis Capitalism. Our history/story is distorted by media of all kinds.
I watched a Naomi Klein Video and have some other ideas to add.
It is propaganda, controlling the narrative, media control, neoliberal economics agenda implimented behind the doors in all countries, a corporate agenda to get the most resources, make the most money, and pull the most money from all people, a government sanctioned economic, banking, and corporate policy, and a policy venture which includes privitazation of our government and military through war and the war on terror....