The 50's Fear tactics.

[chris jones]

I had posted this before on a different platform. The more I thought about it, the more convinced I became to post in on the Gen. Disc.

Hindsight.  The 50’s and early 60’s.

I was as a child raised in a super right Wing environment.

My father was sergeant in the police force and a WWII vet. He controlled the conversations and thoughts of any and all political ideology.

An example of his philosophy was the basic hawk rhetoric
 For example, Love it or leave it, a good commie is a dead commie, kill the kids before they grow up to be communist, obey the government in all things.
 Not to forget he hated the Kennedys with a passion, his reasoning, they were catholic.

War was a necessary population control, he would emphasize that is why about every ten years the USA went to war. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was brilliant, as it saved lives of our troopers, and we became the super power..
Our daily activities as kids included self defense lessons, boxing, and the firing range. I could shoot a rifle before I could write my name.
These were the days of the cold war; the government on a daily basis would warn us of the upcoming nuclear war, the domino threat being the USSR’s theme, the takeover of the world one nation at a time.
The government agents visited each township, they then installed loud speakers in various areas, they were screachers, and the warning system of a upcoming nuclear attack to be perpetrated by the commies. Our school principal would visit our class, grade school, and watch as the speakers sounded and we immediately hid under our desks for protection. The first under the desk would get a gold star on his or her forehead.
Many of the locals had built bomb shelters, dugouts in their backyards, concrete and lead lined generators, filters, emergency food, water, etc. etc.
Fear was in the air, paranoia was rampant.
In those days, one word against the Gov. and you were a communist, a dissident, a traitor to your nation, this was the general attitude of the public.
My brothers and I had knap sacks prepared for the communist invasion, orders of our father, prepared for when they would land on the beach in darkened hours to slit our throats.
This of course will hit you as extreme if you were born after the 70’s, however it is the truth.

As I entered my teenage years, I was witness to the missile crisis, the beginning of the Vietnam war, the assassination of JFK, and on to his brother RFK and of course and MLK.

Despite the fact I was not allowed an opinion, I began to question the ideals of my father and the locals. I would read articles with opinions of others, alone and silently in the basement.

One fine day, I called on all of my courage to confront my father and my eldest brother (my fathers clone). We were seated at our kitchen table drinking coffee at that time. my brother was home on leave from the USMC.( he later transfer to the Army Green Berets) The conversation was concerning Vietnam.

I asked my brother if he would go to Nam, of course if I was ordered.

Ok, but what if they told you that you must kill, then I would kill.
Ya, but what if there were civilians around and you knew they would take hits, so what.
Hell Chris, I’d kill the civilians if ordered to, that’s what we do, and we obey orders.

My father was beaming with pride as my brother answered.

Then I dropped the bomb, Ok bro, and then tell me what is the difference between that and the Nazis shoving people into a gas chamber.

I’m sure you can imagine the reception this remark brought upon me, fists banging on the table, screaming, eyes bulging, and blood rushing to their faces.
What are you turning into a communist, you obey this Government, and when given an order in the military you follow it, that’s it, if they told me to stick the slant eyes in an oven I would. This is America, the home of the free and the brave. Of course it did not stop here, their tirades continued for weeks.

My point to this rant, fear, obedience, enemies created, blind patriotic paranoids, a national trend and mindset perpetrated by our faithful and illustrious Gov. philosophy imbedded into the populace. Folks this was the McCarthy era, the communist witch hunts. I am with hope that those of you who were not yet born, can get some kind of idea how far this simple form of mind control can progress. Imagine how far their methodry has advanced.

Is it possible that terrorists have become the new wonder drug for the elite purpose...? For any who may read this who find themselves in a fairly similar situation, who’s family of this nature and philosophy or close to it, who’s neighborhoods are crawling and infested with these mind bents, please remember, you are free in your own mind, not to be dominated by the screaming masses, the terror tactics imposed upon us, the enemies that they create.

To complete this saga, I will admit to have continued with my individual thoughts, I continued to question and analyze. I was in the military, all of my suppositions and questions were answered in Vietnam.
To Confirm.
Why a colonel would take time to dress me down and give me the truth I have often wondered, He had called outside a command bunker after a mission briefing, we were totally alone, he told me, “ Sarg you’re a good kid, let me get something strait for you, you are not here for Ma’s apple pie, the red ,white and blue, democracy ,Uncle Sam or any other shit they fed you, You are here to make money for the RICH, the MIC”. He was very upset when he got into this, so was I. He shagged me down, but in hindsight he must have cared. His last words, take care of your guys, get them home.

My soul won the battle within, my conscience is clean; we now face another episode that in my opinion runs parallel to my younger years and the indoctrination mentally I had gone through.

Our minds are ours, our conscience, our need to recognize what freedom truly is, both physically and mentally. Our forefathers are not some legend, they were real. They understood tyranny, they revolted, they gave their lives to give this nation its freedom a for the coming generations never to live under the rule of tyranny. To be free human beings , the core of this nation. The Gov. exists for us the people, not the other way around.

 The constitution, a priceless spiritual gift, the hallmark of enlightenment.

It is up to us to remain vigilant. To be aware, involved, and to defend this nation against the power seekers who seek its demise, these sociopathic, parasitic, soulless mob who have infiltrated, in fact control this Gov., those who are intent on destroying our freedoms, and our minds. They will stop at nothing to secure their goals.

and second post  from Gus.

[chris jones]

P.S., Had to include STarGazers comment, why, this generation were not around during this era, I sincerly want the younger guys and gals to get an idea what it was, FEAR-CONTROL-assuming power over.


chris you brought tears to my eyes in remembering what it was like then. My father was not so stiff necked but shared much of the same paranoia you write about. I hid under my desk like a good American, and watched for mushroom clouds on the horizon. Another big worry of my father was the civil rights movement. He recognized that blacks had been treated badly and fully expected there to be blood in the streets because they wanted to be allowed to live without fear and with equality.

The propaganda and suspicion then is only matched and exceeded by what we see today. Then it was communism, now terrorism. The communists were going to take over the world one domino at a time till they landed in the good old USA. At the time few suspected that the threat of totalitarianism was growing unabated in Washington and that by by 2009 Fascism, corporatism, and the police state would be fully entrenched in America.

The use of fear to control the people has worked well and continues.

[Geolibertarian]

Great post, Chris!

If ever there was a thread that deserved to have the following article posted in full, it's this one:

--------------------------------------

http://www.fff.org/freedom/1095c.asp

Tiger in the Land

by Robert LeFevre


There is an apparent wide and shocking misconception in our land. It is this. That patriotism consists in loving our government and in willingly and joyously doing what the president and his administration want us to do. It is this misconception, so cunningly advanced by unscrupulous men in power, which has paved the way for despotic advances in all the years of man.

Patriotism cannot be a love of government. Patriotism rises above the government as a mountain towers above a blade of grass. When we think of our country and a feeling of love and devotion wells up within us, it should spring from the reality of what our country is and means, and not from the government, which is the least of all our blessings.

In fact, the only virtue of our government, which was true in the days of its founding, was that it was a severely limited government of very little power. We could love it then, for it was harmless. A tiger in a cage can induce a feeling of love. A tiger, hiding in a tall grass of hidden taxes, and not so hidden force, is a shocking and a terrifying thing.

It is time we awoke to realize that the beast our forefathers caged has burst from its confinement. It is on the prowl in our midst. We do not know where it will strike next. But, until it is caged again, it cannot be an object of our love or devotion. It cannot stir us to patriotism.

But since patriotism is bigger than this beast, what is it?

Is it a love of the geography which makes up the physical confines of these United States? Yes, it is that. But it is more than that. It is the ocean's strand, the endless plains burnished in waving wheat, the virgin snowy caps on slumbering and autumn forests, the rivers, the lakes of multi-blues, and much, much more.

Is it the people of this land who inspire us to love it? Yes, it is that. But it is more than that. It is the grandeur and the simplicity of the human soul which strives. It is the eagerness of youth, endowed with the desire and the power to prove. It is the transparent pride of lineage, and self-respect of accomplishment, the hope of better things. It is human strength and frailty in mosaic. It is good, it is bad, it is life and motion. It is a constant source of surprise and wonder. But it is much, much more.

Is it the genius of America which inspires us to love it? Yes, it is that. But it is much more than that. It is the scientist laboring in research. It is the capitalist risking fortune, reputation and a way of life on the chance he might win. It is the architect raising temples in his mind. It is the builder filling in the dreams. It is the skill, the brawn, the sweat, the tears of progress. It is this and much, much more.

For the secret of our love of country is in the spirit. It is the spirit of human liberty. It is not our land that moves us. It is that we are free in the land. It is not our people that move us. It is that the people are free. It is not our genius and accomplishment, but the fact that we are free to invent, discover and do which is the basis of our patriotic fervor.

Here is the lesson the men in power must learn. It is they, not us, who need a lesson in love of country. We do not need to be taught devotion to what is ours. They must stop equating themselves with America. The government is not America. The government is an instrumentality that serves America. It is best when it is smallest. Because as it shrinks in size and power, America, that which we love, grows bigger and more powerful, more beautiful, richer, more generous, more free.

It is time for the tiger to slink back into the cage.

--------------------------------------

[heavyhebrew]

America isn't a country or a vast collection of ethnicity, it is an idea. Summed up best in the Declaration of Independence.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

Great posts chris. Great posts on how patriotism has been hijacked over time.

[chris jones]

Hi Geo & Heavyhebrew

Good on ya, you picked it right up. Replys++++++bumped.

cry FREEDOM...mentally, spiritualy and physically.

[uwaf]

OOOHHH, That's my Father-in-Law. He loooooves war, says it's necessary and if I don't like it, He said I should move out of the USA.

[chris jones]

Hi United.

There are those convinced that conscience is an unnecessary weight to be caried, easliy replaced with, ego, power, arrogance and of course fairytales from on high.

[heavyhebrew]

Hi United.

There are those convinced that conscience is an unnecessary weight to be caried, easliy replaced with, ego, power, arrogance and of course fairytales from on high.

Having a conscience and free will is a serious torture for some. Better to subsume ones individuality and go with a crowd.

1984 explained it well when O'brien expounded on the theme of Freedom is Slavery.

We are the priests of power," he said. "God is power. But at present power is only a word so far as you are concerned. It is time for you to gather some idea of what power means. The first thing you must realize is that power is collective. The individual only has power in so far as he ceases to be an individual. You know the Party slogan 'Freedom is Slavery." Has it ever occurred to you that it is reversible? Slavery is freedom. Alone-free-the human being is always defeated. It must be so, because every human being is doomed to die, which is the greatest of all failures. But if he can make complete, utter submission, if he can escape from his identity, if he can merge himself in the Party so that he is the Party, then he is all-powerful and immortal. The second thing for you to realize is that power is power over human beings. Over the body-but, above all, over the mind. Power over matter external reality, as you would call it-is not important. Already our control over matter is absolute."'

[strgzr]

Great post, Chris!

If ever there was a thread that deserved to have the following article posted in full, it's this one:

--------------------------------------

http://www.fff.org/freedom/1095c.asp

Tiger in the Land

by Robert LeFevre


There is an apparent wide and shocking misconception in our land. It is this. That patriotism consists in loving our government and in willingly and joyously doing what the president and his administration want us to do. It is this misconception, so cunningly advanced by unscrupulous men in power, which has paved the way for despotic advances in all the years of man.

Patriotism cannot be a love of government. Patriotism rises above the government as a mountain towers above a blade of grass. When we think of our country and a feeling of love and devotion wells up within us, it should spring from the reality of what our country is and means, and not from the government, which is the least of all our blessings.

In fact, the only virtue of our government, which was true in the days of its founding, was that it was a severely limited government of very little power. We could love it then, for it was harmless. A tiger in a cage can induce a feeling of love. A tiger, hiding in a tall grass of hidden taxes, and not so hidden force, is a shocking and a terrifying thing.

It is time we awoke to realize that the beast our forefathers caged has burst from its confinement. It is on the prowl in our midst. We do not know where it will strike next. But, until it is caged again, it cannot be an object of our love or devotion. It cannot stir us to patriotism.

But since patriotism is bigger than this beast, what is it?

Is it a love of the geography which makes up the physical confines of these United States? Yes, it is that. But it is more than that. It is the ocean's strand, the endless plains burnished in waving wheat, the virgin snowy caps on slumbering and autumn forests, the rivers, the lakes of multi-blues, and much, much more.

Is it the people of this land who inspire us to love it? Yes, it is that. But it is more than that. It is the grandeur and the simplicity of the human soul which strives. It is the eagerness of youth, endowed with the desire and the power to prove. It is the transparent pride of lineage, and self-respect of accomplishment, the hope of better things. It is human strength and frailty in mosaic. It is good, it is bad, it is life and motion. It is a constant source of surprise and wonder. But it is much, much more.

Is it the genius of America which inspires us to love it? Yes, it is that. But it is much more than that. It is the scientist laboring in research. It is the capitalist risking fortune, reputation and a way of life on the chance he might win. It is the architect raising temples in his mind. It is the builder filling in the dreams. It is the skill, the brawn, the sweat, the tears of progress. It is this and much, much more.

For the secret of our love of country is in the spirit. It is the spirit of human liberty. It is not our land that moves us. It is that we are free in the land. It is not our people that move us. It is that the people are free. It is not our genius and accomplishment, but the fact that we are free to invent, discover and do which is the basis of our patriotic fervor.

Here is the lesson the men in power must learn. It is they, not us, who need a lesson in love of country. We do not need to be taught devotion to what is ours. They must stop equating themselves with America. The government is not America. The government is an instrumentality that serves America. It is best when it is smallest. Because as it shrinks in size and power, America, that which we love, grows bigger and more powerful, more beautiful, richer, more generous, more free.

It is time for the tiger to slink back into the cage.

--------------------------------------

How very true this article is, thanks for posting. I agree it's time for the tiger to be put back in its cage. Americans and the rest of the world would feel safer and love the United States better if the federal government did only what it was mandated to do by the constitution. We have a great country with, for the most part, great people. But we are too often overshadowed by the sinister machinations of a few power hungry bastards. I don't think the "tiger" will easily or willingly go back in its cage. It will need some coaxing.

[heavyhebrew]

Here, here strgzr! We need to reagin our government, enact new laws abolishing private funds for politicians, eliminating PACS. We need to withdraw from the U.N. We need to withdraw our nations support for the IMF and the World Bank and we need to leave NATO. Close the 800+ military bases we have worldwide, thumb our noses at the rest of the world and clean up our own backyard.
When we get our stuff together at home, make things right again and regain our shared moral nature, we can go back out as a nation among other nations.
If we want to be the best in the world, let it be for our love of truth and liberty, our sense of fair play and justice. Only then can we be truly the shining beacon of freedom this world so desperately needs.

I can't speak for the rest of you but reading the Bush era torture notes was like a dagger thru the heart. I knew they were doing horrendous things in our name abroad but to finally have it brought to light, it hurts.

We still have so much work ahead.

[chris jones]

A taste of todays fear tactics, simply a drop in the ocean,  the powers on high have created.

Careful selection and omission of news (some relevant facts are shown and some are not);
Distortion of statistics or numbers;
Transformation of single events into social epidemics (Salem witch trials);
Corruption and distortion of words or terminology according to specific goals;
Stigmatization of minorities, especially when associated with criminal acts, degrading behaviour or immigration policies (Yellow Peril, Hispanophobia, Islamophobia, Blood Libel and AIDS, which was originally called "GRIDS" for "Gay-Related Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome");
Oversimplification of complex and multifaceted situations;
Causal inversion (turning a cause into an effect or vice-versa);
Outright fabrication of events or claims.
The writer Jennie Bristow believes that the culture of fear that emerged following the September 11 attacks and the subsequent anthrax attacks were not so much emergent fears but rather top-down manufactured ones by politicians and reflected by an uncritical media. She also believes that the fears engendered, although irrational, allowed patriotism to emerge which eventually led to military adventurism in places not even connected to either 9/11 or the anthrax attacks.

The culture of fear is not a spontaneous reaction by the public to a truly dangerous world. The worldwide anthrax panic sparked by a handful of anthrax-related deaths in America shortly after 9/11 was not caused by a genuine and widespread mortal danger facing US and European citizens. Our propensity to panic about everything from child abductions to mobile phones does not come from the fact that modern life contains more risks than ever before - on the level of everyday reality, the opposite is the case. . . . The culture of fear comes from the top down. It comes from society's leaders, and their inability to lead.

I may add their parasitic, sociopathic, money grubbing, powermongering, and their total disregard for humanity. Fear is but one of their tools, however a timeless and sharp edged weapon of those in power.

I edited this to the specifics, link-wik;

[chris jones]

 Political Uses, FEAR -Yes, I had to get this in here too.
 
Heroes of the Fiery Cross 1928 Published by Pillar of Fire ChurchFear mongering is often used in wartime, as a political tactic to frighten citizens and influence their political views. Fear mongering in the United States surfaced during the era of McCarthyism, when the nation first faced the threat of possible nuclear attack. Since then, politicians and pundits alike have realized and utilized the powerful influential impact that fear can have on voters[citation needed]. Some allege that fear of violent acts of terrorism since the September 11th 2001 attacks were exploited by politicians to maintain their control of the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate, and Executive branches of the government.[citation needed] Similarly, participants in the debate over man-made global warming have been accused of using tactics of fear-mongering in order to promote their own environmentalist agendas.[1] Those skeptical of man-made causes of global warming assert that although there is still no scientific consensus on the cause or causes of global warming, politicians have resorted to fearmongering in order to sway public sentiment toward governmental and regulatory solutions.[2][3]

Yes we are all aware of this, however it is interesting to know that this subject has been analized, studied, experimented with, and unfortunelty used for decades to manipulate te masses- us, it is a timeless weapon used effectivly by our masters.

Fear has a opposite, its name is anger.
Limk-wik edited.