raiha
01-04-2008, 04:35 AM
An English friend of mine had just been to US (never visited before.) The thing that struck him most was, not the Statue of Liberty or the Grand Canyon.
He is not a fanciful kind of guy, quite pragmatic and down to earth, so his statement unnerved me.
He said as he sailed into California, he had a strong sense of national fear oozing towards him...like a pall, like a kind of smog. It was palpable. He had never had that kind of experience anywhere else and is widely travelled.
That is a predominant emotion I pick up in my dealings with Americans also, on this board, on other boards.
The point i am trying to make is that your foreign policy, your state of high terrorist alert, giving up your fingernail file at check-in at the airport, your panic about the falling dollar..it has all been happening over years and years. It was rampant in the 60's with the McCarthy era.
Manipulating negative emotions is a great way to influence large numbers of people.
The hellfire and brimstone churches play upon fear, the communist party on hate, capitalism on greed, totalitarian states on feelings of inadequacy and inferiority.
So if citizens of a country have had years of enduring the kind of conditioning that prevents them from thinking clearly beause they're scared, it's not surprising they don't vote according to their better judgement. They possibly find themselves hovering over Ron Paul's name on the ballot sheet for a few seconds, and then inexplicably, in spite of the new possibilities and vistas that have been opened up to them, the old habit returns and their pencil moves down the page and they tick Huckabee. And then they go home feeling vaguely depressed!
Could it be possible that the depth and insidiousness of your national fear is the main reason for people not rushing to the ballot box with their RP autographed copy of the Constitution clutched to their bosom??
I must say I salute everyone who supports Ron Paul because already you have broken away from herd fear driven thinking.
The other point i wanted to make is that Dr Paul often talks about personal responsibility when he talks about his libertarian foundation. Personal responsibility is also about refusing to play "the blame game." We're human, we could have all done better. I usually find that the people who are quickest to point the finger at someone else are those who generally need to have a good look at their own behaviour.
This penny-in - the- slot instant gratification mentality and kneejerk reaction when what we want is not delivered the way we want it is not particularly helpful to anything or to anyone.
REPETITION AND CONTINUITY ARE NEEDED TO INSTIL NEW AWARENESS!!!
But hey "they'll come around!!!"
Pontification delivered. :):) "Never give up, Never surrender!!!"
He is not a fanciful kind of guy, quite pragmatic and down to earth, so his statement unnerved me.
He said as he sailed into California, he had a strong sense of national fear oozing towards him...like a pall, like a kind of smog. It was palpable. He had never had that kind of experience anywhere else and is widely travelled.
That is a predominant emotion I pick up in my dealings with Americans also, on this board, on other boards.
The point i am trying to make is that your foreign policy, your state of high terrorist alert, giving up your fingernail file at check-in at the airport, your panic about the falling dollar..it has all been happening over years and years. It was rampant in the 60's with the McCarthy era.
Manipulating negative emotions is a great way to influence large numbers of people.
The hellfire and brimstone churches play upon fear, the communist party on hate, capitalism on greed, totalitarian states on feelings of inadequacy and inferiority.
So if citizens of a country have had years of enduring the kind of conditioning that prevents them from thinking clearly beause they're scared, it's not surprising they don't vote according to their better judgement. They possibly find themselves hovering over Ron Paul's name on the ballot sheet for a few seconds, and then inexplicably, in spite of the new possibilities and vistas that have been opened up to them, the old habit returns and their pencil moves down the page and they tick Huckabee. And then they go home feeling vaguely depressed!
Could it be possible that the depth and insidiousness of your national fear is the main reason for people not rushing to the ballot box with their RP autographed copy of the Constitution clutched to their bosom??
I must say I salute everyone who supports Ron Paul because already you have broken away from herd fear driven thinking.
The other point i wanted to make is that Dr Paul often talks about personal responsibility when he talks about his libertarian foundation. Personal responsibility is also about refusing to play "the blame game." We're human, we could have all done better. I usually find that the people who are quickest to point the finger at someone else are those who generally need to have a good look at their own behaviour.
This penny-in - the- slot instant gratification mentality and kneejerk reaction when what we want is not delivered the way we want it is not particularly helpful to anything or to anyone.
REPETITION AND CONTINUITY ARE NEEDED TO INSTIL NEW AWARENESS!!!
But hey "they'll come around!!!"
Pontification delivered. :):) "Never give up, Never surrender!!!"