AS THE PROPAGANDA TURNS

I would come home at lunch from grammar school in the late 1950s and watch “Love of Life”, I believe the soap opera was. It seemed like you could get closer to the life of actors and narratives that you were not fully aware of in your own life. I also liked seeing the pretty women. Before you knew it, you knew who were the good guys and who were the bad.

I did not revisit the soap opera phenomenon until the early 1980s. It was even more clear what the basic reoccurring lesson from them was; when bad people manipulate, things go bad; when good people manipulate others and situations, things can easily go bad.

It is an addictive scenario if you identify with the narrative personally, some actors have even been assaulted for playing the bad guy, fans thinking the narrative is accurate to who they see.

I got tired of having my emotional strings repeatedly pulled this way, same reason I stopped watching almost all sports ages ago, I did not want my testosterone strings pulled up or down over narratives that amount to nothing in the real world. I have my own real life to lead and there’s not that much time. I know, these phenomenon do direct their influence into the real world, but I am not the addict supporting the habit.

I do wish that the worlds political leaders were soap opera connoisseurs however. They might have learned something about manipulation of power relations and how it inevitably backfires. But on the soaps, you can see the power of manipulations seduction as believable emotional fantasy: When someone tells another on the soap; “I won’t let any harm come to you! Darling. My Love!” It means, not only will that promise be broken (future cannot be guaranteed), but it probably will be directly related to some action from the loved one with the promise. As in politics; promises, promises, promises, especially after we manipulate the situation to teach someone a lesson.

Unfortunately for the lure of manipulation, it has a snake eating its tail like inspiration of the benzine ring, it becomes hard to tell which action started the linking reaction. Around and round we go until what is true begins to seem like a dream.

THE TATTLE-TALES FATE

Remember how in childhood, the one called a tattle-tale was not popular. This individuals emotional narrative is one of insecurity, perhaps an impression they were always to relay the truth, and maybe persecution real or imagined. They tell an authority figure to gain respect and honor points. Even if true, authority gives them a point for relaying a truth, but might tell them not to be such a tattle tale! Why? They know how the other kids are adding up negative points for them, and one day may be that negative payback.

In grammar school I was in the extreme troublemaker class, known to drive the lay teachers to extinction, leaving the room in tears. On occasion, the next days were spent with everyone writing lines all day long, cause we would not “squeal” on a gang of boys who we knew would “get even” with us.

(This classroom was like the riotous ones in movies. After the thrown pencils, rulers and books, overthrown desk and vile words on the blackboard, chalk and papers everywhere, it would seem as if we had endured a tornado, something that room would actually one day experience.)

The authorities (teachers) manipulation was; everyone deserves punishment for not, in effect, bringing vindictiveness upon themselves. We then lost most all respect for that authority, even if they were the boys real target—-to pick at a perceived weakness=their manipulation. That class was my 8 years of same classmates, just another year of hell at school. That lay teacher one year allegedly left education as a profession after her breakdown. The bad boys remained triumphant, proving life is not fair?

But what have they learned? They did not know or care how the rest of us (and they!) were punished or held back in our missing education. They did not care, seemingly, what we thought of them (except that we did not “cross” them), but I bet if they have not changed from this kind of gang loyalty reasoning they had, it is their lives that remained in hell, even if they have a big white house, titile and fancy car.

SEEING THROUGH BULLY TACTICS INHERENT SELF DECEPTIONS

A small but right portion of the population in 2003, knew from what they had seen and heard as proof, that the upcoming war was bound to backfire from professed abstract emotionalized narrative. That small number, knew the ways of the bully and the ways of deception, they were right out in the open! If you knew how to pay attention to what is true and what is manipulation masquerading as fear based truth, a kind of shame was felt for the easy followers of overt deceptive tactics. Those followers considered the truth itself–anti-American. Cable networks became the reverberating megaphone of false associations, and finger pointing and innuendo as to those who questioned trickery called authority.

We were set up like soap opera characters or fans who think the script is real, or wed to “our team” allegiance, to believe in something false as factual, if we felt bound to the characters narrative. Transfer that narrative to the nations own alleged security interest, and the might makes right plotters plot was hard to resist.

Citizens seem to have come to their senses some, too much is set up against them(us) to not fall victim to false narratives again. They will look so compelling. A promise to keep harm from us, or some other fundamentally flawed extension into the future, that our insecurities might mistake as a ladder, out of a bottomless black hole we had some part in manifesting.

CHANNEL SURFING OUT OF PROPAGANDA’S LIES

Check the dial please! Stand back from propaganda impersonating the truth, and Jingoism dressed in patriotism’s flag. Those bullies are aways out there. It is your patriotic duty to question authority, by having a healthy critical mind. It is up to you and I to clear our heads of a seeming narratives fog of attachment to what seems near, reliable and full of promises only a God could give. Change the channel, clear the mind, research the facts in the attempt to discern truth from smoke and mirrors called your interest. Get out of the addictive cult and act like the free and independent light you were meant to be.

If we do not do this, we will go down with the lie, only this will not be a trivial TV show or other entertainment competition. It will be our lives, and those of the future.