Well, most of Germany and a large part of France was similarly hypnotised. Theologian Reinhold Neiber noted (paraphrased) "that crowds also bring with them a lurking evil: if you’re not careful, you run the risk of mob mentality that will enable you and me to do things that we would never even dream of doing on our own.". In “1984”, George Orwell warned us against groupthink.
I am not sure the the situation is so dire, but the elements are present, and have been called out by many in the the media, academia and philosophy arena: THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION THE GOOD FIGHT: LIBERALS, CONSERVATIVES, AND THE WAR ON TERROR “It is by no means flawless, but it helps along a necessary discussion about what liberals are obliged to say and do about American foreign policy, for we are so obligated, and I doubt there are more than a few handfuls in the United States of America who disagree, although there are some so deranged by George W. Bush as to refuse to agree for fear that if they agree with him that the U.S lies north of Mexico, say, they’re selling out. Here are just a few observations,” More: http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:8IbFd_lqD8oJ:www.brookings.edu/comm/events/20060607.pdf+life+of+Reinhold+Neiber&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3&lr=lang_en iberals are obliged to say and do about American foreign policy, for we are so obligated, and I doubt there are more than a few handfuls in the United States of America who disagree, although there are some so deranged by George W. Bush as to refuse to agree for fear that if they agree with him that the U.S lies north of Mexico, say, they’re selling out Kirk McLoren wrote: > most of the population is hypnotized - I am not sure how you would > deprogram them > The author closed with : > And so, we have George Bush and the Fourth Reich calculating how much > they can get away with by looking at the history of the reactions of > the American people to cheating. > There aren’t any because the system is adaptive to psychopathy. In > other words, Americans support Bush and his agenda because most of > them are effectively like him. But that is not because they are all > born that way. It is because psychopathy is required to survive in the > competitive, capitalist U.S. Society. > As a society gets larger and more competitive, individuals become more > anonymous and more Machiavellian. Social stratification and > segregation leads to feelings of inferiority, pessimism and depression > among the have-nots, promoting the use of “cheating strategies” in > life that then make the environment more adaptive for psychopathy in > general because those who are suffering will respond positively to any > sign of change, even if they don’t realize that the change is being > proposed by those who will actually make their lives worse. > Psychopathic behavior among non-genetic psychopaths could be viewed as > a functional method of obtaining desirable resources, increasing an > individual’s status in a local group, and even a means of providing > stimulation that socially and financially successful people find in > acceptable physical and intellectual challenges. > In America, a great many households are affected by the fact that > work, divorce, or both, have removed one or both parents from > interaction with their children for much of the day. This is a > consequence of Capitalistic economics. > When the parents are absent, or even when one is present but not in > possession of sufficient knowledge or information, children are left > to the mercies of their peers, a culture shaped by the media. Armed > with joysticks and TV remotes, children are guided from South Park and > Jerry Springer to Mortal Kombat on Nintendo. Normal kids become > desensitized to violence. More-susceptible kids - children with a > genetic inheritance of psychopathy - are pushed toward a dangerous > mental precipice. Meanwhile, the government is regularly passing laws, > on the demand of parents and the psychological community, designed to > avoid imposing consequences on junior’s violent behavior. > As for media violence, few researchers continue to try to dispute that > bloodshed on TV and in the movies has an effect on the kids who > witness it. Added to the mix now are video games structured around > models of hunting and killing. Engaged by graphics, children learn to > associate spurts of “blood” with the primal gratification of scoring a > “win”. > Again, economics - capitalism disguised as “democracy” - controls the > reality. > The fact is, it is almost a mechanical system that operates based on > the psychological nature of human beings, most of whom like to live in > denial or need to live in denial to please their parents, their peers, > their religious leaders, and their political leaders. All they want to > do is have some relaxation to enjoy the “American Dream.” After all, > “if ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be wise”. This is most especially > true when we consider the survival instinct of the ego. If the > official culture - created by psychopaths - says that there is no "man > behind the curtain", working through the inculcated belief systems, > there is little possibility that most people will be able to see the > source of the ponerological phenomena in our world. > Consider all of the foregoing information now in relation to the 9/11 > attacks and the fact that so many Americans find it almost impossible > to believe that their government officials would wantonly sacrifice > the lives of its citizens to further their personal agendas. More > importantly, consider the fact that your government knows how you > think only too well. In fact, they have CREATED your thinking processes! > > */Mike Weaver <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>/* wrote: > > Ludwig Wittgenstein: > "Anything that can be said can be said simply" > > That said - it's an intersting read; only I'd bet the true figure > is a > bit higher. The history of the world is rife with examples: > Hitler, Pol > Pot, Stalin. Ivan, Saddam, King Leopold - where do you stop? Is > Iran on > this list, or headed there? Too early to tell, but life is no > picnic if > you are not a True Believer. > > Framing the larger question, is the US headed there, or is it > already on > the way? The timeline posited below is off by several decades. I > think > it was limned in 1961: > > The term was first used publicly by President of the United States > (and > former General of the Army > ) Dwight D. Eisenhower > in his Farewell > Address to the Nation > on > January 17 , 1961 > : > > /A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. > Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no > potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.../ > > /This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large > arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence > — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every > statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the > imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to > comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and > livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society./ > > /In the councils of government, we must guard against the > acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by > the *military-industrial complex*. The potential for the disastrous > rise of misplaced power exists and will persist./ > > /We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our > liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for > granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the > proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of > defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and > liberty may prosper together./ > > But I really don't see that the current crop of neocons getting any > traction until Reagan. Yes, Nixon was a true paranoid lunatic, but he > imploded of his own madness. Reagan's crowd sanded off the scary > edges, > packaged it in a genial package and it's been off to the races ever > since. The Rupublican party began morphing then, but truly died in > 2000, > as a new creature evolved, The Neocon Republican. This new > creature was > not constrained by by any ethical boundaries or moral > consideration. The > fascinating thing is that the values it espouses are diametrically > opposed to those of the original Republicans: small government ('nuff > said - spy cameras, anyone?) fiscal responsibility - we're > borrowing a > billion a week to finance wars we can't win and tax cuts we can't > afford, a strong military - ours is now stretched so thin we'd be in > trouble if Paraguay invaded us, state's rights - Gay marriage? The > list > goes on. How did all this change - seemingly overnight? > Frankly I don't see how half the country morphed. Today's Democrat > is a > Republican from 1950. > > I do think many of the current crop of "leaders" fall in one or > more of > the categories below. The rest are brainwashed. With fair voting > pretty > much out the door, I wonder if a grassroots revolution is the only > hope. > > > > > > > > Kirk McLoren wrote: > > > I actually subscribe more to the theory that 4% of the > population is > > basically wolves in sheeps clothing and not as normal as they would > > have us believe. I also believe that given sufficient power (ie > money) > > these people will foment as much suffering in the world as will > > possibly further their greed or whatever motivates them. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Groups are talking. We´re listening. Check out the handy changes to > Yahoo! Groups. > <http://pa.yahoo.com/*http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=41144/*http://groups.yahoo.com/local/newemail.html> > > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >_______________________________________________ >Biofuel mailing list >Biofuel@sustainablelists.org >http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > >Biofuel at Journey to Forever: >http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > >Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): >http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > > > Phone (703) 519-7180 Fax (703) 519-7190 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Page 4* 4 Anderson Court Reporting 706 Duke Street, Suite 100 Alexandria, VA 22314 l _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
