"Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?... Has it ever occurred to you, Winston, that by the year 2050, at the very latest, not a single human being will be alive who could understand such a conversation as we are having now?... The whole climate of thought will be different. In fact, there will be no thought, as we understand it now. Orthodoxy means not thinking—not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness."
- George Orwell, 1984, Book 1, Chapter 5
1984 was written long ago. For a view of how Orwell's words relate to the state of things in our time there's a 2010 film, available at YouTube: Psywar - "The real battlefield is the mind". The full film (around 1 hour 40 mins) is available, also in 8 shorter bites, the first of which is below:
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Links to the rest:
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The film takes us back, with guidance from some highly regarded historians and philosophers, over past centuries to illustrate the use of propaganda and manipulation of public opinion...mind control...psyops...call it what you will. The evolution of propaganda and public relations in the United States is explored, with an emphasis on the “elitist theory of democracy” and the relationship between war, propaganda and class. This is not a high budget affair; it was financed via a blue collar job, and released online for free. The interviews contained within it are original, conducted by proxy.
One theory put forward in the film is that we are being manipulated because "the power-wielders" consider that "the people" (The Great Unwashed) are not fit to have a say in how countries are run in this advanced technological age. All power, and consequently all wealth, must be restricted to "the elite leaders". The power-wielders choose/designate individuals - candidates - for "election". This gives the appearance that these individuals are being "chosen" by the people. In reality the "candidates" are there only by permission of "the elite", and are there to do their bidding. This process is aided by a coordinated psychological operation using elite-controlled media as its front-line to push forward "candidate du jour" and denigrate others.
"The people" are, from time to time, given tid-bits of help (eg: The Affordable Care Act.) The ACA could quite easily have been of far more assistance to more people, but that would have resulted in a reduced share of goodies for the pharmaceutical corporations. Can't have that! "The people" receive just enough to avoid outright rebellion by the masses. Outright rebellion - revolution - is something "the elite" fear and always plan to avoid.
Quote from a respected philosopher:
Noam Chomsky, Thought Control in a Democratic Society
“If in some Orwellian future there were One Big Owner, he might be benevolent, in his own opinion, as indeed, Orwell’s Big Brother was – in his own opinion. Big Brother let the public see and hear a variety of things he deemed useful – where there is centralized control, it is the One Big Owner who makes the choices…Each year is more likely that the American citizen who turns to any medium – newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, books, movies, cable, recordings, video cassettes – will receive information, ideas, or entertainment controlled by the same handful of corporations, whether it is daily news, a cable entertainment program, or a textbook…Media giants have become so powerful that government no longer has the will to restrain them…Now that media owners are so large that they are part of the highest levels of the world economy, the news and other public information become heavily weighted in favor of all corporate values. The new corporate ethic is so single-minded about extreme fast profits and expanded control over the media business that it is willing to convert American news into a service for the affluent customers wanted by the media’s advertisers instead of a source of information significant for the whole of society.”
Beware Newspeak! My advice: be forever wary of what you read and hear, especially when what you read and hear will aid or profit "the elite". Pause to wonder, for instance, why more stringent (or any significant) measures are not in place to try to slow climate change. It would not profit the corporations and "the elite" power-wielders. Outpourings of manipulative garbage come regularly from what are laughingly called "both sides of the aisle". There is only one side, the corporate side, and no aisle to speak of.
Cited in 'Music, Mind Control, and Psychobiology' on Youtube:
ReplyDelete'The individual may think that the most important reality is his own existence, but this is only his personal point of view. This lacks historical perspective. Man does not have the right to develop his own mind. This kind of liberal orientation has great appeal. We must electronically control the brain. Someday armies and generals will be controlled by electric stimulation of the brain.' - Dr José Delgado,
Director of Neuropsychiatry, Yale University Medical School Congressional Record,
No. 26, Vol. 118 February 24, 1974.
And, from the Comments section of the yesterday's online Archdruid Report:
'Back in the early '70s, when I was just starting out as a professor, there was a day when an older colleague on the point of retirement brought into the main office an old 78rpm record of one of Hitler's speeches, and plaed (sic) it as a curiosity. My German was very, very good in those distant days, so I listened. Hitler spoke with a heavy dialect accent, which made his speech hard for me to follow in detail. But that turned out to be a plus: I was fascinated to notice in myself, as the record played, that *even though* I could understand about 1/2 of each sentence of his, Hitler's delivery--his rhythms and phrasing, his changes in volume and pitch--were absolutely mesmerizing. I knew what he had stood for, historically, and hated it, but for those few minutes I was wholly swept up in his delivery and would have followed him wherever he led. There was something very like a form of magic, a compelling power, in his use of speech, that was wholly independent of what he had to say. -- Look for that power in the speech of each presidential candidate: where you find it, you find a potential future dictator.'
Sabina~ Many thanks for those additions - scary stuff indeed! What is described in the first quote is nasty enough, but that in the second is worse! Fortunately there will be few individuals capable of such hypnotic ability - whether natural and (initially) unintended, or whether cultivated deliberately using some ancient "magic". The world only needs one such person though, to bring about indescribable horrors - as that quote shows.
ReplyDeleteIt takes two, as the adage goes...can't have the mesmerizer without the mesmerized. There is something inherent within human nature for each of us to desire to be a leader or to have a leader that one can follow. The followers tend to fawn over the designated elite, powerful, and royals among us. The Vatican-Catholicism is perhaps one of the best examples of a two thousand year, self-appointed, by-proxy elite. The queen of reality programming, Kim Kardashian, is an excellent example of extant follower-hypnosis, having replaced Paris Hilton at her game. Yes, people can be famous and made rich simply because they self-promote and offer their eponymous brand to the wannabes. Weird, eh?! It works! Image is everything. And there is a long line of attendants hoping some of the magic dust is sprinkled upon them.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, there have always been individuals that are independent thinkers, not falling prey to group-think and-or the chosen false gods of our times. Many have paid with their lives, others with ostracism and ridicule. Many are designated enemies of the state...think of our contemporary Edward Snowden or Chelsea Manning (BTW - is now in seclusion for insubordination: https://www.freechelsea.com/ ). No good deed goes unpunished!
As I've commented previously, I've observed via my career that when corporate management offers their employees monetary and positional incentives to be devious, the incentives typically over-rule honesty and fairness. We humans can justify and rationalize anything required to create an individualized scenario that works for each of us, no matter how irrational it may appear to the pope, a court of law, or our fellow beings. A blind-eye is just a dollar away.
From http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/we+have+met+the+enemy,+and+they+are+us
ReplyDelete"'We have met the enemy, and they are us in culture'
'We have met the enemy, and they are us' definition
Evil or upsetting forces exist within, not without.
Note : This is a twist on Oliver Hazard Perry's words after a naval battle: 'We have met the enemy, and they are ours.' The updated version was first used in the comic strip 'Pogo,' by Walt Kelly, in the 1960s and referred to the turmoil caused by the Vietnam War.
I saw on RT television a short news item about Tyler Truitt of Alabama but I have never seen it anywhere else. Googled it and found a few details-
ReplyDeletehttp://yellowhammernews.com/politics-2/alabama-city-tosses-property-rights-aside-threatens-military-vet-for-living-off-the-grid/
I don't know the full story or the circumstances so it would be interesting to separate the truth from the propaganda.
The seemingly hysterical reaction of the city of Huntsville is a reminder of what the 'leaders' will do to maintain their control. It reminds me of the 'establishment' reaction to the use (abuse?) of drugs in 1966/7 which prompted William Rees Mogg to write an editorial in the Times with the heading "Who would crush a butterfly on a wheel" (You can read about it in the book 'Revolution in the Head')
Unfortunately we no longer have independent minded journalists like Rees-Mogg.
History continues to repeat itself as farce and the best way to retain ones sanity is to read history as it is interpreted by the great poets-
"The man o' independent mind
He looks an' laughs at a' that."
-Robert Burns
http://allpoetry.com/A-Man's-A-Man-For-A'-That
oops, slight memory lapse (Im getting old you know)
ReplyDelete"Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel" is the correct phrase and here is that famous editorial-
https://www.iorr.org/talk/read.php?1,1755802,1756208
mike ~ Away from politics, there's plenty to convince us that a milder form of psyops goes on - as you've outlined. It could also be said, I suppose, that organised religion is another form of mind control...you mentioned the RC church; other denominations can hold as much sway over "the faithful" too. Religious control, now, isn't normally as damaging as other types, but could easily become so if let loose (as in "nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition"). ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe "mesmerised" though - is it really their fault? I don't know. As you said, there is something, a weakness, within humans that is prone to this behaviour, seeks it out in fact. In pop culture and other such scenarios this mild form of hypnosis is pretty harmless on the whole, but in politics and war it's different - and a very serious matter. Trying to learn to recognise these things when they are happening would be a help (though becoming paranoid could be a danger in that.)
Being aware is half the battle. Maybe there's not any time when these things are not going on - at some level - but a sense of what's petty and what's critical among them would be invaluable.
JD ~ thanks for these observations. :-)
ReplyDeleteI Googled for more info. on the Truitt story. I found this - it's from Alec Jones' site "Infowars" (not one of my usual stopping places!)
The city asserts Truitt’s property must be connected to the city’s treatment facility for the safety of Truitt and his neighbors and to comply with health codes.
“The absence of a connection to a sanitary sewer system (whether a septic system or sanitary sewer outfall line connected, ultimately, to a treatment facility, is not only a health and safety issue for the occupants, it’s a health and safety issue for others who may live around him/her,” said Kelly Schrimsher, communications director for Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle. “There are both benefits to be obtained, and compromises to be made, when people choose to live in an urban community.”
Locally I suppose the people were divided and news stories were based on quotes from both sides. I think the sanitary issue has to be important though, if the guy's trailer is located within city limits (as appears to be so.)
I enjoyed reading Rabbie Burns' poem.
The "Times" article is interesting. Back then, as I recall, the country still hadn't fully recovered from The Profumo Affair, its reverberations and side effects. Maybe there was a bit of the old pour encourager les autres going on....and what is that but a form of mind control!?
When we recognize that the dark is within us and choose not to acknowledge and integrate it, we project our anger with our own cowardice outwards onto a scapegoat.
ReplyDeleteAs Oscar Wilde put it in the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, 'The nineteenth century dislike of Realism is the rage of Caliban seeing his own face in a glass. / The nineteenth century dislike of Romanticism is the rage of Caliban not seeing his own face in a glass'.
French philosopher René Girard speaks about this all too human tendency on a CBC radio interview here -
https://youtu.be/g8Y8dVVV4To
As I have implied elsewhere, understanding ourselves and our 'human nature' is the first step if we wish to be responsible for our own conscience and our own consciousness.
Astrological factors can be explored to derive correlated influences to the psychological perspectives of earthly affairs. Synods are often utilized to correlate major shifts of power and war.
ReplyDeleteOne synodic cycle can overlap with another, such as the Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto synodic cycle, which last occurred in 1851 and will repeat in 2020. Each synod has two squares (waxing, waning) and one opposition. Overlapping synodic cycles have various combinations.
Here's a link to the Saturn-Pluto synod with overlapping synods and the correlation to world events:
http://www.lunarplanner.com/Saturn-Opp-Uranus/Saturn-Pluto-history.html
"Saturn and Jupiter are the two largest planets in our solar system after the Sun. Their conjunction every 20 years is a major event for humanity. Each conjunction happens in the signs of one element, for example air signs, followed by the next element, in that case water signs, nearly 250 years later. ... A long cycle of approximately 900 years is divided into four periods of Saturn/Jupiter conjunctions in the order of the elements in the zodiac, i.e. fire, earth, air, water. ... The time taken for one cycle of twelve signs is a little less than 3000 years. This consists of 3 cycles of about 900 years each. Each 200-250 years a new Jupiter-Saturn cycle will begin, starting with one of the twelve signs of the zodiac."
The Uranus-Pluto synod began in 1966 (re JD's comment above) and is a 138 year cycle, to which we just finished the first square.
"Although the 2012-2015 Uranus-Pluto Square is a phase transition in the current Uranus-Pluto cycle that began in the mid-1960's, this is not a repeat of the same type of cultural, social and political upheaval that occurred in the 1960s. Uranus and Pluto have moved into entirely new areas of the zodiak with very different stellar qualities than those of the original synod. Many other planetary cycles have occurred as well, all impelling an evolutionary progression in human society. The actions and changes in consciousness that this square catalyzes will be of an entirely different nature. Although this may be an intense time, it should be paradigm-shifting in a very progressive and expansive way as we will see toward the end of this authoring. The meanings of the words, 'Revolution & Revelation,' may take on an entirely new meaning."
http://www.lunarplanner.com/Uranus-Pluto-Square/index.html
I didn't credit the following as being from http://www.bava.org/articles/saturn-jupiter-conjunctions/
ReplyDelete"Saturn and Jupiter are the two largest planets in our solar system after the Sun. Their conjunction every 20 years is a major event for humanity. Each conjunction happens in the signs of one element, for example air signs, followed by the next element, in that case water signs, nearly 250 years later. ... A long cycle of approximately 900 years is divided into four periods of Saturn/Jupiter conjunctions in the order of the elements in the zodiac, i.e. fire, earth, air, water. ... The time taken for one cycle of twelve signs is a little less than 3000 years. This consists of 3 cycles of about 900 years each. Each 200-250 years a new Jupiter-Saturn cycle will begin, starting with one of the twelve signs of the zodiac."
... but does 'mind control' work? Is there any evidence that it works? Reliable evidence?
ReplyDeleteI am not a believer.
The Milgram experiment is always cited as proof that we all are easily manipulated.....
.....except, it isn't true!
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2013/10/02/the-shocking-truth-of-the-notorious-milgram-obedience-experiments/#.VcuR2n3TC3Y
Like all psychology, it is based on opinion, on interpretation of data. It is a 'soft' science and unlike real science it can be neither proved nor disproved. (see above link)
Don't know about the US but here in the UK we are too bloody-minded to do what we are told :)
Current example is the relentless hysteria in the press about the possibility of Jeremy Corbyn becoming the new leader of the Labour Party and his support among the 'grass roots' has risen more or less in line with the rise in hysteria.
Sabina ~ Yes, understanding ourselves would help us in many of life's situations. Whether The Powers That Be who are busy "psyops-ing" understand themselves is a moot point - but they seem to understand us better than we do ourselves! :-(
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link - I'll save it for a little later.
mike (again) ~ thanks for the links and information. My head is spinning! LOL!
ReplyDeleteThe lunarplanner link is a good one -I've been there several times in the past.
There's also an excellent piece by Palden Jenkins on cycles through history
I've possibly linked to it before:
http://cura.free.fr/xx/20palden.html
Snip
(My highlighting)
Uranus-Neptune frequencies resonate through groupthink - through the underlying assumptions, conventions, hidden agendas and values of our world. Groupthink perpetually changes, and it's the stuff of collective life. It's what lies behind what people believe is going on. Uranus and Neptune seem to drive this along. Imagination, aspiration and genius pull from the front, and lies, avoidances and fears drag it back - and somewhere in the middle there is the median point of real human evolution.
JD ~ I'm not sure mind control works on a one-to-one basis, either - but on the masses it's different - I think so, anyway. Propaganda works. That's the simplest way to see it. The more sophisticated the method, the less easy it is to notice.
ReplyDeleteI agree that people in the UK have a bloody-minded streak (I'm trying to keep mine!) - such a streak isn't present nationally in the USA. I believe that the USA is a much easier target for psyops-ing.
It's true, those at the top of the pyramid have a greater ability to selectively disburse information/misinformation and to live a significantly better quality of life, also to enjoy the comfort and wealth associated with that lifestyle for a while longer than most of us, who, at various times have also *occasionally* enjoyed relatively higher standards of living. But it's still a short-sighted, finite way of life based on illusion, power and/or greed.
ReplyDeleteMost of us are disconnected from nature and our own intuitive way of knowing . . . which doesn't mean we shouldn't also exercise our capacity for critical thinking and discernment. Once we get the hang of it, they work together, without contradiction.
Our whole modern (industrialized) way of life is based on an unsustainable paradigm, wherein those at the top control resources, and production is seen as a way to create profit (capital) rather than as a means to share resources in support of the long-term needs of community. We produce and consume much more than we need.
We live unsustainably on a planet with finite resources, where most forms of *progress* and the solutions we come up with to alleviate poverty and conserve resources ~more jobs, more industry, more 'stuff', like electric cars, solar panels, windmills and dams~ only use or destroy *more* of these resources and ultimately create greater problems down the road, or, in some cases, immediate problems in environments and communities least able to bear them.
Related to this, I watched a documentary recently on Link TV about Brazil's quest to find low-carbon energy sources to support the country's growing population. The hydroelectric dams being built will have a negative environmental impact on water, fish, land and air (how could they NOT?) and will involve the displacement of indigenous Amazonian tribal communities who're fighting to hold onto their culture and way of life and who don't wish to relocate to poor urban areas. Wish I could find the Link TV documentary, but here's the link to a Guardian piece instead:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/30/amazonian-tribes-demand-brazil-stop-hydroelectric-dams
Since childhood most of us have been taught to think a certain way and it's tough to wake up and undo that conditioning! Our love of capitalism, consumerism, industrialization and most forms of technology (all *STUFF*), combined with our belief that meaningful change is possible within our current political system, all only serve to feed the illusion and keep us on the wheel.
I think it's a human problem, and I'm a part of it. Humans have been fighting over resources, killing and lording it over one another since the beginning of time, using a variety of excuses to justify (and project) our inhumanity towards one another. Often, it seems the only thing that unites us is our shared hatred (or blame) of the 'other'.
The indoctrination (or mind manipulation) we receive wouldn't be very effective or long-lasting if what we're being conditioned to believe in didn't appeal to us on some core level. Though some are, I don't think most of us are consciously trying to harm anyone, we're just thinking about ourselves and our tribes and either aren't very interested or aware of bigger truths.
Twilight ~ I like the last quote from the Palden Jenkins article on Uranus-Neptune cycles and group-think.
ReplyDeleteThe article was interesting too, though I thought of something as I was reading the part about the conjunction of Uranus and Neptune in 1993 and how the "financial market dramas or systemic collapses" some astrologers predicted didn't happen.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed in 1993.
As a result of this agreement and others like it (supported by Republicans and Democrats), U.S. jobs were lost and wages lowered. According to one article, "More than five million US manufacturing jobs were lost between 1997 and 2014, and most of those job losses were due to growing trade deficits with countries that have negotiated trade and investment deals with the United States.":
http://billmoyers.com/2015/04/16/fast-track-lost-jobs-lower-wages/
My husband and I watched another documentary last night about what's happened in Detroit, "Detropia".
Still, most of us continue to support this system, sometimes because we don't have much of a choice and sometimes because we don't know or don't care. Group-think makes it deceptively easy to keep doing whatever everyone else is doing, without examining how our individual choices affect the collective or how we might make a difference.
P.S. On the day NAFTA passed through the House in 1993, Saturn (ruler of the Capricorn Neptune-Uranus conjunction) was in Aquarius and squared the Sun-Pluto conjunction in Scorpio.:(
ReplyDeleteLB ~ Thank you for bringing up these points, and for the links.
ReplyDeleteYes, a human problem - it is. We are taught to think in certain ways - and this is really basic psyops, plain and simple. Some overcome it and eventually think for themselves, some don't. Even those who try to think for themselves are still bombarded by stealthy manipulation, though, and with social media and communication now being so easily accessible - well.....! It's like a highly infectious disease. I hesitate to "blame" We The People" entirely for being, as mike put it, "the mesmerised". I don't like to blame ordinary people for everything - that's too easy and allowing those who are truly responsible off the hook.
P.S.S. Reading the comments and following the links, I see some of us are thinking along similar lines, which is that most of us are more complicit (and willing) than we'd like to believe.
ReplyDeleteThe links in comments will keep me busy for a while.
Off topic - Gore in 2016?
ReplyDeletehttp://abcnews.go.com/Politics/al-gores-friends-aides-eyeing-2016-race/story?id=33072322
I just finished the Palden Jenkins' essay...very interesting! Concluding paragraphs, written about 2000, are noteworthy and cringe-worthy:
ReplyDelete"At present, many prophecy buffs look toward the year 2012 as a time of drastic change. Though end-of-the-world type anticipations might turn out to be exaggerated, there nevertheless is a Uranus-Pluto square from 2012-15. At a square, new impulses arising from a conjunction are put to the test - there is a manifestation crisis. The astrologically-logical likelihood for 2012 is that the paradigm-shift issues of the 1960s will be forced by circumstance to deliver their goods: ecological ideas, women's power and techno-globalism, to name but three bundles of issues, will probably have to handle an emergency. War, institutions and boundaries (Aries-Capricorn) are predictable front-runners for likely trouble. Knowing how things are nowadays, this aspect is likely actually to bring a hailstorm of major issues.
But the choices now are fundamental. We need to realise, for example, that war no longer resolves conflicts as once it did. This is now a pragmatic issue, not solely a moral one or the domain of lettuce-eating pacifists. In the twelve years up to this aspect, we possess the choice to make major proactive forward-steps, or to continue delaying and avoiding such challenges as long as possible. As in 1930, on the previous square, when economic and social crisis demanded drastic action, so around 2012 we tread perilous paths along which the choices we make might have enormous and rapid outcomes. Ten years after 1930 the world was at war. What will the world be like in the decade following 2012?
Since Planet Earth is a world of variety, a variety of things will undoubtedly happen. There will no doubt be both horrors and deeply moving breakthroughs, and (especially for reincarnate Mayans!) it could be the end and beginning of a new age - of some sort! However, this is a square, concerning concrete issues, and the Uranus-Pluto cycle began back in the 1960s. Perhaps the new age began back then, without our realising it, and perhaps, with visionary and bloody stuff included, the full variety is already showing itself."
Twilight ~ Please don't misunderstand my meaning. People in power who intentionally oppress and exploit those with less power and influence are responsible for their wrongdoing. I'm not making a blanket statement intended to blame victims for the injustices they suffer.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to the decisions we make, I also realize not everyone has the information or wherewithal to choose differently. Many of us do though.
I left my previous comment before I read your last response.
mike ~ Re Al Gore - yes, I almost posted something about that myself, then decided to wait & see. He hasn't said anything himself, at present it's all just chat from others who think they are "in the know". It'd certainly make things even more interesting - but the thread of comment under the piece I read was not nice at all - out of a fairly long thread there were only a handful, or less, positive comments about Gore's possible entry in the race.
ReplyDeleteI don't know whether I'd be glad or sorry. I'd rather vote for him than for Clinton, but I'd rather vote for Sanders than Gore. Gore-Sanders could be okay, if they end up pushing Bernie out of the race (as they will soon try to do with more force - I bet) but they could well be unsuccessful. Maybe Americans will be, or are already learning a bit of good old bloody-mindedness (as mentioned by JD earlier).
mike (also) ~ I like the Jenkins piece also - it's a lot to take in all at once though.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree on the cringe-worthiness of certain lines. Considering it was written 15 years ago, Mr Palden deserves a gold star or two!
LB ~ No worries ! Let's just say there is some degree of fault on both sides. :-)
ReplyDeleteI miss George Carlin.
ReplyDeleteanyjazz ~ I know - so do I.
ReplyDeleteYou "bloody minded" better watch out:
ReplyDelete"Britain’s ‘Twitter troops’ have ways of making you think…"
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/16/britains-twitter-troops-ways-making-you-think-joint-threat-research-intelligence-group
And a name-change:
"MISO: Is it soup yet?"
http://psyopregiment.blogspot.com/2010/06/miso-is-it-soup-yet.html