It also seems to me that fear is at the root of manipulation and control. (Reply #14)

In the discussion thread: I have said this before and it upsets some people because it is scary. [View all]

Sat Mar 10, 2018, 03:32 PM

Lint Head (15,064 posts)

14. It also seems to me that fear is at the root of manipulation and control.

Religions say to be good and follow the precepts or something terrible will happen to you in this life or after you die. (Fear.)
Take this drug or you will die. (Which could be true but promoted to the point of fear mongering.)
Use our product or you will be left out of important social norms. (Fear of being shunned.)
Buy this life insurance so your relatives won't be destitute. (Fear)
Fear everything because you are being watched. (This is something that I think has created fear to the point of people going off the grid or stocking up on goods for the Apocalypse.)
The earth is flat and you are being used by the global elite. (Fear)

Society is permeated with so many different types of fear. To me it is the unspoken word used in public relations, advertising, politics and religion. Make someone afraid and convince them that you have the solution and can protect them and they will follow your every word.

Natural fears are good. Fear of fire keeps a person from being burned to death.

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72 replies	Author	Time	Post
I have said this before and it upsets some people because it is scary. [View all]	shockey80	Mar 2018	OP
Sounds like Bannon's plan	lame54	Mar 2018	#1
Or	cilla4progress	Mar 2018	#2
Oh man that turns my stomach	TEB	Mar 2018	#3
Its the power of propaganda.	poboy2	Mar 2018	#4
Yes. Billionaire funded propaganda	sharedvalues	Mar 2018	#9
And let's not forget they use Christianity as a tool in this effort, as well.	Texin	Mar 2018	#19
Yes. Interpellation (as per Althusser) at its finest	pandr32	Mar 2018	#60
From Bernays "Propaganda", 1928:	Ligyron	Mar 2018	#45
Im glad I'm old	Cartoonist	Mar 2018	#5
Ill bring the ice tea	TEB	Mar 2018	#6
Me too...	wcmagumba	Mar 2018	#8
I May Be Old	True Blue American	Mar 2018	#58
I'm not that old, but when I hear people talking about prepping for nuclear war or similar disasters	Neema	Mar 2018	#13
I concur. It'd be like walking death. Zombie planet until the species dies off altogether.	Texin	Mar 2018	#21
Me too.	TexasBushwhacker	Mar 2018	#64
I'll be doing the same thing you are doing.....	onecent	Mar 2018	#15
Not me...	defacto7	Mar 2018	#65
I agree 1000%. I can't see it improving short of	doc03	Mar 2018	#7
2018 is going to be a blue wave. Resist! Vote!	sharedvalues	Mar 2018	#10
Sounds like the "scorched earth" theory that the far left "advocate" or "advocated in the past".	Lil Missy	Mar 2018	#11
I can't disagree with this at all.	tymorial	Mar 2018	#12
It also seems to me that fear is at the root of manipulation and control.	Lint Head	Mar 2018	#14
I felt the same way during the Bush years but then we got Obama.	meadowlander	Mar 2018	#16
I agree, and more people have to vote. Every generation has a cross-section of people	vkkv	Mar 2018	#31
Agree that the environment is key.	Collimator	Mar 2018	#40
good luck	InformedElitist	Mar 2018	#41
I hope this is the death knell of Republicanism; I fear it's the death knell of this nation.	hedda_foil	Mar 2018	#62
It goes back to Reagan and the destruction of the fairness doctrine	dhol82	Mar 2018	#17
We are far beyond Fox News now...	Fiendish Thingy	Mar 2018	#25
That is correct - the money	dhol82	Mar 2018	#49
imo we wasted the last big crisis	shanny	Mar 2018	#18
We didnt elect Donald Dumbass to jackShit...	czarjak	Mar 2018	#20
Thank you! Sheesh. What a downer OP.	SammyWinstonJack	Mar 2018	#26
I cant say I dont agree with you sometimes...	MontanaMama	Mar 2018	#22
Dark and gloomy post that I for one do not ascribe to.	infullview	Mar 2018	#23
Im with you! Life has always had a dark side. We need to cut through the propaganda.	bettyellen	Mar 2018	#34
The problem with that is it won't be the deplorables and white college revolutionaries that hurt	KitSileya	Mar 2018	#24
Maybe.. but there are SO MANY FORCES at work. Certain forces got Trump elected, other forces	vkkv	Mar 2018	#27
WAR and DEPRESSION is pure poetry to Republican's ears!	BamaRefugee	Mar 2018	#28
Second Civil War has been brewing since Reagan in Philadelphia, Mississippi...	Moostache	Mar 2018	#29
It upsets me not because its scary but because its passive.	nolabear	Mar 2018	#30
Actually, Trump's election and subsequent events have been sufficient. We don't need a war or a	Nitram	Mar 2018	#32
I agree with your assessment but I seriously doubt that it will change. It hasn't in my lifetime and	walkingman	Mar 2018	#33
A revolution?	Maxheader	Mar 2018	#35
The real problem	DV1	Mar 2018	#36
It's the ignorance. It's not the naturally occurring kind...	dchill	Mar 2018	#37
remember that we are not descended from fearful men	bronxiteforever	Mar 2018	#38
The Susan Sarandon Theory	TomCADem	Mar 2018	#39
That's just nuts. Spacibo. nt	JustABozoOnThisBus	Mar 2018	#42
You need to read more about the Great Depression and WWII	Yavin4	Mar 2018	#43
Don't worry, we have television and the rest of the corporate media to keep us sleepy.	jalan48	Mar 2018	#44
it's depressing	InformedElitist	Mar 2018	#46
I've had the same dreaded feeling for years EOM	drmeow	Mar 2018	#47
I agree, but I'm an optimist	Poiuyt	Mar 2018	#48
We're already in a great depression and nobody seems to care.	Initech	Mar 2018	#50
I know it looks bad. Christ Christie had an 80% approval before Bridgegate, he left office with 18%	njhoneybadger	Mar 2018	#51
Just when I think it's as bad	Progressive dog	Mar 2018	#52
You ain't seen nothing yet	Boomer	Mar 2018	#53
I don't think Americans in general are nearly as bad as you paint us.	lark	Mar 2018	#54
"I grew up in the 60s and 70s, that was a crazy era. But it made sense."	Tarc	Mar 2018	#55
I grew up in the 50's and 60's and you're right	mountain grammy	Mar 2018	#63
From what I can find with research, a great depression helps those with	Ferrets are Cool	Mar 2018	#56
it's deeper than that	Locrian	Mar 2018	#57
K&R. Truth!	KY_EnviroGuy	Mar 2018	#71
most of the history of war in america...	tomp	Mar 2018	#59
Democracy has failed us because Big Money wanted it to fail	bucolic_frolic	Mar 2018	#61
You may just be right.	defacto7	Mar 2018	#66
"We elected the biggest asshole in the country to be our president."	area51	Mar 2018	#67
SMDH	DemocratSinceBirth	Mar 2018	#68
It's probably by design, but Americans have a very short memory	ecstatic	Mar 2018	#69
I Thought we were doomed under W. But I never felt this way then.	bitterross	Mar 2018	#70
Wow, what a depressing thread. So many defeatist duers. Smh.	Tipperary	Mar 2018	#72

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