In the previous post I talked about false narratives that continue to persuade us of the false reality of scarcity, which in turn causes us to make poor decisions about how we live. Yet, what is the alternative? Listening to alternative news and finding out about other grassroots perspectives form the mainstream is one way. But even then, we have to be wary! The powers that have a vested interest in misleading us and keeping us living in fear are always working to undermine our thinking. There is a term ‘ASTROTURF (fake grassroots messaging)’ that works to demonize and discredit anyone who disagrees with the mainstream narrative. Wikipedia for instance can be useful for simple definitions and as a source to describe what is well established information, but it too is a problem. Try to edit anything on Wiki that is controversial and you will find that it isn’t accepted. Simply put, you cannot edit against the mainstream narrative. In this blog I’ve used a couple of definitions from Wiki, but these were both highly defined and accepted correct mainstream definitions (i.e. enclosures and false flags) that are not contested ideas that offend the mainstream narrative. For instance, in an academic study, when medical research in Wiki was compared to the peer reviewed articles in scholarly journals, Wiki contradicted the peer reviewed science 90% of the time. The medical and pharmaceutical industries have a vested interest in Wiki (and all mainstream media for that matter) showing only the corporate profit driven perspective. These corporations hire writers specifically to post positive comments and reviews of drugs using Facebook, twitter and other social media that then get picked up and reposted by unsuspecting readers who perceive them to be valid and credible comments. This is true across the whole spectrum, especially pollical views.
We hear a lot in the media (see previous post Social Media Promotes Polarization of Beliefs – part 2 – How Your Social Media Data is Used to Change the World) about how elections are highly influenced by hackers inundating the social media channels with false information that fits peoples established beliefs. ‘Astroturfing’ is the practice of masking the sponsors of a message or organization to make it appear as though it originates from and is supported by grassroots participants. (The practice of a company creating positive comments about their product or service or paying for them to be published, when these appear to come from ordinary members of the public. The Cambridge dictionary.)
The father of public relations and propaganda, Edward Bernays, in 1928, summed this invisible control up nicely:
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of.”
So, at this point you’re probably getting a tad despondent about finding real information. How we recognize false narratives? Whenever an alternative independent source is censored and demonized, and especially if called a conspiracy theory site, the red flag should go up. Don’t immediately accept that it is valid and not a wacko site, but stop and look and do some work to understand the validity of the information being given. Don’t accept anything at face value alone, even if you agree with it. First know your own biases and be willing to recognize them openly. Recognizing your own beliefs and biases helps you to step back and be more discriminating as an independent thinker. Like a movie script, know that there really is a mainstream ‘ministry of accepted truth’ out there. Any truly independent information source needs to be confirmed as independent – figure out who the owners are by letting your fingers do the work by searching on the internet. (While individual sites can be highly censored, the internet itself is largely open.) You’ll start to find sources that you come to see are more ‘trustworthy’ and credible than others, and that are not simply mirrors of your beliefs. You will also come to see that supposedly false narrative news watchdogs (e.g. NewsGuard) are really fronts for corporate systems – recognize when they keep pushing mainstream perspectives. The Latin maxim ‘Caveat lector’ (let the reader beware) should always be your shield. Does it seem right or wrong, and what are your reasons to think this? Be a discerning listener or reader and ask questions of what you are hearing or reading. Are there contradictions you are being asked to accept or ignore? It’s all about empowering yourself to think and not being led like sheep. What you think is important – just recognize how you have been conditioned to think and then think about the dreams of how you would like life to be.
For instance, this is a blog site, and by definition is my opinion on a whole range of topics. I don’t pretend it is a hard-researched academic peer reviewed site with lots of references to back up my views – not that is a definition of validity. Having just said that, I am honest and up front with my biases and willing to accept other perspectives if they have validity. Am I trying to persuade you about anything? Absolutely! I am trying to open up your perspectives to complex concepts of Sustainable Living. I am not trying to get you to accept a world system that is failing because of its focus on extreme economic growth and destruction of the environment that supports us, with its emphasis on scarcity and abusive competition for the benefit of a lucky few. Does that sound like a world you want? What I try to emphasize is seeing through this mainstream veil and looking at a world that sounds better and benefits everyone. I offer an alternative perspective that the mainstream wants you to think is impossible because the current controllers wants you to believe that only ‘they’ have the answers.
So, what are some major alternative perspectives already out there that you may be aware of that are being poo-pooed, even ridiculed, by the mainstream? To Be Continued…………
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