The world of mass communications has led among other things to a climate of fear around the world. In FEAR there is money. There is no money in safety. Furthermore, in FEAR there is control. When was the last time you switched on the News and heard: "Good morning, this is the 9 o'clock News. There is no news today."? News stations have to fill a certain number of minutes with news, and they know that "no news is good news" so they have to fill those minutes with BAD news. And they do it with aplomb. Everything is a "battle". A "fight". Even better a "war". The battle against poverty. The war on terrorism. Think about it. If you want to control people will you tell them everything is rosy and there are no problems? More likely you will tell them there is a "common enemy" and that you - the government - are the only ones capable of making the people secure. When I was young it was the communists. They were going to sweep across Western Europe like the marauding Huns. So we had a Cold War. And the Nuclear Threat. Then we had AIDS. And SARS. And Chicken Flu. And Terrorism. And Weapons of Mass Destruction. And Osama Bin Laden. (Not necessarily in that order.) And "The Worldwide Economic Crisis" (which mysteriously has missed China, India and South-East Asia and half the world so it's hardly worldwide, but you don't score many control points back home telling your voters that it's only a local USA issue); and what next? What's the next scare they're going to invent? Your chances of being hit by a double-decker bus as you cross the road, or dying of bog-standard influenza, are a thousand times greater than being caught up in a "terrorist" incident. But reporting the number of people who yesterday died of 'flu just doesn't cut it on the 9 o'clock News. No wonder the World Health Organization is reporting that depression is one of the world's most serious diseases. Relax, folks, and take it easy :))) -- Wordcheckerfear (noun): an unpleasant feeling caused by the belief that something/someone is dangerous politics (noun): activities associated with the governing of a country switch on (verb): turn on; open aplomb (noun): self-assurance marauding (adjective): travelling over a wide area (looking for things to steal or people to attack) Huns (noun): a warlike Asiatic people who attacked Europe in the 4th-5th centuries scare (noun): a sudden feeling of fear double-decker bus (noun): a bus with two floors bog-standard (adjective): absolutely standard; normal 'flu (noun): influenza; a viral infection causing fever and aching cut it (verbal expression): look good enough
We just discussed this at World Affairs Council (book discussion meeting) Thursday night. Fear sells and fear manipulates. People can be terrified and made into a dangerous mob doing things no sane person would even consider in another context. Or be terrified and made to huddle in their homes with duct tape sealing their doors and plastic over windows.
It wasn't the commies, pinko's, hippies, other ethnic groups, world bankers, or any one other threat to the nations of mankind that caused problems. It was the making of a "whipping boy" to take out fears on and the deliberate creation and feeding of those fears.
Funny how history shows the impotence of all those dangers and in the end the dastardly plans of those holding the puppet strings are exposed. May it end forever by enlightened uses of the internet and modern communications. Unfortunately there are still those broadcasting terror and prejudice to those who will listen and believe it.
Congratulation for this eye-catching blog title,unfortunately it is very actual nowadays.
Personally I'm schocked after the two suicide bomb-attacks in Moscow yesterday,and in Dagestan today!I know that there are plenty of violence,terror and brutality in the breaking news,almost leading to horror in some cases.
I absolutely agree with you,that fear is a very good bussines,lot of money involved in it.(For example in my country there was almost a hysteria about the H1N1 virus at the end of last year,governement was trying to persuade as much people as possible,to vaccinate themselves against H1N1(In return for a GOOD SOME OF MONEY,of course!))
As presidential elections are on-coming in the end of this April in Hungary,I have already an aversion towards politics,and feeling low after each news broadcast.It's depressing to hear newly investigated corruption cases,and all dirty things....politicians could talk the hind legs off a donkey,that's my opinion.
That's why I have decided not to abuse watching the breaking news,and watch less Tv.
Instead of doing so,I'm coming to log in EC,it's a more meaningful occupation to me.:)
Thank you for this great topic.
'Breaking news' is usually 'bad news'. We're so familiar with bad news now. You may be tired of so many bad news in the world. Sometimes it's inevitable. Maybe we should be accustomed to having some bad news. You never know!
Talking about the FEAR of WAR, who really wants to have a war, no one! No body wants a war in this planet but a peace. A PEACE! But this really requires for the political correctness, as the politicians have historically & mostly caused the war in the fact of HISTORY.
A war supposed to be a fighting between two countries, to be for a peace or a complete destruction, but they said, ‘there’s the devil among the tailors’, that is, more countries (UN and ‘?’) are involved these days, just like our sides or opposite sides (as ‘black & white’).
As a certain proverb saying ‘Suffer a side blow in a fight’, it is because they have their own reason to fight for, which is to take other’s properties (natural resources: oil, gold & so on). The problem is, however, that a motive for a war isn’t for the nation or the people but for themselves (Politicians or high ranking governors/Royal Families), so they will do anything & everything to get what they are looking for or want, as they say ‘Needs must when the devil drives’
I'm unable to give source, where I did read this, but I read, that more than by the amount of the negative events/emotions, the stress and hence depression is causative by the lack of the positive emotions.
A important point was also, that this was especially valid for male species. They were making experiments with mouses.. as for source of positive emotions they gave cares to mouses.
So if you really want to control your minions, then you have to tell some time some positive news too. Something that shows your self in positive light and it will be very effective.. Especially to males. :D
Comments
It wasn't the commies, pinko's, hippies, other ethnic groups, world bankers, or any one other threat to the nations of mankind that caused problems. It was the making of a "whipping boy" to take out fears on and the deliberate creation and feeding of those fears.
Funny how history shows the impotence of all those dangers and in the end the dastardly plans of those holding the puppet strings are exposed. May it end forever by enlightened uses of the internet and modern communications. Unfortunately there are still those broadcasting terror and prejudice to those who will listen and believe it.
Personally I'm schocked after the two suicide bomb-attacks in Moscow yesterday,and in Dagestan today!I know that there are plenty of violence,terror and brutality in the breaking news,almost leading to horror in some cases.
I absolutely agree with you,that fear is a very good bussines,lot of money involved in it.(For example in my country there was almost a hysteria about the H1N1 virus at the end of last year,governement was trying to persuade as much people as possible,to vaccinate themselves against H1N1(In return for a GOOD SOME OF MONEY,of course!))
As presidential elections are on-coming in the end of this April in Hungary,I have already an aversion towards politics,and feeling low after each news broadcast.It's depressing to hear newly investigated corruption cases,and all dirty things....politicians could talk the hind legs off a donkey,that's my opinion.
That's why I have decided not to abuse watching the breaking news,and watch less Tv.
Instead of doing so,I'm coming to log in EC,it's a more meaningful occupation to me.:)
Thank you for this great topic.
I'm just about to post the Monthly News Digest for March. Is it too late to change my topics? :)
A war supposed to be a fighting between two countries, to be for a peace or a complete destruction, but they said, ‘there’s the devil among the tailors’, that is, more countries (UN and ‘?’) are involved these days, just like our sides or opposite sides (as ‘black & white’).
As a certain proverb saying ‘Suffer a side blow in a fight’, it is because they have their own reason to fight for, which is to take other’s properties (natural resources: oil, gold & so on). The problem is, however, that a motive for a war isn’t for the nation or the people but for themselves (Politicians or high ranking governors/Royal Families), so they will do anything & everything to get what they are looking for or want, as they say ‘Needs must when the devil drives’
A important point was also, that this was especially valid for male species. They were making experiments with mouses.. as for source of positive emotions they gave cares to mouses.
So if you really want to control your minions, then you have to tell some time some positive news too. Something that shows your self in positive light and it will be very effective.. Especially to males. :D
So maybe female citizens aren't so much desired.