The Politics of Fear- the fear of politics

We can all get caught up in shaking our heads at the increase in what appears to be mental illness pervading politics and the common discourse. We can focus on individuals, organizations, so-called 'think tanks', secretive funding groups, and organizations with eagles, freedom and flags in their name or logos. If we focus on one, another pops up, like super cockroaches. What they are really doing is spreading fear. This is a list of what they want you to be afraid of--

• muslims
• environmentalists,
• socialists,
• Sharia law,
• godless liberals,
• elites (not elite by wealth, but usually elite because they're in Hollywood),
• communists,
• global warming 'advocates',
• abortion
• birth control
• government workers
• unions
• government programs
• teachers
• professors
• intellectuals
• artists
• actors
• comedians
• Mexicans
• Blacks
• Europeans- "we don't want to be like France!"
• COMPROMISE
• Compassion

I could go on, but this behavior is called conditioning. Psychologists have studied this for decades. The basic idea is that you constantly send electric shocks to the body politic to keep the feeble minded afraid. When you are afraid, life is simple 'fight or run', it has NO nuance, there is no 'on the other hand', or "I can see your point', or thoughtful analysis. The afraid are easily led, the way a mob can be led by one loud nut-job. They can be made to feel that it has all gotten too complex, too overwhelming, too threatening. This leads to feeling of helplessness, hopelessness or impotence that makes it possible for charismatic types to jump in and say they understand and can take care of it for us. "If only we go back to our Christian roots"  "if only we go back to the 50's", "if Hitler had won...", " if only there were no immigrants/blacks/Jews/Muslims/ liberals..."  Since we are not simple lab rats, the fear stimulus can fade, so must be reinforced by bringing in new targets, new 'evidence'; fresh fear pellets for the hamster mind. To keep all this adrenalin/endorphin/self congratulating glee going, you must constantly prime the pump. That is helped along by a giant generator/megaphone in the form of fright wing media/web sites. This is a powerful social experiment being conducted on all of us. 

Liberals, or normal, thinking persons are uncomfortable robotically repeating talking points. They tend to give people the benefit of the doubt, try to see 'their side', and sometimes try to counter nonsense with the truth, or facts. This is in the belief that all people are reasonable, and if people have the facts, they will let go of the silliness, the way a child will put down a ratty toy if you offer him a donut. But the truth doesn't matter, facts don't matter, it's the fear that matters. Keep dumping fear granules in the bloodstream of America and you make some people decide to turn away, to disengage, to go read a book and let others decide what is right. "Just leave me alone"- they think they've left the game. At the same time, others turn that fear into anger- "how dare THEY do this to me/us/America??"  Some of those turn that fear and anger on their fellows who don't seem to be as worked up. They take that lack of agitation to mean the other must be complicit in the 'conspiracy'. The other becomes the target, not the person/group that is turning on the fear stimulous. If a small percentage of the afraid, now angry who are on the periphery run home to get their guns or attack someone, it adds to the whole fear mix. We then become afraid to do simple things, like go to the store, drive, ,fly or visit relatives who watch or listen to 'those' people.
One thing that keeps this going is the biology of man- fear gives us a rush of adrenalin, but the body can't handle that for too long without some action. Then someone smiling and telling you they have it figured out for you causes relief and a rush of endorphins.

Conspiracy theories are like Meth, they get people excited and angry. They get a sense of satisfaction to think that they 'know' about the conspiracy, something that THEY(the conspirators) worked really hard to cover up, but somehow WE were smart enough to see behind the curtain. It doesn't matter that the curtain is made of a thin fabric of nonsense, the feeling of accomplishment is a high all it's own. You don't even have to be smart! In fact, it helps to be ignorant. It gives you a bigger rush to think you have exposed someone who is smarter than you. It also makes you more dependent on the person/group pre-digesting the info for you.

Is this a conspiracy? Am I falling prey to the same phenomenon? I don't think so. I think there are always those in life who understand how to manipulate others to get what they want. These people run ponzi schemes, real estate scams, become politicians, work on Wall Street, become pimps,dictators, or run churches. They have been around since the first cave clan needed a leader. We need to work on recognizing the pattern of manipulation and con-jobbery, and deny feeding it. We also need to be cautious when approaching the deluded, because people will hold tight to their cons, or to their favorite fear drug, the way an animal might fight to protect a rotted carcass it's feeding on. They also will defend an abuser because if they accept the truth, they think they will look stupid. It's like asking someone why they have a poisonous snake for a pet. Rather than admit they didn't know it was poisonous, they will spin a long self excusing tale and possibly get angry at YOU for pointing it out.

The saying goes 'the truth shall set you free', and what that means in this case is to be able to discern, on our own, what is really true about a claim, slogan, campaign and share that truth with others who are open to listen. You must also recognize and when possible, step around the 'hooked' the way you would avoid interaction with someone freaking out on crack. And above all, DO NOT let your sense of fairness let these mental crackheads, or their dealers, the real fearmongers, take more control, gain more ground, because you think that underneath, they are just like us. Dogs and scorpions are both living creatures, both have legs and mouths, and share most of the same DNA. But which would you rather have in your house?