As you know all too well, being able to stop talking is not one of my virtues. (grin) So when one gentleman, who was very intelligent and well-informed, raised his palms and said, "For the life of me, I don't know how anyone can support him," I tried to hold my tongue. I kind of did. I said that he should listen to linguist John McWhorter tell about how and why the felon developed the communication style he has.
He said the felon can't complete a sentence. I said to compare the number of words in his vocabulary today to 2016. He has become restricted, yet his style remains much the same. Then I stopped talking as others spoke up. I could have said more. Much more. Because attempting to hold my other thoughts in likely posed a risk of my having a stroke, so on the hour's drive home, I conversed with myself. But you strike me as an easy target, so here goes ......
The great heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles used to do self-hypnosis in the dressing room before fighting in the ring. I could mention others, but as you know, Ezzard beat the great Joe Louis. So what I'm about to say isn't against hypnotism, a multi-layered exercise that can be used in a beneficial way.
However, like most everything, there are both good and bad potentials for even the lower level, which we can correctly view as "programming." In basic training for our military, for example, it is a good thing. Yet the amount of influence this administration can inflict into the troops' mindset is toxic. For when those subscribing to a group programming can be led astray, bad things are always the result.
Fifty-five years ago, the media reported that Manson had hypnotized his followers, programming them to be killing machines. Later, Jim Jones programmed his followers. And on and on. How? By repeating the same phrases, over and over, day after day -- exactly as the felon does. It's on purpose, and much like Erich Fromm's study in pre-nazi Germany showed, it draws in one third of the population. Another third were anti-nazi, and a third opted to ignore a growing threat. That is a dangerous balance. It's about where we are in elections here, I should add.
Some might not think of it this way, of course. But without some social influencing, we would not have distinct cultures. Without the toxic programming, the country would not be suffering from the maga infection. Yet we are not helpless. We have to learn to make better use of the tools of the trade. Our elected representatives have a responsibility, and so does each person at the grass roots level. Together, we will turn this around.
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