We live in a chilling era of herd politics and media driven by emotional attachments to political party and nation.
Political party convention, 2016. (Gage Skidmore, Flickr)
We have often said Consortium News is independent from government and corporations because it is funded only by its readers and viewers. But we have another kind of independence too.
Our editorial viewpoint and our writers are independent of emotional attachments to any political party, ideology or nation.
Too many views today are driven by emotional dependence on a group or an idea, rather than by reason.
Journalism can’t have any such attachments.
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“Emotional Dependence”
It is written and then written again, referring to the statement by some CIA official, to the effect that, once they have fooled everyone with their lies they will have succeeded at their mission. Now I can’t remember or find the damned quote. My bad.
It occurs to me that this condition of “emotional dependence” address above is the direct result of U.S. intelligence and security apparatus and it’s full on Psy-Ops war on the truth.
Propaganda while it can be truthful only becomes valuable to the state when it is used to fool and misinform the populace any populace chosen as a target. This was never supposed to happen here in the good ole US of A. Such was the case and remains the case of those in government who continue to work in the best interest of hidden agendas rather than producing a viable work product useful to the masses.
The result is very telling. Seems to me hardly anyone in this country actually trust anyone else these days. Only a fool would trust either the democrats or the republicans at this point. Ergoe to the state of the nation.
Think not? How many time does “one” get caught in the lie before the “other ” believes nothing they have to say. Not being fooled is not to be human, to never be fooled is divine intelligence.
I’ll give most people one chance at lying to me and second time tends to make me a fool. The liar is never to be trusted. That rule alone would empty thousands of apartments in D.C.. so be it.
CIA in it’s origins was hijacked by the Dulles Bros. & Co. Pardon the pun! They successfully built an organization built on lies, half, truths, murder, greed and more lies. This is their known history and they show no remorse, the worst type of offender.
Thanks CN
William Casey, C.I.A. director under Ronald Reagan, said: “We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.”
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/12/27/fighting-the-psyopcracy/
Reason!
Simple and straightforward, according to the CN Editorial Board.
How many sitting on that board can truthfully say they are conscious enough to fully know the depths of their own unconscious emotional states?
Surely Reason devoid of human emotion/passion is inhuman – not of human nature or character?
Are not the ‘reasons’ for attempting to ‘create’ an artificial intelligence inhumane?
The bias in the idea is obvious: to remove the humane from humanity.
Surely the same is not expected from journalism?
Subjective most commonly means based on the personal perspective or preferences of a ‘person’—the subject who’s observing something.
In contrast, objective most commonly means not influenced by or based on a ‘personal’ viewpoint, but rather based on the analysis of an object of observation only.
The intents behind human behaviors cannot yet be comprehensively accomplished by machine technology, yet journalists are expected, in their observations and analyses of ‘other’ human subjects to be free of their own human subjectivity.
Kind of ridiculous!
Truth and/or deceitful, intentional fabrication is a whole other issue.
“Canada redefined economic impact as “violence” to justify freezing protesters’ bank accounts”
How close are we to the US government to doing the same thing to viewers of “truth” journalist contributors?
We already know corporations do it (Paypal and the like).
It concerns me.
The parties have become so polarized, that the biggest fear many people have is, the “other side” winning. Each of the 2 major parties has an apocalyptic view of what that would mean. In that environment, daring to see something from a nonpartisan view is dangerous; to see it from the other side’s view is near treason.
This is a much wider issue than just the US situation. The whole of the EU, the UK, Canada, Australia and Japan have swallowed the consensus that Russia is ENTIRELY to blame re the Ukraine war, that the Ukraine is a haven of democracy and enlightenment and that China is a dangerous predator on the whole world. The slavish way that this is supported by the entire mainstream media and probably 95% of each population is both horrifying and frightening, given that 100% of the above notions are completely false.
We know when people are afraid they support leaders who will protect them from perceived internal and external threats: communists (McCarthyism), .. 9/11 (War on Terror), Saddam Hussein’s drones flying across the ocean with bioweapons/Threat Level Orange (‘bring it on’ Bush), Russian ‘orcs’ (Biden/Zelensky aka Churchill), Trumpist insurrectionists…. The herd is certainly being manipulated to conform and obey (Asch and Milgram’s depressing results), and dissidents are ‘evil’ threats to America’s purity, however that is defined.
What will happen when Russia defeats the NATO proxies? The daily 2 minutes of hate against Putin/Russia in the Washington Post comments section are worrying indications people are not sufficiently afraid of nuclear war.
Pushing emotional buttons is a specialty of corporate’ journalism’. What passes for ‘news’ in MSM is an ongoing morality play of black/white, good/evil. Presenting events/issues in this manner is one of the biggest factors is selling ‘official narratives’ to the public.
———- Hence, the USA is the ‘exceptional’ nation, the ‘indispensable’ nation that is the envy of the world for its democracy. (choke)
ALL other countries are suspect, with those countries preferring NOT to be a client state of the US slated for possible sanction, coup, military action.
The insularity of the American mind is cultivated from early on, with a primary education inculcating notions of US supremacy in all realms. Critical thinking is not encouraged. With that, the American mind is ripe and pliable for brainwashing/propaganda posing as news. MSM news coverage portray events/issues without any sense of historical context/analysis. The 24 news cycle is a daily ‘show’ designed to maintain one’s ignorance of the world around them.
As the Pentagon recently admitted, the biggest battle is the battle for the American mind.
The problem is that most people in the USA listen to and read mainstream media which makes them latch on to that emotional dependence instead of thinking for themselves.
Reminds me of a story told about Adlai Stevenson in a 1950s campaign for president against Eisenhower. An enthusiastic supporter at a rally shouted out “Every thinking person in America will vote for you!” ”
“Unfortunately, that’s not enough,” he replied, ” I need a majority.”
That’s the whole point of the MSM – to manipulate emotions to prevent clear, rational and independent thinking. Keep the emotions running hot, so that the more a person ‘feels’ the less they ‘think’.
You hit the nail right on the head!!! As if people are afraid to think for themselves or conditioned so.
I have thought that what we need are groups like AA for political parties – DA, Democrats Anonymous, RA, Republicans Anonymous – with regular meetings – for folks who realize that they are addicted to parties and want to “kick the habit” knowing that it is really downgrading their lives – folks meet and admit their addiction, though it may indeed be difficult to realize it is an addiction, which they return to again and again, on a regular basis – there would be sponsors for the newbies, sponsors who have been successful in beating the habit, who can help others through – especially during those times when the “craving” for their party is especially strong …
CN can help by showing how bad their party is for their (and everyone else’s) health and well being – and show there are other, healthier, options available to ease their pain and suffering …
Outstanding idea. The hardest part is helping addicts understand that they have a problem.
Heads Up! My “view” is driven by emotion. This so absolutely interesting & welcomed.
I say, “Give it up to Consortium News for “living” the FULL Spiritual Meaning of The Wolf Moon!!!”
The Wolf Moon & CN’s “Emotional Independence”
Last Friday, 1.6.23, the first Full Moon of the New Year, illuminated The Planet; AND, “As the Moon rose,” The Universe said, ”As the first full moon of the new year rises, RECOGNIZE the spiritual meaning of this “Wolf Moon” as one of Protection, Introspection; &, a Deeper Connection to the intuitive sense that lives within.”
“REFLECT on the ways you are “Connected to the Community” you care about!…” i.e., CN’s Emotional Independence,
“Howling At Your Pack.” While protection, at one point, meant going to battle against intruders, it means something very different in the world today.
PROTECTION means putting the needs and safety of your community above your own personal agenda.
It Also Means, REACHING OUT to others to let them know you are connected!”
“We asked for signs; And, the signs were sent.” AND, Sincerely Appreciated. Long Live Consortium News!!! “Keep It Lit.”
…p.s., “Wolf Moon’s Spiritual Meaning”
“This full moon was named the Wolf Moon by Native American tribes for the wolves that would howl during winter nights. Long thought to be howling from hunger, current knowledge reflects that wolves howl for a variety of reasons; INCLUDING, to communicate with their pack and to protect their territory.
– As this full moon rises, into the night sky, it offers an opportunity to go into a place of deep self-reflection,” Exhibit A-Z: CN’s “Emotional Independence,” aka “Emotional Intelligence.” Imo, “Off the chart!” I digress…..
“The spiritual meaning of the Wolf Moon is a reminder that there is an unseen CONNECTION to your own “pack” that is worth RECOGNIZING & HONORING.” TY, CN! There really are Angels on Earth. “Joy To The World.”
I agree that reason is necessary. But I don’t like the presentation of reason and emotional attachment as if they necessarily excluded each other. Cicero, in his book dealing with superstition, applauded true religious belief as long as it was conjoined with natural science, otherwise expressed as reason.
I don’t mind journalism that is governed by a passionate commitment, as long as it makes clear that it has that commitment.
“Journalism” that conceals the fact that it is funded, directly or indirectly by the long arms of the MIC, is not worthy of the name.
No matter what, the truth always wins. Unfortunately, it takes an enormous amount of time during which much savagery occurs, no matter what the political philosophy of the period. However, the current rate of eco-destruction and resulting climate change may dramatically alter whether truth has enough time to win; probably not.
The biggest problem is not that people are polarized politically, but that comments, mostly on one side, are censored and unheard.
We need dissent and discussion, not Official Narratives.
Unless I’m badly mistaken, most of the people in that historical photograph appear to be quite well along in age. The majority of people can’t help but continue to lick the hand that feeds them, and these people appear to have engraved their names in the trough a long time ago, or else they wouldn’t be there in the front of the action. Our complicity to ruin seems to be generational in the main, and the one thing you can’t change, as Tolstoy pointed out in War and Peace, is the force of those waves already riding into shore. In a moronic Empire, the only thing required of everyone is to escape becoming completely moronic. Consortium News deserves kudos for helping us avoid that trap. In fact, it’s essential to avoiding that trap. Whatever chaos may ensue, the dream of reason will sustain us all into a better tomorrow.
“Our complicity to ruin seems to be generational in the main…” True, in the main, though you also will find that same pictured distribution at any large RNC gathering (and you seem to have a very broad notion of “well along in age”). While the “complicity to ruin” may be generational, it is only in the sense that its epistemological manifestation tends to differ among generations (excluding perhaps the most recently minted cohort), even within political parties.