Yes, the formula works. It's been working for centuries. Hannibal is at the gate. The Huns are coming. But when the hypocrisy becomes clear to the majority, it’s always too late and the majority easily forgets, swallowing the next lie just as quickly. Reality only makes an impact when it bites. Eons-old human behavior is not going to change; the majority simply does not react unless things affect them directly.
And the perpetrators of these lies learn from their mistakes. Look at how, three years on, they’ve destroyed Ukraine over a million dead, millions more displaced. The war-mongers learned the lessons well: print money, send weapons. Hell, genocide is fine . just don’t let anyone come home in a body bag. That might distract the crowd from their bread and circuses.
The Five Lies That Sell Every War.... When checking these, and putting these within another context, in certain family circles and conflicts, these five lies keep the ones who miss the capacity to discuss and negotiate, to be open and fair, to behave diplomatic and able to listen as well, powerful in their warrior behaviour. When this is analysed it is so much easier to step aside, because the mask has fallen down of those who try to impress you and govern your life.
I would add "introduce an emergency situation" to that list. That's what they did with the patriot act. "You don't understand! We HAVE to spy on you! We don't want to, but this is an EMERGENCY!" And yes, the liberals have absolutely been duped into being pro war but they are too stupid to realize it.
I had to listen to Carl Benjamin to understand what the Liberals really are.
It's a system of layers. English Liberalism goes back to a deal between King, Aristocracy, and Bourgeoisie. The peasants on paper have the same law, but no money to access that law, and they can soothe their souls with the adventures of Robin Hood playing pranks on the sherriff.
So, this is less of an ideology but an operating system with virtualized hierarchy, the transactional way it works, maintains hierarchy and privilege while hiding it under moralistic rhetorics.
It is aristocratic, messianic, eliticist and suprematist, and eventually colonial. The role of the King is extremely tricky. Everything is getting redefined in constructivistic ways. It is the realm that gave birth to the story of the Emperor Sans Clothes. The point is: only the kids would care, but they get taught to mind their own business, and respect the status quo.
Don't forget the education system that has been dumbed down and sneers at critical thinking and analysis as "elitist". And the evolution of talk shows that says that anyone's idiocy has as much right to be heard as an expert who has spent a lifetime studying in their field.
That's in my view only half of the story. Please I beg the readers to investigate the notion of "smart shaming" in academic context of the Philippines.This is huge.
I think, we have seen that the political level is tremendously more powerful than the academic level, in fact can capture and utilize it for its whims of the season. Happend so about the pandemic.
There is a principle of implanting. Politics have implanted nonsense in the academic world, and similar nonsense was implanted by American elites in the political _and_ academic world of the EU, with using NATO for cognitive warfare. Now, these implants are acting out and have taken over even when their home base is dissolving.
One of the big wrongs is to think that academic world should have any intellectual privilege in public life. It does not work. Either you have democracy, then you don't allow privileg, or you haven't. If the people are angry, what can the establishment do at all? Every attempt makes matters much worse, as currently happens with "cognitive warfare" on one's own population! Nothing can be more destructive than that, while there is a global playground of competition among civilisations.
But still, emancipatory ideals are correct. Everyone who has the capacity, should get the opportunity to learn and study what is in their interest.
You cannot delegitimize the interests of the "normies". Soon we won't have a country worth living in, unless we prefer the feudal way of living.
As the critical remarks against populism are not without reason, I would suggest different tactics.
We must deconstruct "charisma", that puts itself in a position of public truth, in a very tribalistic way.
Academia has a task of finding out "truth" in various understandings, like historical truth or criminal investigation, and functional predictions and understanding of principles in physical sciences. "Humanities" can turn into slippery slope, ending up in populist search for consent, and in cognitive warfare, using sociology to manipulate populace.
It's classic in-group behaviour. I too remember being conscious of social pressures as a child and even doing things that were wrong to impress or increase my social currency within the group, and then years later thinking "why the fuck did I act like that?" lol. Many of the global power dynamics at play are analogous to conflicts between children on a playground. It's incredible how impulsive and juvenile people still are. There are times when I feel like I'm the only one who didn't want to grow up. And there are times when feel like it's everyone else that never grew up.
It's because politics is always a public performance more than anything else, who at all cares about problem solving, peace, justice, such abstract stuff.
Audience in a theater is always a little bit in a child-like position, wondering what the author and artists want to show to them.
I think Lord Arthur Ponsonby also spelled it out in 'Falsehood in War-time, Containing an Assortment of Lies Circulated Throughout the Nations During the Great War', 1928,
"We do not want war.
The opposite party alone is guilty of war.
The enemy is inherently evil and resembles the devil.
We defend a noble cause, not our own interests.
The enemy commits atrocities on purpose; we make ‘mistakes’.
The enemy uses forbidden weapons.
We suffer small losses, those of the enemy are enormous.
Recognised artists and intellectuals back our cause.
Our cause is sacred.
All who doubt our propaganda are traitors."
What's scary is how much more powerful and technologically sophisticated the security apparatus of the state is now, and how much more pressure has to build in order to counter it.
Yes, the formula works. It's been working for centuries. Hannibal is at the gate. The Huns are coming. But when the hypocrisy becomes clear to the majority, it’s always too late and the majority easily forgets, swallowing the next lie just as quickly. Reality only makes an impact when it bites. Eons-old human behavior is not going to change; the majority simply does not react unless things affect them directly.
And the perpetrators of these lies learn from their mistakes. Look at how, three years on, they’ve destroyed Ukraine over a million dead, millions more displaced. The war-mongers learned the lessons well: print money, send weapons. Hell, genocide is fine . just don’t let anyone come home in a body bag. That might distract the crowd from their bread and circuses.
The Five Lies That Sell Every War.... When checking these, and putting these within another context, in certain family circles and conflicts, these five lies keep the ones who miss the capacity to discuss and negotiate, to be open and fair, to behave diplomatic and able to listen as well, powerful in their warrior behaviour. When this is analysed it is so much easier to step aside, because the mask has fallen down of those who try to impress you and govern your life.
I would add "introduce an emergency situation" to that list. That's what they did with the patriot act. "You don't understand! We HAVE to spy on you! We don't want to, but this is an EMERGENCY!" And yes, the liberals have absolutely been duped into being pro war but they are too stupid to realize it.
I had to listen to Carl Benjamin to understand what the Liberals really are.
It's a system of layers. English Liberalism goes back to a deal between King, Aristocracy, and Bourgeoisie. The peasants on paper have the same law, but no money to access that law, and they can soothe their souls with the adventures of Robin Hood playing pranks on the sherriff.
So, this is less of an ideology but an operating system with virtualized hierarchy, the transactional way it works, maintains hierarchy and privilege while hiding it under moralistic rhetorics.
It is aristocratic, messianic, eliticist and suprematist, and eventually colonial. The role of the King is extremely tricky. Everything is getting redefined in constructivistic ways. It is the realm that gave birth to the story of the Emperor Sans Clothes. The point is: only the kids would care, but they get taught to mind their own business, and respect the status quo.
Don't forget the education system that has been dumbed down and sneers at critical thinking and analysis as "elitist". And the evolution of talk shows that says that anyone's idiocy has as much right to be heard as an expert who has spent a lifetime studying in their field.
That's in my view only half of the story. Please I beg the readers to investigate the notion of "smart shaming" in academic context of the Philippines.This is huge.
I think, we have seen that the political level is tremendously more powerful than the academic level, in fact can capture and utilize it for its whims of the season. Happend so about the pandemic.
There is a principle of implanting. Politics have implanted nonsense in the academic world, and similar nonsense was implanted by American elites in the political _and_ academic world of the EU, with using NATO for cognitive warfare. Now, these implants are acting out and have taken over even when their home base is dissolving.
One of the big wrongs is to think that academic world should have any intellectual privilege in public life. It does not work. Either you have democracy, then you don't allow privileg, or you haven't. If the people are angry, what can the establishment do at all? Every attempt makes matters much worse, as currently happens with "cognitive warfare" on one's own population! Nothing can be more destructive than that, while there is a global playground of competition among civilisations.
But still, emancipatory ideals are correct. Everyone who has the capacity, should get the opportunity to learn and study what is in their interest.
You cannot delegitimize the interests of the "normies". Soon we won't have a country worth living in, unless we prefer the feudal way of living.
As the critical remarks against populism are not without reason, I would suggest different tactics.
We must deconstruct "charisma", that puts itself in a position of public truth, in a very tribalistic way.
Academia has a task of finding out "truth" in various understandings, like historical truth or criminal investigation, and functional predictions and understanding of principles in physical sciences. "Humanities" can turn into slippery slope, ending up in populist search for consent, and in cognitive warfare, using sociology to manipulate populace.
I saw these behavior characteristics even as a child among children ... did some simply not grow up?
It's classic in-group behaviour. I too remember being conscious of social pressures as a child and even doing things that were wrong to impress or increase my social currency within the group, and then years later thinking "why the fuck did I act like that?" lol. Many of the global power dynamics at play are analogous to conflicts between children on a playground. It's incredible how impulsive and juvenile people still are. There are times when I feel like I'm the only one who didn't want to grow up. And there are times when feel like it's everyone else that never grew up.
right! 💙
Moliere knew it already.
It's because politics is always a public performance more than anything else, who at all cares about problem solving, peace, justice, such abstract stuff.
Audience in a theater is always a little bit in a child-like position, wondering what the author and artists want to show to them.
I would add another one: pretend you are not involved while you stoke both sides against each other.
I think Lord Arthur Ponsonby also spelled it out in 'Falsehood in War-time, Containing an Assortment of Lies Circulated Throughout the Nations During the Great War', 1928,
"We do not want war.
The opposite party alone is guilty of war.
The enemy is inherently evil and resembles the devil.
We defend a noble cause, not our own interests.
The enemy commits atrocities on purpose; we make ‘mistakes’.
The enemy uses forbidden weapons.
We suffer small losses, those of the enemy are enormous.
Recognised artists and intellectuals back our cause.
Our cause is sacred.
All who doubt our propaganda are traitors."
What's scary is how much more powerful and technologically sophisticated the security apparatus of the state is now, and how much more pressure has to build in order to counter it.
Cheers from Canada.
Some truth from the president's budget the US House just passed . . . see the table, who wrote those descriptions?
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fiscal-Year-2026-Discretionary-Budget-Request.pdf
The War on Truth
How Our Leaders Lie While Pretending Not to
https://www.versesvisions.com/p/the-war-on-truth
The Empire of Lies Must Fall
A Call for Revolution of Consciousness for the New Dawn of Humanity
https://www.versesvisions.com/p/the-empire-of-lies-must-fall