I like the idea that This Moment, took 13 or 14 billion years of everything happening just the way it did, so that I can open my eyes and see it, feel it, be it. The news is not reality, whether I watch it or not. But this moment seems to be worth rejoicing in gratitude.
I hope your walk went well Paul! It's certainly true that our feeds aren't reflective of real life. Spending the past few days away from Substack and with family actually helped me relax and was so much better for my mental health than I thought it would be. It's why we should be careful in spending all of our time online with the perception that the online world is a substitution for real life.
My thoughts ? The ideology of "safetyism" is that it's a guaranteed winner. Why employ any other strategy when history shows that from the beginning of recorded time, fear wins as the ultimate tool for control. We have such short memory spans...let's hope and pray Americans never allow the picture of their Secretary of Defense, a very experienced military officer, in a cotton fabric mask and with a huge plastic "shield" over his head, to ever fade from their memory ! The message was FEAR FEAR FEAR, the intent ? Obviously the intent was to manufacture FEAR. This man, and the administration, had to be confident that the "average Joe" in the U.S. would make no attempt to analyze that "display" of fear. So, the "average Joe", like me, HAD to KNOW that one of our highest ranking military men with access to ANY protection, would chose one of the many pieces of equipment that actually PROTECTS our military members from germs and chemicals. They would not chose a food handler cotton mask and a star wars type of comic "shield" .... so why would that be ? It could have been because those useless symbols send a much more powerful message than words, when seen in public by a fearless warrior ?
But, when one rationalizes the situation, actual thoughts begin to surface, along with facts. This is a HIGH ranking military man. This man has access to the finest chemical warfare gear/masks made. This is a very important man, therefore, the government would not even allow him to travel about with such "pretend protection"... let's face it, the man looked completely ridiculous. The "average Joe" could not tell you the differences between a virus and bacteria, or even if any differences exist. The government COUNTED on this, along with ignorance of other facts that were once taught in the "free public education", but were gradually watered down and ultimately eliminated, due to being wholly unnecessary for the "masses". So, being primarily driven by emotions, not facts or research, or even "science" (No, Dr. Tony Fauci is NOT the same as the NOUN "science"), just emotions, just as more than 50% of the population will vote solely on "emotional feelings" rather than take the time and do the significant amount of work necessary to research candidates REGARDLESS of "party" affiliation. So again, the driving force under all is FEAR. Fear of not voting for "the party", fear of standing out, fear of being ostracized (a major principle in Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals book).
So it only stands to reason that the intellectually elite, those who read such books and others on Critical Theory ( the basis of critical race "theory" and that entire post war "school" called critical theory... and yes, long ago that was something one learned about in public high school when studying "progressive" philosophy, socialism, communism, etc. ) would KNOW that fear will trump anything, rather pushing a pandemic to gain control, or convincing a population that gradually eliminating firearm will solve the "problem" of human spiritual weaknesses.
Yes, our curriculum is now filled with subtle, and not so subtle, reinforcement of the doctrine of "safety" above all, our government bombards us with constant fear mongering nearly "threatening" people with what will happen if they don't fork over more to finance foreign wars, if we don't get shots and vaccinations for nearly everything you can name now from herpes to flu, that we will die from oxygen deprivation or infernal temperatures if we don't stop using paint and whipped cream in aerosol cans.... etc. . How could we NOT predict our children would become so risk adversive that one day they will willingly line up for any type of injections without any explanation at all ? I know, THAT will never happen, when I first read Orwell (required) I laughed my head off.... just too far out !
Safetyism is a guaranteed win because its means of enactment require extreme measures. It's a sweeping brush that wants to rid the world of the evils and create a sterile environment, which can only come about by fealty to those in power and the removal of individual rights and freedoms. It's why the saying goes that people would rather be safe than be free, and through constant bombardment of fear you can shape and influence public perception to hunger for safety through any means necessary.
There's plenty to say about Critical Theory and the way that the educational system is going. The fact that many activities have been removed due to equality or paranoia is so concerning. It's something that is brought up in The Coddling of the American Mind. It's been a while, but the fact that many kids are babied well into college and into their professional careers is rather telling for our current state. Kids in college don't want to be challenged, and when they get poor grades they don't deem it to be a reflection of poor studying habits or a lack of understanding on their part, but rather a failure of their professor. I even had one friend who didn't do well in one of his chemistry courses and emailed the professor saying he really tried hard and if she could bump up his grade, as if getting an A for effort should translate into an A for actual knowledge and critical thinking.
Here's another old saying about "safety-ism": (1Th. 5:3) "While they are saying, 'Peace and safety!' then sudden destruction will come upon them like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."
Enjoy what is here to enjoy, but with eyes open and ears attuned. Some of the stuff that has been happening recently seems pretty awful to those of us that had been living in peace, but but if you see these events for what they really are, not succumbing to the deception, doing so is a blessing. But don't stop there. Apply what you've seen and learned. Don't fall back onto old beliefs that have been shattered. Make the most of this opportunity. Look for what might be true that you didn't think was.
The "saying" above is just one verse, verse 3. Take the trouble to look it up and read verses 4-11. They point to a different course of action, a different strategy for winning the war.
Yes, there's a big difference between being aware and being paranoid. Far too often we are inundated with information that may lead us to believe that things that were normal or rare occurrences are actually occurring at a far higher rate, leading us to make assumptions that we need to make drastic changes in order to deal with such emerging issues.
It really is striking how much people's thoughts can be shaped by the most recent stories rather than be shaped by a broader collection of information.
Sometimes things can seem awful, but the little things in life help us realize that things are still good. We still have many things to be thankful for even if we may not realize it during times of distress.
I like the idea that This Moment, took 13 or 14 billion years of everything happening just the way it did, so that I can open my eyes and see it, feel it, be it. The news is not reality, whether I watch it or not. But this moment seems to be worth rejoicing in gratitude.
Aloha, and I'm off to take a walk outside!
I hope your walk went well Paul! It's certainly true that our feeds aren't reflective of real life. Spending the past few days away from Substack and with family actually helped me relax and was so much better for my mental health than I thought it would be. It's why we should be careful in spending all of our time online with the perception that the online world is a substitution for real life.
My thoughts ? The ideology of "safetyism" is that it's a guaranteed winner. Why employ any other strategy when history shows that from the beginning of recorded time, fear wins as the ultimate tool for control. We have such short memory spans...let's hope and pray Americans never allow the picture of their Secretary of Defense, a very experienced military officer, in a cotton fabric mask and with a huge plastic "shield" over his head, to ever fade from their memory ! The message was FEAR FEAR FEAR, the intent ? Obviously the intent was to manufacture FEAR. This man, and the administration, had to be confident that the "average Joe" in the U.S. would make no attempt to analyze that "display" of fear. So, the "average Joe", like me, HAD to KNOW that one of our highest ranking military men with access to ANY protection, would chose one of the many pieces of equipment that actually PROTECTS our military members from germs and chemicals. They would not chose a food handler cotton mask and a star wars type of comic "shield" .... so why would that be ? It could have been because those useless symbols send a much more powerful message than words, when seen in public by a fearless warrior ?
But, when one rationalizes the situation, actual thoughts begin to surface, along with facts. This is a HIGH ranking military man. This man has access to the finest chemical warfare gear/masks made. This is a very important man, therefore, the government would not even allow him to travel about with such "pretend protection"... let's face it, the man looked completely ridiculous. The "average Joe" could not tell you the differences between a virus and bacteria, or even if any differences exist. The government COUNTED on this, along with ignorance of other facts that were once taught in the "free public education", but were gradually watered down and ultimately eliminated, due to being wholly unnecessary for the "masses". So, being primarily driven by emotions, not facts or research, or even "science" (No, Dr. Tony Fauci is NOT the same as the NOUN "science"), just emotions, just as more than 50% of the population will vote solely on "emotional feelings" rather than take the time and do the significant amount of work necessary to research candidates REGARDLESS of "party" affiliation. So again, the driving force under all is FEAR. Fear of not voting for "the party", fear of standing out, fear of being ostracized (a major principle in Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals book).
So it only stands to reason that the intellectually elite, those who read such books and others on Critical Theory ( the basis of critical race "theory" and that entire post war "school" called critical theory... and yes, long ago that was something one learned about in public high school when studying "progressive" philosophy, socialism, communism, etc. ) would KNOW that fear will trump anything, rather pushing a pandemic to gain control, or convincing a population that gradually eliminating firearm will solve the "problem" of human spiritual weaknesses.
Yes, our curriculum is now filled with subtle, and not so subtle, reinforcement of the doctrine of "safety" above all, our government bombards us with constant fear mongering nearly "threatening" people with what will happen if they don't fork over more to finance foreign wars, if we don't get shots and vaccinations for nearly everything you can name now from herpes to flu, that we will die from oxygen deprivation or infernal temperatures if we don't stop using paint and whipped cream in aerosol cans.... etc. . How could we NOT predict our children would become so risk adversive that one day they will willingly line up for any type of injections without any explanation at all ? I know, THAT will never happen, when I first read Orwell (required) I laughed my head off.... just too far out !
Safetyism is a guaranteed win because its means of enactment require extreme measures. It's a sweeping brush that wants to rid the world of the evils and create a sterile environment, which can only come about by fealty to those in power and the removal of individual rights and freedoms. It's why the saying goes that people would rather be safe than be free, and through constant bombardment of fear you can shape and influence public perception to hunger for safety through any means necessary.
There's plenty to say about Critical Theory and the way that the educational system is going. The fact that many activities have been removed due to equality or paranoia is so concerning. It's something that is brought up in The Coddling of the American Mind. It's been a while, but the fact that many kids are babied well into college and into their professional careers is rather telling for our current state. Kids in college don't want to be challenged, and when they get poor grades they don't deem it to be a reflection of poor studying habits or a lack of understanding on their part, but rather a failure of their professor. I even had one friend who didn't do well in one of his chemistry courses and emailed the professor saying he really tried hard and if she could bump up his grade, as if getting an A for effort should translate into an A for actual knowledge and critical thinking.
Happy Thanksgiving. 🌈🌟❤️
Thanks Nova! I hope yours went well!
Here's another old saying about "safety-ism": (1Th. 5:3) "While they are saying, 'Peace and safety!' then sudden destruction will come upon them like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."
Enjoy what is here to enjoy, but with eyes open and ears attuned. Some of the stuff that has been happening recently seems pretty awful to those of us that had been living in peace, but but if you see these events for what they really are, not succumbing to the deception, doing so is a blessing. But don't stop there. Apply what you've seen and learned. Don't fall back onto old beliefs that have been shattered. Make the most of this opportunity. Look for what might be true that you didn't think was.
The "saying" above is just one verse, verse 3. Take the trouble to look it up and read verses 4-11. They point to a different course of action, a different strategy for winning the war.
Yes, there's a big difference between being aware and being paranoid. Far too often we are inundated with information that may lead us to believe that things that were normal or rare occurrences are actually occurring at a far higher rate, leading us to make assumptions that we need to make drastic changes in order to deal with such emerging issues.
It really is striking how much people's thoughts can be shaped by the most recent stories rather than be shaped by a broader collection of information.
Sometimes things can seem awful, but the little things in life help us realize that things are still good. We still have many things to be thankful for even if we may not realize it during times of distress.