Brainwashed: Part 11 – Summation
Brainwashed – Part 11 – Summation
I wonder whether this matter of mind control frightens you as much as it frightens me.
Are we designed for this, are we built for this – this controlling one another? Are we not supposed to take care of one another and live together in harmony?
We are not designed to be hermits, we are made to live in community. This is where we began this investigation: good behavior and etiquette, and whether it is mind control.
We have looked at extremes in many instances. In the case of a cult, for instance, whatever is considered to be good behavior might be more extreme than the common good found in other societies, and that would definitely fall under the category of purposeful mind control.
Maybe it is all mind control and sometimes it is for the good and sometimes not so much.
Many forms of mind control that we have discussed these past several readings have been used for the profit of someone in one way or another, and sometimes for evil profit. Many times it is clear, and many times it is not so clear.
We have discussed what may be considered a spectrum or a scale of mind control, or maybe a branching tree. We began with basic education and etiquette, and moved to conforming to social norms. From there we went to peer pressure, thought control, bullying, convincing, influencing (directed toward the individual or the masses), societal pressure asserted by waves of opinion, preying upon our addictive tendencies, pulling the wool over someone’s eyes, bamboozling, gaslighting, subterfuge, direct mind control, and brainwashing.
Is it that originally good, positive practices have evolved into negative ways of controlling one another? If we are indeed made in the Almighty’s image, is controlling minds a part of that?
Why must life be a battle? Finding consensus seems so much better than constantly fighting. Do we develop these methods solely to further our battles? Do we need battles to make us better, or are we meant to do away with them? Is conflict a part of life, and are those who create it to be more revered?
Must we always have war? Are we meant to have enemies? We have grown our battles both of physical warfare and of mind control. Why?
Maybe it depends upon which society we live in: certainly the hordes of hackers who prey on us through our computers value expertise at subterfuge much more than do the students in our children’s kindergarten class. Or maybe the kindergarteners are just learning about it.
I know I have learned that we should be careful what we are telling each other. Very careful.
Certainly psychologists know more about all of this than I do. I am only observing.
We began with our brain as a pinwheel, and the influences are blowing upon it from all directions. Perhaps it behooves us to begin to place stronger filters around our individual pinwheels. The wheels might turn a bit slower, but the input might be a lot more pure and useful.
Is that what we want? It is, if it is good for the common good, regardless of how the winds may blow.
Thank you for facing these headwinds with me. We have a lot to think about.
