PSA (Public Service Announcement): ** NOTICE **
From Caitlin Johnstone’s June 2018 article comes some wisdom in dealing with many people in this broken world.
Please follow the link above to see details about the other eleven tips (my favorites are listed below):
1) It’s always ultimately about acquiring power. 2) Money rewards sociopathy. 3) Wealth kills empathy. 4) Money is power. 5) This same ruling class controls the media. 7) Society is made of narrative. 9) Powerful forces are naturally incentivized to collaborate with each other toward mutual interests. (Note: think Roman Empire occupation forces and religious Pharisees .. more on this later) 10) There is an immense amount of wealth that can be grabbed in the chaos of war and conflict.
It is the last one, #12 below, that caught my eye:
12. The push towards truth always starts with yourself.
You can’t out-manipulate seasoned manipulators. The main error most people make when trying to deal with a sociopath is to try and manipulate them back. Don’t even try. They have years of experience on you because they literally have done nothing else. While you were laughing and crying and worrying and connecting and relating to people, they were working out how to play humans like Garry Kasparov worked out how to play chess. And when you have literal teams of sociopaths collaborating together to amass power, you my dear child, do not have a chance. Don’t play their game. You will lose.
The only way to win this is to set your compass resolutely to “true.” Always be honest with yourself. Find all the different ways that you are manipulating others and see them and acknowledge them. Find your tribal allegiances and your desire to be right, and tip your hat to their existence. The more self-aware we are, the less levers we have to be manipulated by. If you are blindly partisan or loyal to a particular faction, that makes you gullible to propaganda because your wishful thinking and your desire to be right come into play. Get honest with yourself about who you are and what you want, and you will start to become an un-playable piece on the board.
It is a tough day when you find your ladder is on the wrong wall .. thinking how I felt when I realized in late 2003/early 2004 that President George Bush lied about WMDs .. I had to be honest with myself, I had been deceived all along. While there were other things about history that made me suspect of the government of my own country, it was nothing compared to this. I was a changed man.
This also has me thinking of how the most zealous Pharisee in the Roman Empire occupied territory of Judea felt in 31 A.D.!
The author of the Bible’s book of Acts, doctor Luke, describes Saul (who later because known as Paul) in the following clips:
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. (Acts 8:1-3)
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. (Acts 22:3-5)
What changed Saul’s mind in his search for truth? A very dramatic event:
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9:1-6)
Coming face to face with Truth, Saul found no condemnation .. just love and a mission! He went away a changed man, so much so, that he changed his name!
What is the lesson here in 2019?
The first is “situational awareness” in spotting manipulators or sociopaths in our midst as Caitlin Johnstone pointed out in her article.
The second being “setting our compass to true”. This is not unlike the fictional character Benjamin Martin in the movie “The Patriot” when he gives Anne (Gabriel’s new wife) a talisman of Polaris, the north star, that belonged to his late wife. He explains that the star is a symbol of unwavering strength and serves as a constant guide.
Being aware of one’s surroundings and culture while seeking truth is a very honorable path. As the American Empire starts to stumble and crumble, this will become more and more a strategy to consider embracing.
Keep searching and seeking truth and liberty!
-SF1