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Blockhead Theory

Blockhead Theory

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One of those moments of synchronicity happened today. I was looking at some of the former JW sites, and found a great page on JW psychological issues at Beyond Jehovah’s Witnesses.

In the back of my mind, I was thinking of JollyRoger‘s comments on Bush followers as worshippers and comparing it to my experiences with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Everyone has blind spots, but Bush seems to have tapped into something that allows him to pre-empt the critical thinking abilities of some Americans in just the same way that JWs do. Of course, the dumbing-down processes of our culture may have created some that have little or nothing in the way of critical thinking skills to undermine. Still, even with Rove, and the PR machine, and the talking points, and all of it, it’s hard for me to understand how anyone could rally behind an administration that clearly works against their own interests and future thriving, not to mention our own country’s historical values. We know how to "read" commercials, so we are in some ways quite sophisticated. So, what gives?

Well, Timothy Campbell, the webmaster of the abovementioned site on JWs, has also written some interesting information on "Anti-Process" – one explanation for both blind follower syndrome (no matter what the "religion") and the kind of fruitless discussion that seems to occur even more often on the web than in person.

The Formal Explanation: Antiprocess is the preemptive recognition and marginalization of undesired information by the synergistic interplay of high-priority acquired mental defense mechanisms.

An Informal Explanation: People can very cleverly defend their beliefs without having to fully understand the arguments against them.

A Very Informal Explanation: They’re not being annoying on purpose.

Breaking it down:

… the preemptive recognition … means that antiprocess filters information before it reaches conscious awareness.

… marginalization of undesired information … means that antiprocess doesn’t have to destroy information for it to be effective. All it has to do is dispense with it somehow. The information is "undesired" because it threatens one’s state of comfort.

… synergistic interplay … means that antiprocess can call on one’s entire set of skills. The smarter you are, the smarter your antiprocess is. Listen to a debate involving one of the primary proponents of Young-Earth Creationism if you want to see this in action.

… high-priority acquired mental defense mechanisms means that the mental "shields" are given primacy over other concerns (such as the search for truth). I included the word "acquired" because I believe that most (and possibly all) of our wrong-headed mental defense mechanisms are either reinforced, taught to us, or picked up by osmosis throughout our lives.

Of course, all of this assumes a self-protective, defensive stance.

He has also written articles on trolls and flame wars, for when things are a little less benign. All recommended reading.

We all need to brush up on our critical thinking skills. I have a feeling we’ll need them in the days ahead.

Talking Points for Soldiers: Domestic Propaganda Program

Talking Points for Soldiers: Domestic Propaganda Program

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Pentagon propaganda program orders soldiers to promote Iraq war while home on leave

It’s part of what they call “Operation Homefront.”

Good soldiers follow orders and hundreds of American military men and women returned to the United States on holiday leave this month with orders to sell the Iraq war to a skeptical public.

The program, coordinated through a Pentagon operation dubbed “Operation Homefront,” ordered military personnel to give interviews to their hometown newspapers, television stations and other media outlets and praise the American war effort in Iraq.

They even have “talking points”:

–Admit initial doubts about the war but claim conversion to a belief in the American mission;

–Praise military leadership in Iraq and throw in a few words of support for the Bush administration;

–Claim the mission to turn security of the country over to the Iraqis is working;

–Reiterate that America must not abandon its mission and must stay until the “job is finished.”

–Talk about how “things are better” now in Iraq.

Another “use” of our military people.

Sgt. Johnathan Wilson, a reservist, got his honorable discharge after he returned home earlier this month and he’s not afraid to talk on the record.

“Iraq is a classic FUBAR,” he says. “The country is out of control and we can’t stop it. Anybody who tries to sell a good news story about the war is blowing it out his ass. We don’t win and eventually we will leave the country in a worse shape than it was when we invaded.”

One of the things that really struck me about Murtha’s statements was the idea that he felt he had to speak for our soldiers who weren’t allowed to speak for themselves.

There are all sorts of ways to support the troops. I think listening to their narratives is a good place to start. Some of them need your support while they keep their mouths shut for as long as they have to do so. That’s a double burden – so I send this message out to you brave men and women:

It won’t last forever. Someday you will be able to tell the truth if you choose to do so. Observe, think about what’s important, be our eyes on reality. Make what decisions you have to make as best you can. And come home to us.

“California flu” is not “bird flu”

“California flu” is not “bird flu”

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My mom was concerned about stories she had heard about the “bird flu” making its way from the American West, with patients clogging hospitals, etc. She had heard it had come as far as Kansas. Huh? So I looked it up. Here ya go, Mom.

California Flu: NOT the “Bird Flu”, But Still Needs Your Attention By Gilbert Ross, M.D.

Reports are coming from California describing clogged emergency rooms and doctors’ offices ascribed to a sudden surge in influenza cases, a localized flu insurgency, as it were. This “California Flu” epidemic should be noted in the context of the yearly flu onslaughts we see each year, and there are some caveats we need to keep in mind, this year particularly:

*This has nothing to do with the “bird flu” pandemic we have been hearing about, over and over again of late. That epidemic is thus far almost exclusively confined to birds in southern Asia. There have been about 130 human cases, and some sick birds have been found in eastern Europe. This human flu now invading California and contiguous states is part of the annual flu season and is not a harbinger of pandemics yet to come.

Recommendation: Get flu shot, wash your hands, and wash surfaces with hot water and soap (doorknobs, telephones, anything that is regularly touched). When you cough or sneeze in public (better to stay home!), do so into the crook of your elbow, not into the air or onto your hands. Drink plenty of liquids, stay warm.

Pause of Mr. Claus – thank you Arlo

Pause of Mr. Claus – thank you Arlo

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As the government treats its citizens as terrorists and criminals, as McCarthy is being remade as an “American hero,” as protest is sidelined, ignored and put further and further away from events, this Christmas song is at least as poignant today as it was when it was written. The only real difference is that you can’t get the half-fare when you fly anymore. A deep bow to Mr. Arlo Guthrie for this one, my favorite.

The Pause of Mr. Claus
words and music by Arlo Guthrie

This next song we’re going to dedicate to a great American organization. Tonight I’d like to dedicate this to our boys in the FBI.

Well, wait a minute. It’s hard to be an FBI man. I mean, first of all, being an FBI man, you have to be over 40 years old. And the reason is that it takes at least 25 years with the organization to be that much of a bastard. It’s true. You just can’t join, you know. It needs an atmosphere where your natural bastardness can grow and develop and take a meaningful shape in today’s complex society.

But that’s not why I want to dedicate the song to the FBI. I mean, the job that they have to do is a drag. I mean, they have to follow people around, you know. That’s part of their job. Follow me around.

I’m out on the highway and I’m drivin’ down the road and I run out of gasoline. I pull over to the side of the road. They gotta pull over too – make believe that they ran out, you know.

I go to get some gasoline. They have to figure out whether they should stick with the car or follow me. Suppose I don’t come back and they’re stayin’ with the car?

Or if I fly on the airplanes, I could fly half fare because I’m 12 to 22. And they gotta pay the full fare. But the thing is that when you pay the full fare, you have to get on the airplane first, so that they know how many seats are left over for the half fare kids. Right? And sometimes there aren’t any seats left over, and sometimes there are, but that doesn’t mean that you have to go.

Suppose that he gets on and fills up the last seat, so you can’t get on. Then he gets off then you can get on. What’s he gonna do?

Well, it’s a drag for him. But that’s not why I want to dedicate the song to the FBI.

During these hard days and hard weeks, everybody always has it bad once in a while. You know, you have a bad time of it, and you always have a friend who says “Hey man, you ain’t got it that bad. Look at that guy.” And you at that guy, and he’s got it worse than you. And it makes you feel better that there’s somebody that’s got it worse than you.

But think of the last guy. For one minute, think of the last guy. Nobody’s got it worse than that guy. Nobody in the whole world. That guy… he’s so alone in the world that he doesn’t even have a street to lay in for a truck to run him over. He’s out there with nothin’. Nothin’s happenin’ for that cat.

And all that he has to do to create a little excitement in his own life is to bum a dime from somewhere, call up the FBI. Say “FBl?”, they say “Yes”, say “I think Uncle Ho and Chairman Mao and their friends are comin’ over for dinner” (click) Hang up the phone.

And within two minutes, and not two minutes from when he hangs up the phone, but two minutes from when he first put the dime in, they got 30,000 feet of tape rollin’; files on tape; pictures, movies, dramas, actions on tape. But then they send out a half a million people all over the entire world, the globe, they find out all they can about this guy.

‘Cause there’s a number of questions involved in the guy. I mean, if he was the last guy in the world, how’d he get a dime to call the FBI? There are plenty of people that aren’t the last guys that can’t get dimes. He comes along and he gets a dime.

I mean, if he had to bum a dime to call the FBI, how was he gonna serve dinner for all of those people? How could the last guy make dinner for all those people? And if he could make dinner, and was gonna make dinner, then why did he call the FBI?

They find out all of those questions within two minutes. And that’s a great thing about America.

I mean, this is the only country in the world…I mean, well, it’s not the only country in the world that could find stuff out in two minutes, but it’s the only country in the world that would take two minutes for that guy.

Other countries would say “Hey, he’s the last guy… screw him”, you know? But in America, there is no discrimination, and there is no hypocrisy, ’cause they’ll get anybody. And that’s a wonderful thing about America.

And that’s why tonight I’d like to dedicate it to every FBI man in the audience. I know you can’t say nothin’, you know, you can’t get up and say “Hi!” cause then everybody knows that you’re an FBI man and that’s a drag for you … and your friends.

They’re not really your friends, are they? I mean, so you can’t get up and say nothin’ ’cause otherwise, you gotta get sent back to the factory – and that’s a drag for you, and it’s an expense for the government, and that’s a drag for you.

We’re gonna sing you this Christmas carol. It’s for all you bastards out there in the audience tonight. It’s called “The Pause of Mr. Claus”.

Why do you sit there so strange?
Is it because you are beautiful?
You must think you are deranged
Why do police guys beat on peace guys?

You must think Santa Clause weird
He has long hair and a beard
Giving his presents for free
Why do police guys mess with peace guys?

Let’s get Santa Clause ’cause;
Santa Clause has a red suit
He’s a communist
And a beard, and long hair
Must be a pacifist
What’s in the pipe that he’s smoking?

Mister Clause sneaks in your home at night.
He must be a dope fiend, to put you up tight
Why do police guys beat on peace guys?

©1968,1969 Appleseed Music Inc.

The Best of Arlo Guthrie

Peace Not Poverty

Peace Not Poverty

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I am concerned about the Peace Not Poverty site. It holds up for me as a very good summary of some of the ethical and practical issues of the USA and its relationship to the world. Nothing seems to have been going on there since the Declaration was completed. What happened? Have the co-sponsors gone on with something further? And if so, where is the link? Please comment if you know.

I am posting the declaration here, just in case. No infringement is intended (here is the site again).

The Declaration

The Declaration below was completed on April 2. It was read for the first time in Riverside Church, New York, on April 4 by Kelley Ogden, of Houston, Texas, the final consensus leader of the Peace Not Poverty Write-In.

Thirty-eight years ago today, Dr. King reminded us of those moments in life where silence is betrayal. Our lives begin to end the day we remain silent when our conscience tells us to speak. Today, we walk in the footsteps of Dr. King, Fred Korematsu, Mahatma Gandhi, and countless others who have walked this road before. Their examples guide us along the path.

War poisons the moral fiber of every individual and destroys the intricate fabric of life. As a nation, we value peace and have prided ourselves in non-aggression towards other sovereign states. The war in Iraq, however, violates this principle of non-aggression. The Iraq war is a war of choice. We did not engage in diplomacy, but rather, bullying. Saddam Hussein did not possess weapons of mass destruction. Iraq did not invade our country or attack it. It is painful to admit that we invaded another sovereign nation without cause and without provocation. Our conscience tells us that we must end this war.

The war in Iraq violates law and perverts our sense of justice. We are no longer viewed as an impartial arbitrator of disputes, but as a biased proponent of our own self interest. We have lost the moral high ground for condemning the aggression of others. Our compassion and care for fellow man has been replaced by intolerance, hatred, and bigotry. The war in Iraq has curtailed the freedoms and liberties that our founding fathers, and those like Dr. King, worked so hard to secure. The war in Iraq promotes fiscal insanity for us and future generations and it narrows and degrades our soul. It is a cancer, that if left unchecked, will only spread.

Our conscience tells us that now is the time for action, before the war destroys all that we hold dear. We must speak so that our families, our children, our loved ones, and our nation, are not poisoned by hate, bigotry, and intolerance. We must end this war.

We must cease all combat operations. Troops should be withdrawn in an orderly fashion, with only a small portion remaining to assist in the rebuilding efforts. To the extent that troops are necessary to maintain order, peacekeeping activities should be turned over to the UN or the Arab League.

We must dismantle our military bases, which only serve to remind the Iraqi people of our presence. We have done enough damage and must remove the vestiges of this transgression.

We must fund the rebuilding of Iraq’s roads, buildings, and infrastructure destroyed by this war, as this is our moral and legal obligation. Iraqi engineers, labor, and business, not US corporations that profit from war, should be employed to rebuild. Our actions must be pure in deed and in heart. We must give international relief agencies full access to help the people of Iraq and alleviate their suffering. We must help rebuild the lives of the Iraqi people and restore the fabric of life.

We must accept the form of government freely chosen by the Iraqi people, without US influence. Our insistence upon a particular form of government only poisons the political process. Democracy cannot be imposed upon others by the barrel of a gun.

We must take steps at home to change the mindset of the American people. Describing the war in Iraq as a ‘front’ provides us with a false sense of justification for our actions. We were wrong, and we need to recognize that we were wrong.

Americans must be reminded that truth and honesty, freedom, and liberty for all are our core values. The freedoms and liberties that have been taken from us must be restored. We must also take steps to safeguard our freedoms and liberties, to ensure that they are not taken from us so easily again.

We must also address the root causes of this conflict, not only in our hearts, but in our daily lives. We must reduce our dependence on oil, which fuels our aggression.

As a result of this war, countless lives have been ruined, and our integrity among nations has been compromised. We must repair our relations among nations, and strengthen the ties that bind us all. We must hold those responsible for this war accountable.

We must also demonstrate the power of forgiveness. We must release those we have imprisoned, even those who may wish us harm. The men, women, and children of Iraq should be free to begin rebuilding their lives, regardless of their actions or our suspicions. We must remove the log in our own eye before attempting to remove the splinter in another’s.

We must right our wrongs. We must demonstrate our strength at home and abroad by apologizing to the Iraqi people and to the world. By redressing the wrongs that we have inflicted upon the Iraqi people, and the damage that we have done to relations among nations, we demonstrate respect for freedom and democracy. By redressing the wrongs, we strengthen the bonds of humanity, we make peace possible, and we restore our soul.

Let us all lift our voices for as our conscience tells us, now is the time to speak.