The above image was made with stable diffusion using the prompt 'painting of a herd of people.'
Having spent the better part of the last decade covering high level corruption and cover-ups for wanttoknow.info, I often find myself at odds with the fictional stories in other people's minds about how the world works. Their media environments have been manipulated precisely to produce these fictional stories, and challenging their false narratives is rarely possible. Even attempting to challenge the lies upon which their worldviews are based can provoke unproductive conflict and invite social ostracism.
These souls typically divide the world into two teams, and if you're not on their team, you're the enemy. Both the reds and the blues engage with the world in this way. They are impervious to facts, allergic to context, and unable to process nuance. Many seem literally unable to hear information that contradicts their programming.
I've tried several strategies for communicating with people like this, none of which are entirely satisfactory. Finding common ground is usually possible, but this can limit conversations to the shallow and the uncontroversial. Respectful inquiry can sometimes take things deeper, but it's just as likely to go nowhere. In rare circumstances, aggressively challenging false narratives can lead to a breakthrough, though it more often starts a fight that no one wins.
Frustrated with the situation, I mostly find myself refusing to engage at all with those who comprise the status quo. They can pass their canned opinions back and forth between each other all day long and it generally has nothing to do with me. And yet, inevitably, occasions arise that force me to confront their nonsense. I'd like to think of myself as the kind of person who can meet anyone on a purely human level. As time goes on, I'm finding this more and more challenging.
When I was younger, I was isolated by my intellect. I felt this way within my family, in school, in the workforce, and at social events. My circumstances conditioned me to show up in the world in only very limited ways that those around me could make sense of. My whole experience of social reality consisted of accommodating average people who weren't capable of accommodating or understanding me.
Obviously this was super unhealthy, and I spent most of my twenties unlearning the bad habits that came out of it. But I never did figure out how to bridge the basic divide that alienated me from others. I merely resigned myself to living in the world as an outlier and kept my own company whenever possible.
That's fine on a personal level, yet it isn't really operative in social or political terms. Average people, fueled by lies that they mistake for truths, are constantly making choices that negatively impact everyone. I don't feel like ignoring them and hoping for the best is an appropriate response to the situation. They can't be written off because their nonsense is harming us all.
So I'm flailing around in search of ways to engage more productively. And I'm willing to entertain even the most radical approaches. Society is on an increasingly dire path and we desperately need people to shift our direction towards something more positive. There are a handful of people doing this right now. There needs to be far more than that.
Read my novels:
- Small Gods of Time Travel is available as a web book on IPFS and as a 41 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt.
- The Paradise Anomaly is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Psychic Avalanche is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- One Man Embassy is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Flying Saucer Shenanigans is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Rainbow Lullaby is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- The Ostermann Method is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
- Blue Dragon Mississippi is available in print via Blurb and for Kindle on Amazon.
See my NFTs:
- Small Gods of Time Travel is a 41 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt that goes with my book by the same name.
- History and the Machine is a 20 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt based on my series of oil paintings of interesting people from history.
- Artifacts of Mind Control is a 15 piece Tezos NFT collection on Objkt based on declassified CIA documents from the MKULTRA program.
our paths are really alike bro, for the most part in today's world you vote with money cause you are only a consumer and not a citizen, so one thing i do is i dont pay taxes whenever possible and i dont buy things i dont need for the most part.
In social terms most people i have connection with are online and away from me, i been now for years trying to get some to move near me and try to visit the other or vice versa. Was lucky enough to get some from GodsUnchained that are irl friends now but it is a slow process... the next moves are to buy some land and live more in tune with nature producing own food and energy and have the chance to bring others over...
When i think of this things i always think about fractional land ownership and it's challenges
Right on. My own economic footprint is likewise minimal. I lived off the land when I was younger but these days I'm more interested in figuring out sustainable situations in cities. Meeting the right people isn't easy, and it happens in its own time, but I feel like it can happen.
another ditto
ditto ish.
Perhaps we should collaborate on paths
Connecting with people and putting your heart out there might be the best you can do.
I don't know if his Wikipedia article will provide much insight, but going deeper into how Daryl Davis leads KKK leaders and members out of their hate might be a good lead.
You're probably right.
That is a good lead. Interesting that Davis is an advisor to Minds. Thanks!
Firstly, I feel as a human, you gotta be critical. You have to make your research about anything you heard or have been told. It makes you wiser. I have seen so many dumb people who just accept anything they have been told and they become misinformed. The misinformation gets into their heads and makes them feel that what they know is right by making you enemies if you don't agree with their concept.
I feel people like that should be left alone instead of we arguing with them
For sure. I just wish there was a better way than ignoring people or arguing with them.
ditto ish.
Minus ignoring and arguing. there is a sweet spot... Maybe call it rust removal and polishing/ teaching.
just my 2 cents
Have a lovely day
Thanks for the honest sharing. This post has me thinking about how different our times are, which calls for different interpersonal skills that may or may not be what we had to lean on before. What would that look like for each of us to go through a radical inner transformation to better show up for our times? Where are we out of balance and what parts have we disowned in the efforts to survive past circumstances? As Jung said, our shadows are full of untapped potential and creativity. Any huge shift in society invites us to make radical shifts within ourselves, given the nature of mutual arising and our inherent interdependency with life systems.
For me, I think practicing more silence and pauses in conversations would be a transformational experience for me. Not needing to solely use my excitement and stimulation of ideas as fuel for conversation. Yet for you and the rest of the world, we each will have our own unique journey through that process.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment. Reading it brought to mind the idea of structure. Much of social reality is structured for some kinds of communications over others. This is useful but also limiting. So I feel like the inner piece needs to be accompanied by the right kinds of spaces for good communication to take place.
Totally agree that the right kinds of spaces are definitely important. Yet I think we need to do the inner piece work no matter what space is available for us.
Makes sense to me, I think some communication-based practices would solve a lot of issues... some people too loquacious others not heard enough.... and everything in-between.
Just my 2 cents
Status NO*
Greetings, this article makes sense to me almost like you broke my autobiography.
Let me know if you are looking to do something about it. We are not the only ones probably.