Is it possible to resist political manipulations?

For various reasons I like to read news from diverse foreign sources. I was reading Pravda which is the mainstream Pro-Putin Russian news source. I ran across this article titled "Is it possible to resist political manipulations." I found it extremely amusing on several levels.

The policy of any country is based on the confrontation between two opposite approaches: the paternalistic and the liberal one. Roughly speaking, paternalists prohibit using drugs, alcohol, junk food, smoking and so on for the good of citizens. Liberals proceed from the fact that an outright ban does not do any good. Of course, there are pundits who tried to combine both approaches to find the golden mean.

The Germans, for example, call the policies of Chancellor Angela Merkel either liberaler Paternalismus (liberal paternalism) or nudging (a word borrowed from English). There is dual irony here: the word 'paternalism' is derived from the Latin 'pater' - 'father', whereas the English borrowing clearly alludes to the Satan that runs the show in today's Europe. The 'father' and the 'Satan' is the United States.

Source

Ruling elite? (Okay...in Russia...there truly IS a 'ruling elite.') The Great Satan??? I feel like I've tripped into a Russian version of the ATS zone...lol.

That being said....some interesting "truths' there too...

"The state is not a friend that treats you with fatherly care. It is an institution that deprives people of power and freedom to distribute them in a new way, by its own rules.

a reply to: CIAGypsy

In my opinion, the best way to look at it is to realize that all power structures manipulate things to keep themselves in power (and keep their side desirable to the public). This includes everything from schoolbooks to press releases. I love reading news from other countries to get different perspectives on things. But I also go into it expecting those publications to have biases, too. But that's human nature.

So to answer the question in your title, I think the answer is no until individuals learn to think for themselves. Nearly all people have biases. Thus, their perspectives are tilted. So when they give political commentary, they're not going to be tearing apart their own side or argument. And this is even more prominent when they work for a corporate or state owned network or publication. They'll only speak on things their bosses approve of or risk losing their jobs. So there's always going to be some manipulation going on.

a reply to: CIAGypsy

It's easily possible. Don't give a flying f*** about politics. End of story.

It requires to a substantial amount of research to discover and uncover the conspiracy from the non conspiracies. Then you have to wade through the disinfo and misisnfo to find the truth. To do all this something of a full time but unpaid job.

The lie is different on each level or layer of the onion.

I suggest that about the best thing you can do take a targeted approach and not the scatter gun approach which I have and learn as much as possible about one subject matter such as false flags and then form you own opinions about how the world and what you hold to be true and what you hold to be untrue.

Life is a voyage of discovery mostly about ourselves and world we live in. Making our own minds about what is true and what is not is part of that.

good luck

Nobody is immune from indoctrination and, make no mistake about it, we are subjected to indoctrination from birth onward. It is never ending and constant, coming at us from every single source imaginable. Community, media, peers, even the choices we make at a grocery store... All born of it.

What gets really interesting is the levels of indoctrination and how the entire scheme is set up to allow for deviation. It's like in high school when all the kids who wanted to be different ended up, essentially, all exactly the same. They were still indoctrinated - they just changed the trappings to allow themselves the illusion ( delusion ) that they has somehow escaped the machine.

You can see the same thing here, on ATS, with the crowd who consider themselves enlightened and use terms like "sheeple" liberally. They consider themselves to be above the indoctrination and yet they are still well within the bounds of the "script", for lack of a more appropriate and relatable term. It's funny from a certain point of view to watch people rail against the system - all the while knowing that they will likely close out ATS and go shopping at Wal Mart or Tesco ( or their regional equivalent ) just as soon as they finish their tirade.

My point is that the game is rigged. By "resisting political machinations" you are really just falling into another predetermined category that already has it's own machinations and controls set in place. Ultimately it's about as important as what color shirt you choose to wear. Sure, you might stand out a bit - but you're still part of the herd.

Is it possible to resist political manipulations?

I find viewing or listening to anything political in this environment gives me a great deal of discernment.


At lest that is what THEY tell me.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Yes, it's called propaganda and it happens everywhere (as you already suggested). Let me ask you something....if you were in a game to WIN a territory, a country, etc...How would YOU do it?

originally posted by: SixX18
a reply to: CIAGypsy

It's easily possible. Don't give a flying f*** about politics. End of story.

And this is how you wake up one day and suddenly find you have no rights left.... Keeping your head in the sand under the guise of "I don't care about politics" won't protect you.

a reply to: Azureblue

So do you consider anything and everything to do with politics as a conspiracy? Or just certain aspects in particular? What, if anything, do you consider the purpose of politics?

a reply to: Hefficide

Hey Heff! Thanks for stopping by my thread. Been awhile since we've had the pleasure of chatting...

I agree with you, but only to a point. There has been a systemic indoctrination towards an ideology in the past 80 or so years. It happens in small steps, nearly indecipherable in the beginning. Not a revolution or outright war for your mind. The herd mentality is a good one that you bring up. Most people are far too disengaged or distracted to ever see it coming...or care if they did. And the *very* small percentage who do are simply marginalized or undermined.

By the time the prey realizes they are in the crosshairs of a very deadly predator, it is too late.

So what do you suggest?

a reply to: CIAGypsy

The only way to counter indoctrination is to call it out for what it is, explain to people why it is indoctrination, how it works, and why it is being done - and then hope that one out of a hundred is at a point in their lives to actually be receptive to what they've been shown.

Even at that point the majority of people will quietly conclude that their lives are comfortable enough and make their own deals with the Devil regarding the whole concept.

Ironically the good news is that those in power are so good at what they do, in this regard, that they are becoming hapless and very short sighted. The best cure for indoctrination is hunger and hopelessness. It's easy to be Patriotic or idealistic sitting on a sofa with a full belly and money in the bank. But thanks to the avarice of those in power... they are making full bellies and comfortable sofas more and more hard to come by. Like the French Aristocracy in the eighteenth century... their arrogance will be what breaks their spell.

Eventually.

originally posted by: Hefficide
a reply to: CIAGypsy

The only way to counter indoctrination is to call it out for what it is, explain to people why it is indoctrination, how it works, and why it is being done - and then hope that one out of a hundred is at a point in their lives to actually be receptive to what they've been shown.

Even at that point the majority of people will quietly conclude that their lives are comfortable enough and make their own deals with the Devil regarding the whole concept.

Can you blame them really? Many people are first and foremost concerned about themselves and their families. If they can secure their own safety, they may or may not try to find a solution after they remove (what they perceive to be) the immediate threat. So if you understand this mentality, what is your plan to account for it?

originally posted by: Hefficide
a reply to: CIAGypsy
Ironically the good news is that those in power are so good at what they do, in this regard, that they are becoming hapless and very short sighted. The best cure for indoctrination is hunger and hopelessness. It's easy to be Patriotic or idealistic sitting on a sofa with a full belly and money in the bank. But thanks to the avarice of those in power... they are making full bellies and comfortable sofas more and more hard to come by. Like the French Aristocracy in the eighteenth century... their arrogance will be what breaks their spell.

Eventually.

One thing to remember is that even the wealthy and powerful have a "complacency weakness" in subsequent generations. You would be hard pressed to find any family or leader who has held power or wealth at a consistent level for more than 3 generations. I'm sure you can probably dig one out of the history books, but it would be a small percentage in comparison to the overall percentage of those who have come and gone. Wealth and power are transitory. And when you have them, there is ALWAYS a tide ready to take them away when the moment is right.

I've spent the weekend watching 'Turn' - a series about the American Revolution. The concept of life under such tyranny is so utterly foreign to American society in this modern age. A time when even the wealthy risked everything. Their families, their property, and lives. A time when your every action and word was scrutinized.


While the circumstances are different - War is coming, make no mistake.... At some point, everyone will have to make difficult choices.

a reply to: CIAGypsy

Therein lay the hidden catch. Yes, the monied families, to a large degree, to wax and wane. New families do enter the rarefied strata of the elite. Other families manage a chameleon approach and their fortunes pass down through a series of ever-changing names due to marriages.

But the rich all have one thing in common... bankers.

And, no, I am not going down the very abused and incorrect "Jews" path here. The Medici invalidated that racist crap hundreds of years go - why it still floats is beyond me. BUT it remains that banking continues to be one of the key players in societal oppression. Not only do they serve at the leisure of their most monied clients - but they have made an art out of fleecing the hapless working class. Somewhere there is a bell and a banker gets his wings every time somebody overdrafts their debit card by .08 cents and that $30-50 fee hits.

I guess the summary is that while those who actually own the money do come and go, to varying degrees - the ones actually controlling that money tend to be constant. This constitutes a power base, just as it has since the most ancient of times. Even when money was basically a luxury and novelty - the person who controlled the granary or the disposition of farming or homestead land held the same sway.

That all adds up to the conundrum we face today. The opposition ( us ) has precious little historical fact to turn to as resource ( as history is written by the victor ) - while those in power have been perfecting their craft since the end of the dark ages - at first somewhat blindly but much more effectively as the knowledge of the ancients was rediscovered.

2,000 years on and here we are. Bread and circuses all over again.

a reply to: Hefficide

You have a point and, because of it, I'll give you a hint. The truly powerful never 'own' anything. As long as you CONTROL an asset, that's all that matters....n'est ce pas? As I mentioned earlier, the indoctrination is systemic. I asked someone else earlier - "if you were to take over a region, country, peoples, etc....how would you do it?" If you walk in like Hitler (or ISIS) with open aggression & repression, you get war and resistance.

Do you play chess? You don't just think about your current or next move. You usually play well ahead. What do you need to control to win without ever firing a shot? Money is just one piece on the chessboard.

originally posted by: CIAGypsy
a reply to: Azureblue

So do you consider anything and everything to do with politics as a conspiracy? Or just certain aspects in particular? What, if anything, do you consider the purpose of politics?

I think the purpose of politics is about serving "we the people' to start with

" So do you consider anything and everything to do with politics as a conspiracy?"

When we have a few hundred people ruling the (type in your countries population) millions it plays very nicely into the hands of the powerful, the influential, the well connected, etc because they are, through a variety of tools, slowly, over the years, are able gain control over those few hundred and through them control the other xyz million, at least in relation to the issues that are important to those doing the controlling.

Never forget the governments are servants not masters

This works very badly against the principles of democracy, ie, rule of the people by the people. In this modern internet era these arrangements are no long necessary. My vision is for political parties and politicians to be elected as now but the laws the laws they make are legal until the have the passed the real 'upper house' ie, we the people in the form of a referendum.

For example, no international agreements could become law until the entire contents of the convention or agreement has been published on the a government website for 3 months before its voted on by 'we the people' in a referendum.

Similarly, troops could not be sent to a foreign land until the 'upper house' we the people, have given our permission via a referendum on the matter.

and so on ........ In other words we should become a referendum driven society and not leave government of the people up to just a few career politicians who only goal is to stay and the right side of enough people so they can get elected next time, which means that you and I can go to buggery.

For sure they will scream from the roof tops until they go blue in the face that this idea cant and wont work for ABCDEFGHIJKLM reason and is silly stupid and dump, but of course, you and I both know that they will anything to keep the status quo

cheers

i think so...

a reply to: Azureblue

I agree that politicians have learned how to "game the system" for their own benefit instead of what is actually good for the country as a whole. The Founding Fathers intended government to be limited and serving it as a true 'civil service.' They never intended for it to become a career and laws that apply to those who serve being different than everyone else.