The Fraud of Fear

Fear and Loathing are the paths to power in the United States.  It is easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.  We as a people have been lied to by those that hold the power in this country and the sooner we can admit to it the better.  “The Art of War” and “The Prince” are the current bibles of power brokers.  Espousing divide and conquer tactics is the way those in power keep it.  Fear, anger and hate tend to overwhelm reason and logic. They have kept both the right and the left in an agitated state that forbids compromise.  The NRA with their masterful ‘Astroturf” movement has convinced most gun owners that a Democratic government will take their guns away.  This increases gun sales at every mass shooting.  Gun owners scared that their hobby will soon go away haven’t taken the time to think through how anyone could take American’s guns away.  By focusing on this “issue” many gun owners won’t even think about how to keep guns away from the inner city gangs and others that shouldn’t own them.  Equally rabid liberals seem to think that we could somehow become Canada or England and eliminate gun ownership.  The hate from the fringes stops dialogue and moves the Country in the direction that only the most powerful want.

The media is complicit in this fraud on the American People as conflict and outrageousness are a lot more interesting than issues and peace.  Our reliance on the virtual world means we are interacting with fewer people on a daily basis and those we do interact with are more likely to be just like us.  This makes it easier to demonize those that are different.  By creating stereotypes of the “Conservative”  and the “Liberal”, that don’t exist in any number, they stoke the hatred.  The virtual world is the prime stomping grounds for phony outrage.  Both political parties  have stooped so low that they are only obsessed with gaining more power;  Democrats are only communicating their need for money to stop the Republicans.  The Republicans have spent the last seven years on the idea that they have to stop everything the Democrats do whether good or bad.  The Citizens United decision is one of the best things to happen to the press in a long time.  The idea that the media, which is the recipient of all the campaign finance funds, should help get the money out of campaigns is fantasy.   As long as politicians are elected with money that comes from sources that can’t vote for them, politicians will pass laws that are not in their constituents’ best interest.  Making this happen will require a true grass roots movement which realizes that the only way for all to prosper is to unite.