Beware the enemy within
An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.
Mahatma Gandhi
By guest writer: David Marks Photo by Dave Hoefler on Unsplash
For those with open eyes and minds, the ethos and repression of the recent pandemic are proving increasingly absurd. Unquestionable tirades are now revealed as hypocritical lies. Data confirming that vaccines are useless and toxic also expose the damage done by lockdowns and mandates.
Yet powerful forces continue to suppress and torment those who have concerns about the professed noble intentions of pharmaceutical giants and their government pawns. The ruling class perseveres in crushing dissent while having no qualms about the ongoing delivery of dangerous vaccines to a naive and fearful population.
Propaganda permeates our lives — with the intent of manipulating our emotions — disregarding any semblance of truth. Leaders appear to have no moral compass and are quite capable of any malfeasance. A gargantuan criminal enterprise remains in control — no matter who is elected to political office.
A devious, authoritarian clique is gaining ever stronger footing. Despite the overt duplicity, the general public is increasingly persuaded to accept sacrosanct judgments and arbitrary solutions for the multiple crises of our day. Because there is no accountability, unceasing scorn and vilification are ensured for anyone who raises questions about dominant fabricated realities and catastrophic policies.
It may be well justified to assume that corrupt political figureheads are carrying out the agenda of sinister omnipotent forces. We might conclude that all threats presented to humanity by the powerful are part of a clever smokescreen to hide an array of nefarious, greedy intentions.
Sources of reliable knowledge have been repressed or undermined, and it is difficult to discern the difference between speculative explanations and viable information. The pressures of our contemporary world give rise to quick acceptance of opinions and conclusions that are emotionally derived.
Everyone is urged to take sides in facing the controversial events and questions of our day. The current plight of humanity is becoming ever more polarized and perilous. Enemies take the shape of viruses, tyrants, election thieves, conspiracy theorists, capitalists, or socialists. The relentless, divisive atmosphere seems intractable.
This fragile condition is becoming more perilous as falsehoods from every direction emerge and thrive. Without intervention and a change of course away from conflict and toward resolution, only extremism and anarchy will prevail.
A prerequisite for any effective change to take hold is recognition of the motives and means of those who disseminate untruth. From there, vigilance is required in finding a path to establish a realistic framework for disseminating the truths of our time.
Precarious deductions
Those who fell under the spell of pandemic ravings were encouraged to view the world in black-and-white terms. This breach of reasonable behavior further divided a fragile world, silencing dissenters and destroying relationships. Responding with animosity to this intentionally generated mass delusion is equally destructive and engenders further discord.
Human existence is multi-faceted and exhibits infinite shades of moral and immoral behavior. People can do the right thing for the wrong reason. A perceived enemy can act with compassion. The opposite of a fabrication is not necessarily the truth.
The contrived rivalry is no accident. Maintaining dominance through polarization is a high priority of the promoters of the prevailing scientific, social and political narratives. Defining everything, including people, in extreme terms, is the simplest method to keep opponents in a cage of resentment and hate. The general climate of labeling something good or bad, right or wrong, and politically left or right; continues to incite intolerance. It has become perilous to find and speak the truth.
It is important to recognize to what degree everyone is repressed and manipulated — and how much of our plight is due to enforced divisiveness. Those who aren’t aware of these details and subtleties are easy targets for autocrats, who stigmatize, isolate and divide those who threaten their power.
It is no simple task to keep ourselves from participating in this ploy. While the generalities we observe have some clear truth, ungrounded deductions are precarious and can lead to destructive behavior.
The enemy within
External threats often initiate organized opposition that relies on an accepted slate of realities and objectives. Those who don’t agree with an entire manifesto are vilified for infractions or labeled as controlled opposition.
At the heart of this strife among the ostracized, is the illusion that the world can be divided simply into forces of the righteous and the wicked. It is vital to recognize and curtail this fallacy if we are to transition away from pernicious trends.
Recognizing common priorities defies the attempt to keep everyone polarized. The true battle is against the normalization of antagonism — which benefits those who have initiated the discord.
However, defining these forces as the heart of darkness and responding solely with angry defiance — only reinforces the divisiveness. This degrading and dangerous social climate serves those desperate to retain their power by dominating policy and practice.
Although this predicament feels unsurmountable and unparalleled, it is worth recognizing that history is replete with the fall of intolerant, repressive regimes. There are recent precedents where the power of truth triumphed over division and deception.
Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of non-violence and civil disobedience were the final blow to the abuses of British imperialism, which had dominated India for nearly one hundred years. The colonial narrative was undone by those whose authenticity could not be compromised by rhetoric or violence.
Gandhi’s words still apply today; he also provides a relevant warning:
Hypocrisy and untruth will go on in the world. Our doing the right thing will result in their decrease…
The danger is that when we are surrounded by falsehood on all sides, we might be caught in it — and begin to deceive ourselves.
In a time of heightened hostility, reacting impulsively to information risks deviation from finding a just resolution. Although more difficult, patient consideration while maintaining a broader perspective is much more likely to yield a reasonable outcome. When surrounded by “falsehood on all sides,” it is imperative to continue on a calm, honest course of action.
Elusive common ground
Our contemporary crisis provides confirmation that polarized perceptions founded on hostility only serve to increase conflict. When opponents claim all ideas coming from adversaries are complete fabrications, unworthy of consideration, the outcome will only be more repression or anarchy. Neither of which are improvements on the inflammatory climate.
The seemingly unbreakable trance of the mainstream narrative is maintained within an atmosphere of contrived paranoia. A public that has been coaxed and cornered into fearing deviant enemies are unlikely to be awakened by dramatic exposure of their delusion. It is futile to counter irrational behavior or aggression with an emotional response.
Attacking the deceivers, their minions, or their lies is much less compelling than distinctly providing the truth. A growing, justified group of free thinkers making reasonable assertions will eventually break the trance.
The foundation of constructive change is being open-hearted to remain open-minded; truth can only be evaluated with calmness and clarity, rather than as a reaction to the deceitful words of those who have no grounding in honesty.
Offering actionable solutions to change the destructive patterns of contemporary civilization is a reasonable course. Verifiable details — without financial or political motivation — will dispel the perspective, politics, motives, and methodologies of those individuals and forces who engender or support the fallacies.
Most issues have complexities and subtleties that deserve considered analysis. Democratic government, where power is truly vested in the people, is only possible when adversaries listen to each other with open minds.
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David Marks is a fellow for Children’s Health Defense. He is an investigative reporter and documentary producer. His recent book, “The Way,” is an interpretation of the Chinese classic, the Tao Te Ching, available at LaoTzu-TheWay.org
https://rwmalonemd.substack.com/p/war-on-truth
