FEAR

by William (Bill) Campbell, Conner

Fear, being one of the most powerful of human emotions, has long been used to control society. The extent to which individuals are sensitive to fear is the dominant factor in their lifestyles. Their reaction is evident in their circumstance. Circumstance is the determining element in their ability to adjust to the degree of fear present.

The greatest single example of the use of fear to control is in the very sensitive subject of politics. What once was the great operating principle was the positive–here’s what I can do for you. Hope for improvement in whatever subject was selected by the proponent. That subject, was, of course, selected on the basis of two factors. One being the sensitivity to the subject chosen and the other, the proponent’s ability to perform.

Technology has provided many improvements and opportunities to society. A dominant example is in the area of communications. The increased ability enabled the proponents to reach more deeply into those more sensitive areas of concern. The net result of that combination of events is fear. The increase in fear has created immense increased opportunity for those who strive to control–for whatever the reason.

With the commonly accepted idea that increased control is increased power, the resulting question is how that power will be exercised. Generally, the result is very direct. Vote for me, buy from me, and so on.

With the realization of the increased ability to control came also the concept that there was great opportunity in how the objective of control was achieved. How much more effective one means was or would be compared to another resulted in an operational shift on the activity of those who would control. That shift was to change from the offer of hope (that which adds) to the offer of fear (that which detracts). The result is evident in our society today.

Politicians commonly emphasize not the hope that they once offered, but the damage the opponent will do. That shift in technique has resulted in the increasingly questionable methods in use today.

Politics has evolved from evoking Hope as an operational technique to that of evoking Fear as the most effective means to gain votes. The promise is that the opponent will be most harmful and that the proponent will not. No longer that the opponent will be less positive, only that they will be more negative.

The political process has abandoned integrity in the quest for power.

It considers the results in terms of votes without concern for the impact upon the voter. The price the voter paid, the decisions forced upon them, were in defense instead of hope. What of the results of the decision?

The entire political process, in the quest for ever increasing power, generally offers only negativity. That process reveals mainstream media to be an ever decreasing source of reliable information useful as the basis for a particular vote.

Mainstream media continues to use communications as a primary means of social control.

Where, in a field of lies and deceit, is the voter to discover the truth of the matter involved?

The results contribute to abhorrent social behavior as the overall frustration levels increase. Every day existence is under attack as a result of fear being used to such an extent. Fear is used as a motivational component in sales, law enforcement, safety, health and so on.

Existing conditions serve only to decrease the quality of the results as the means used offer results of equal quality.

Then there is Artificial Intelligence.  If the past is any indication, there is great reason to feel–fear.