Fear and Greed, Fear and Greed

The Persuader's Tools

Watching television can be a tiresome experience when it comes to the advertisements. It may dawn on one that they fall into one of two categories, if not both: Fear and Greed. Are you afraid of being socially out of it? Do you want to be rich? Well, who doesn't?

In normal financial investing fear and greed are to be greatly avoided due to the probability of making poor decisions due to ones emotions, then live to regret it. Stupidity isn't good either, but that's not today's subject.

The point is that letting those emotions contaminate your investing is bad, and a corollary is that people will try to use those emotions against you for just that purpose; your loss and their gain. Of course, this also extends to everyday investing in the form of shopping at your local store or buying online. (Come to our big sale and save, save, save! Fear of missing out, greed to save money. How does spending money constitute saving money? Do you lose more money in gas driving to the sale?)

Politics is the game of power and influence, and the players of the game can be expert purveyors of fear and greed. Vote for me or it's the end of the world. (A co-worker voted for the losing candidate in our cities mayoral race. When the winner had been in office for some time and he turned out to be an okay mayor, he showed up on a local radio call in show. My co-worker called in and managed to talk to the new mayor. He said to the him, “ Your opponent said that if I voted for him things would get better, so I did, and sure enough, things got better.” The mayor laughed.)

This is a good point to again bring up the five rules of propaganda:

The Five Rules of Propaganda

2. The rule of simplification - reducing all data to a simple confrontation between 'Good and Bad', 'Friend and Foe'.

3. The rule of disfiguration - discrediting the opposition by crude smears and parodies.

4. The rule of transfusion - manipulating the consensus values of the target audience for one's own ends.

5. The rule of unanimity - presenting one's viewpoint as if it were unanimous opinion of all right-thinking people: draining the doubting individual into agreement by the appeal of star-performers, by social pressure , and by 'psychological contagion'.

6. The rule of orchestration - endlessly repeating the same messages in different variations and combinations.

Each of these five rules should be examined for their fear and/or greed usefulness. Number 4 for instance speaks to ones fear of being a social outcast. Number 2 attempts to make ones opponents objects of fear, with support from number 1.

The main goal of those in power in to maintain and increase their control, they don't want to give up power. Their problem with the Bill of Rights is not only that it limits the power of the powerful, but it has provisions that make for a less fearful populace. Fearful people are easier to control, so it's important to give then a feeling of powerlessness so as to induce fear.

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The Cornell Law School gives this overview:

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference. It prohibits any laws that establish a national religion, impede the free exercise of religion, abridge the freedom of speech, infringe upon the freedom of the press, interfere with the right to peaceably assemble, or prohibit citizens from petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted into the Bill of Rights in 1791. The Supreme Court interprets the extent of the protection afforded to these rights. The First Amendment has been interpreted by the Court as applying to the entire federal government even though it is only expressly applicable to Congress. Furthermore, the Court has interpreted the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as protecting the rights in the First Amendment from interference by state governments. 

And the link to it, with more explanation, is here:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/first_amendment

The codifying of the First Amendment with it's five protections gives people less to fear, so it makes people harder to control as well as giving legal recourse. The Constitution in general and the Bill of Rights in particular is an annoyance to those in power as it limits what they can do.

But since they want control they want a fearful populace. Freedom of religion has been under attack since that is a decreaser of fear, and of course the Second Amendment is under severe attack since the people being armed directly undercuts their power.

"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." ~ H. L. Mencken

School shootings. Pass a law legally prohibiting the adults in a school from protecting the children, wait for the occasional nut case, blame Republicans and guns, never mention said law or how the shooters are on psycho-active drugs, rinse and repeat. Frequently talk about school shootings on the news so the nut cases never forget that they can terrorize a school. This might be a little strong, but the coastal elites should be aware that many people see things in something of this light. It keeps people frightened with many wanting more government control. For that matter, why was the law not rescinded after it was found to have such terrible consequences?

There is an old Chinese story concerning a young martial artist learning from a master. While training the master talks frequently about peace, how important it is and his love for it. The young man asks his master this question; “We train constantly for war, but you speak constantly of peace. Why is that?” The master replies; “It is better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war.”

This elucidates a philosophy that's anathema to the ruling class, one that is actually part of American culture, that we are all our own self defense force.

Some quotes from Aristotle that I think are relevant to the discussion.

"Courage is the first virtue that makes all other virtues possible." ~ Aristotle

"You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor." ~ Aristotle

"Worthless persons appointed to have supreme control of weighty affairs do a lot of damage." ~ Aristotle

"We are what we repeatedly do... excellence, therefore, isn't just an act, but a habit and life isn't just a series of events, but an ongoing process of self-definition." ~ Aristotle

"It is our choice of good or evil that determines our character, not our opinion about good or evil." ~ Aristotle

Powerful forces are attempting to turn the American people, as well as all peoples, into landless serfs living in 15 minute cities without the freedom to live or move where desired. No one may live outside of cities except designated workers, no ones is to have rights other than those granted, and most people are expected to die off. Communism on a world wide scale. It's true that Communism has never succeeded, but for those in charge, it's great.

I will end this with a copy of the Bill-of-rights.

Stay Brave, Stay Free

The Bill-of-Rights of the United States

https://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/primary-sources/bill-of-rights

First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Second Amendment
A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Third Amendment
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Fourth Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Fifth Amendment
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Sixth Amendment
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Seventh Amendment
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Eighth Amendment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Ninth Amendment
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Tenth Amendment
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Agains, Stay Brave, Stay Free