I'm a mid western kind of guy. I grew up mostly in the mid west with a short stint in Richmond, Virginia. I have a lot of the characteristics of someone from the mid west. I have said “uff da” a time or two.
I don’t know if it is my upbringing or the mid western way of life but it is hard for me to accept that people will lie to you. The truth is it happens and some are masters at it. I have heard it said, “if you tell a lie enough it becomes true.” Lies can’t become truth but perception can become reality.
It is possible that if you control one's flow of information that you are able to control one’s perceptions, which will alter their views of what is true. This might seem crazy to some but it’s very ordinary and common. What is marketing? The definition is “strategic functions involved in identifying and appealing to particular groups of consumers”. How do they do that? They create information that gives you a perception that the product they have is desirable above any competition. The ultimate goal is to use the information to create a perception.
I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with marketing or convincing someone. The danger though is if people aren’t aware of this. The other danger is when the wrong person or group uses it to promote outright lies. This is where I plan to spend most of my time from here on it.
It’s troubling when you put your trust in someone and they use your trust to manipulate you into believing something that isn’t true. The person or group is using you for their own selfish gain. The manipulation is devastating to one's trust. What’s really concerning though is how easy it has become in our society to accomplish it. Those in power seem to often use it a lot. They create the flow of information and disseminate it and the public accepts it without question.
Lying has become a powerful strategy in manipulating people into submission. It has proven to be quite a popular tool. Throughout history, people have used this method to manipulate and consolidate power.
They do this by telling people what they want to hear or causing them to become afraid of possible outcomes. It is used often by people on both sides of the political aisle. Here are two examples of when politicians have lied to the American people to achieve an end goal.
Lyndon B. Johnson lied to the American people by telling us that the North Vietnamese had attacked us. This was simply not true. It led to tens of thousands of American lives being lost and millions of Vietnamese lives lost. It was all based on a lie.
The Bush administration under the presidency of George W. Bush offered up many reasons for going to war with Iraq, but the main assertion was that there were weapons of mass destruction. This simply wasn’t true. This claimed the lives of countless soldiers and half a million Iraqis. The CIA closed an investigation into this matter in 2005 finding no evidence.
The truth is people were manipulated by lies. We were told what we wanted to hear. President Johnson knew that if we had been attacked people would be more willing to accept going to war with Vietnam. How did this happen? Information was disseminated and people believed the information given.
What’s really interesting is that it should be easy to catch people in lies now with the internet but it is just as hard. People follow their perceptions. Hillary Clinton lied about her emails. She was caught red-handed. It did not matter. Why? She knew that people would defend her regardless of it. Why? She knew that people are easily going to follow their perception of reality.
Former Congressman Ron Paul has quoted George Orwell often and these simple but powerful words are so true: “Truth is treason in the Empire of Lies”
We have been fed many lies. The empire exists on different falsehoods. We have accepted perceived realities that just aren’t true. Now the truth has become treason. The truth-seeker is seen as a conspiracy theorist or rebel. Nothing is further from the truth, but the truth is treason.
I would argue that one example of this is the Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) which has become widely accepted. It is a heterodox theory that is self-destructive. It is not an orthodox view of economics. It is actually a departure from conventional economic theory. It has become accepted and now pushed.
This is what happens. When you control the flow of information, you can control the beliefs and ultimately the behavior of those who are following the status quo. That is what we are witnessing. Perception has become reality. I believe that as a society we need to evaluate the information given to us and test it out. We need to decide for ourselves if the information is accurate.
Here, at Financial Freedom we are rebels and we choose to evaluate information presented and test it out. We do lots of research, study history, and look at all the facts before coming to a conclusion. We do not always follow the crowd or trends. We are rebels as we like to be truth-seekers. We encourage all people to search for the truth as we believe truth is a huge part of finding Financial Freedom. Some of what “the experts” teach on finance just isn’t true. Pursue truth at all cost!
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