ME: The events underlying the origins of the totalitarian forces around Covid are not simply top-down controlled by some master planner. THEM: But there WERE top-down influences! ME: Yup. Just not ONLY that. THEM: So, are you saying no one is culpable?!
Yes. All of the influences, top-down and bottom-up have converged to bring us to where we are. And continue to. And while more and more people have had their awareness heightened to the convergence of all of the unhealthy societal influences, does anyone have reason to believe that meaningful numbers of aware people will meaningfully participate in the reclaiming of healthy and free, western liberal democratic norms that our nation's aspirational story promises? At risk of loss of community status, friendships, family, freedom and life itself? How many of our neighbors and countrymen are prepared to hear that message - that we bear the responsibility ourselves for preserving our norms if we believe them worth preserving.
This has been a high-tech Information War in the dawn of the Information Age. The classic struggle between authoritarianism as a preferred way of governance vs. rights of the individual under self-governance. That unfortunately most of us with strong individual self-governance values weren't prepared to understand that the programming into the public mind has been toward authoritarianism for a very, very long time. And that programming has proven to be very effective at manufacturing consent for authoritarianism. And while numbers grow of those who are on to that con, there's always a new con on the horizon most will fall for.
And that goes to the Nudgers. They are the tip of the spear against the public mind. The Information War's WMD. All censorship and propaganda flows from that information model. And a successful resistance will need to capably counter-nudge. However that looks. Understanding that the Nudgers are unbound by the ethical considerations of the field that Counter-nudgers will be bound by.
Because while the public mind's awareness has grown, I see very little sign that it is sufficient to protect this rapid descent into authoritarianism, towards totalitarianism. Most will try to find a way to muddle through it without challenging it. IMHO.
With all of the influences that have converged we are seemingly surrounded by the forces of authoritarianism. Is this an Information War's Battle of the Bulge, "Nuts"? Or a Little Bighorn? If we can only attack in one direction I'd choose the direction of the Nudgers. The Battle for the Public Mind. We must re-sell the value of freedom and individual responsibility over collective protection. The price for perceived safety is too great to pay, as Franklin cautioned. When surrounded the strategy of attacking in the direction of Nudge seems to have the biggest upside from where I sit.
Revealing the magician's tricks I believe is pretty effective. When the Narrative opens up for debate because the tricks don't work anymore the rest of the story can begin to come out. And then efforts are made to protect the public mind from future attacks, disclosure and education of all of the magician's tricks.
Yes. All of the influences, top-down and bottom-up have converged to bring us to where we are. And continue to. And while more and more people have had their awareness heightened to the convergence of all of the unhealthy societal influences, does anyone have reason to believe that meaningful numbers of aware people will meaningfully participate in the reclaiming of healthy and free, western liberal democratic norms that our nation's aspirational story promises? At risk of loss of community status, friendships, family, freedom and life itself? How many of our neighbors and countrymen are prepared to hear that message - that we bear the responsibility ourselves for preserving our norms if we believe them worth preserving.
This has been a high-tech Information War in the dawn of the Information Age. The classic struggle between authoritarianism as a preferred way of governance vs. rights of the individual under self-governance. That unfortunately most of us with strong individual self-governance values weren't prepared to understand that the programming into the public mind has been toward authoritarianism for a very, very long time. And that programming has proven to be very effective at manufacturing consent for authoritarianism. And while numbers grow of those who are on to that con, there's always a new con on the horizon most will fall for.
And that goes to the Nudgers. They are the tip of the spear against the public mind. The Information War's WMD. All censorship and propaganda flows from that information model. And a successful resistance will need to capably counter-nudge. However that looks. Understanding that the Nudgers are unbound by the ethical considerations of the field that Counter-nudgers will be bound by.
Because while the public mind's awareness has grown, I see very little sign that it is sufficient to protect this rapid descent into authoritarianism, towards totalitarianism. Most will try to find a way to muddle through it without challenging it. IMHO.
With all of the influences that have converged we are seemingly surrounded by the forces of authoritarianism. Is this an Information War's Battle of the Bulge, "Nuts"? Or a Little Bighorn? If we can only attack in one direction I'd choose the direction of the Nudgers. The Battle for the Public Mind. We must re-sell the value of freedom and individual responsibility over collective protection. The price for perceived safety is too great to pay, as Franklin cautioned. When surrounded the strategy of attacking in the direction of Nudge seems to have the biggest upside from where I sit.
Revealing the magician's tricks I believe is pretty effective. When the Narrative opens up for debate because the tricks don't work anymore the rest of the story can begin to come out. And then efforts are made to protect the public mind from future attacks, disclosure and education of all of the magician's tricks.
More or less: https://youtu.be/xIraCchPDhk