| The Present War Of and On Nerves | |
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7 Sep 2003 @ 18:07, by Bruce Kodish
In the current war against terrorism, actually a war with Arab-Islamist totalitarians, I opine that many more people need to understand more deeply and thoroughly what the Islamists wish to destroy and what we need to fight for, i.e., liberal democracy. A good start here would be to read Karl Popper's book The Open Society and its Enemies. We also need to understand the ways by which our enemies intend to sap our will to fight (the mechanism of terror) even before they send in the next wave of suicide bombers.
(Not all Arabs or Muslims, I need to emphasize, qualify as our enemies. Conversely, willing apologists and unwitting helpers for our enemies include an array of Non-Arab, Non-Muslim, leftist intellectuals and, sadly, many duped liberals including, unfortunately, a not-insignificant minority of Jewish leftists both in Israel and elsewhere. I need to add that I don't consider all liberals leftist dupes).
Here's what Alfred Korzybski wrote about what he described as "the war of and on nerves" with Nazi totalitarianism and I think it applies in equal measure to the present: "Éthe totalitarians have exploited neuro-semantic and neuro-linguistic mechanisms to their destructive limit, the best they knew how, to date. Counteraction, reconstruction, and/or prevention are impossible unless such mechanisms are utilized constructively under the guidance of governmental specialists in the fields of anthropology, neuro-psychiatry, general semantics, etc,,Éa permanent consulting board of specialists who would advise how to conserve and prevent the abuse of human nervous systems." (Science and Sanity, p.lxxix)
The kind of overt consultation conceived by Korzybski was never done to any significant degree by liberal democratic governments then and is not being done by them now (despite various efforts made over the years involving psychological warfare).
But Korzybski's suggestion involves a question eminently worth pursuingÑHow do totalitarians, totalitarian apologists, and their unwitting helpers abuse human nervous systems? We need to understand the mechanisms so we can counteract and prevent such abuse.
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Category: Articles
2 comments
7 Sep 2003 @ 19:29 by vibrani : Meditation
is one way to counteract such abuse. Clear, honest, and personal communication with one's God/Source/Higher Self where the nervous system is nourished, not destroyed, and where semantics aren't geared towards confusion, mixed messages, and breaking down an individual, where one is aware of the games being played in the outer world. Love replaces fear in that space.
8 Feb 2017 @ 08:25 by @47.88.24.145 : Toms Salg
A good start here would be to read Karl Popper's book The Open Society and its Enemies.
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