by Matthew
Edward Hayward on Sunday, November 14, 2010
From the President of the United
States, whether Bush or Obama, to talk show hosts like Glen Beck and Amy
Goodman, a large mass of people follow them blindly. They
fail to think critically or realize that all of these people have their own agendas; they distort the facts and manipulate their audiences. They don't always know they are being deceived or manipulative.
Often we get caught up in crusading
and need to remember how to be objective. What is truly important is that we shake some
of the people we know out of their blind slumbers, out of their Fox watching,
1090am listening brainwashing, and educate them on the reality of the state of
affairs. Get out and talk to these poor people about the real battle that is
taking place, the battle against the minds of the American public. (I am sure
that many would argue that the real battle is a spiritual war, we will save
that for another time.) It is not about being right or wrong; it is about being
able to open your eyes to see more of the picture.
It is difficult to try and
communicate with people who, like me, have adopted sources for information that
we trust. How open do we remain to information from others? I listen to Glen
Beck, Amy Goodman, Alex Jones, and others I do not always agree with. But
it is not that I necessarily disagree with them; it is more than that. Often
people are intentionally or even unintentionally intellectually dishonest and
or participate in fallacies of logic. I tend to disagree with framing arguments and false premises, the ethical tactics and psychology used to
manipulate emotions.
"No
one can be a great thinker who does not recognize that as a thinker it is his
first duty to follow his intellect to whatever conclusions it may lead. Truth
gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study, and preparation,
thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them
because they do not suffer themselves to think"
"The
greatest orator, save one, of antiquity, has left it on record that he always
studied his adversary’s case with as great, if not still greater, intensity
than even his own. What Cicero practiced as the means of forensic success
requires to be imitated by all who study any subject in order to arrive at the
truth. He, who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that. His
reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is
equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side; if he does not so
much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion. The
rational position for him would be suspension of judgment"
John
Stuart Mill On Liberty, 1859
"There is a principle which is
a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which
cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt
prior to investigation." Herbert Spencer
The red pill might be hard to swallow
Around 2010
When
attempting to enlighten people who may need more prior knowledge of the
subject you wish to discuss, it is vital that you understand the mind and different
forms of communication. Knowing if your target audience has had previous exposure to conflicting information is also helpful.
If you take the full-on approach of blasting conspiracy theories toward a closed or even semi-open mind, you might cauterize the person into never being able to see the truth. On the other hand, if you carefully plant a few seeds, they may grow into the mind, possibly opening it up somewhere down the road.
If I had first come across a strong message like Alex Jones, I might have never become willing to look at anything new and controversial with an open mind. I was only awakened because the message brought to me was calm, conservative, and more open to discussion than telling. The facts brought forward were not facts that needed dots to be crossed but single and stand-alone. If any kind of philosophy or global conspiracy talk had even been mentioned, my mind would have been closed like a steal trap.
If you take the full-on approach of blasting conspiracy theories toward a closed or even semi-open mind, you might cauterize the person into never being able to see the truth. On the other hand, if you carefully plant a few seeds, they may grow into the mind, possibly opening it up somewhere down the road.
If I had first come across a strong message like Alex Jones, I might have never become willing to look at anything new and controversial with an open mind. I was only awakened because the message brought to me was calm, conservative, and more open to discussion than telling. The facts brought forward were not facts that needed dots to be crossed but single and stand-alone. If any kind of philosophy or global conspiracy talk had even been mentioned, my mind would have been closed like a steal trap.
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