13 Comments

While it is true that people are being manipulated l can't give them a pass on the consequences of what they do. When 75% of people say they are in favor of universal health care for americans and then vote for the one candidate that is promising he will veto the law if it is passed. Yes they have been manipulated, but there is also a high level of stupidity involved

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Yes, we are blind to the daily abuse our egoic mind activity subjects us to so it’s no surprise this blind spot extends to society.

It is useful to remember that the people with whom we disagree, the people that defend the status quo—“them”—are also victims of manipulation.

Ultimately all are victims of the compulsive mind-made “me” which has propagandized us into believing we are the voice in our head.

No one is to blame for this egoic condition. We take a stand against tyranny/ domination/ manipulation while recognizing the perpetrators are also tyrannized/ dominated/ manipulated by their ego.

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Sorry, I can't give a pass to people within the herd who actually participate in the manipulations by shaming others or worse, "reporting" them to the authorities. The stampede is a powerful weapon that even the initial manipulators don't consciously use, by which they are themselves sometimes "victimized" when they come to believe their own propaganda. People choose whether or not to participate in the stampede.

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When family circumstances 'force' you to endure national TV news, the constant nag of 'cleverly' biased wording, deliberately softening you up for the establishment point of view is infuriating, especially the subtle demonisation of Russia and China. Not to mention the missing stories of real world-wide importance, completely absent, replaced by obvious government puff pieces. It's LITERALLY maddening.

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Thank you for keeping us awake. It's a constant battle.

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Allama Iqbal, a poet who understood imperialist designs early in the last century, penned many verses, I am quoting one. Rendering is not poetic, please.

This imperialist secret should remain confined in your chest,

It is not wise to kill the subjects with sword,

Make them pliable with 'education' i.e, a n appropriate value-system,

Once they become docile, turn them where you want!

I am enclosing the Urdu version in your DM.

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Loved, as always.

Minor typo I noticed because I pasted the quote: "deception and dishonesty /and/ is not".

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