To Free Minds

A couple of quotes for today:

"Think for yourself . . . or others will gladly think FOR you."
 (Dana Gore)

"Nothing threatens a corrupt system more than a free mind."  
(Suzy Kassem)

(photo courtesy of pixabay.com)

For Free Minds: How to Avoid Mind Control, Part 2

     Last week we were examining how people try to control our minds through fear, anger or outrage, and greed.  Today we will look at how often-anonymous people in social media try to influence what we think and do.

     I have a friend who gets almost all of his news from a prominent social media site.  Sadly, much of the news that he chooses to click on is fake.  They have provocative headlines that are designed to elicit fear, anger or outrage, or greed.  One of his favorites are conspiracy theories, which mix fear and outrage.  The problem is, whenever he clicks on one of these stories, the website remembers and generates more articles along that vein.  So, he clicks on more, and more appear.  In a sense, he is creating his own hall of mirrors.  The sad thing is that these fake news articles are designed not only to get him to read more like them, but they are also created to influence how he votes, how he views certain ethnic groups, and how he becomes more ingrained in a certain world view.  It's very sad.

     Stay free of this.  Do not click on articles that you can tell are appealing to your lower emotional centers.  Check "facts" in these articles with Snopes.com or other fact-checking sites.  Be objective.

     Similarly, the non-anonymous talking heads on the daily news channels, especially the ones that run 24/7, use your base emotions to continue watching.  Anger, fear and outrage are particularly common emotions that they elicit in order to keep you glued to the TV.  After all, they are in the business of selling commercial time, and the longer you watch, the more commercials you will see.  Of course, I am not saying that you should avoid being informed and watching the news, but be aware of how the different news organizations make you feel.  Do you feel angry, afraid, or upset?  Do those emotions make it hard for you to pull away from the TV?  Or do you feel informed, where the news is presented in a logical, even-handed way?  That is probably the better choice for getting your information.

     We all make choices in how we stay informed in this world.  By making wise choices, we can avoid the chance that we might come under someone's influence through the manipulation of our emotions.  Be wise.  Stay free.

    

For Free Minds: How to Avoid Mind Control

     Since July is a month to celebrate freedom, how about if we discuss how to keep our minds free?  There are several ways that people, organizations, and the media try to control our minds, and we are so often easily swayed by them.  Through awareness, however, we can avoid coming under their control and stay free.  Freedom is good; wouldn't you agree?

     First, let's look at how individual people try to influence us to their advantage.  We have all received phone calls from scam artists who try to control us by using our emotions to our disadvantage.  Scammers call this "getting them under the ether."  They say things to elicit the strong emotions that are based in our reptilian brains, getting us out of our logical, objective higher brain.  And the emotions they love to use are fear or urgency, anger or outrage, and greed.

     For example, a scammer might want to scare you to believe that your computer has been hacked and you only have minutes to take care of it.  They are using fear and the pressure of time to hook you into doing what they want, such as providing them with your credit card number.  The best thing to do is to take a deep breath and hang up.  (Better yet, never answer a number you do not recognize.)

     But leaders also do the same thing, don't they?  Whether it's religious leaders who scare you with talk of eternal damnation or governmental leaders who vilify a minority ethnic group, saying that they are out to take your job or are a threat to your safety, these leaders are using fear to control you so that you will do what they want.  Stop.  Take a deep breath.  Go back to watching and listening to them objectively.  Ask yourself:  What do they want from me?  Decide for yourself if that's something that is in your best interest and the best interest of those you care about.

     Stay free, friends, stay free.

Happy Independence Day

May you be free of fear.

May you be free of pain.

May you be free to develop

the best that's in you.

Happy Independence Day!

(photo courtesy of pixabay.com)