Uncomfortable Truth & Gap Control

    Bagholder’s last article (linked here) made the argument the American populace, as a whole, is being brainwashed through the systematic triggering of our fight/flight mechanism by the ruling class.  In the 24 hours immediately after publishing that article, Bag had more followers unsubscribe in that one day, than the entire previous year! Apparently, people do not like hearing a predatory class is brainwashing them. Bag is reminded of the cartoon with two booths at the county fair, one with a long line of people waiting & the other with no line. The booth with the long line is called “Comforting Lies”; the other is called “Uncomfortable Truths.”

   When people find truth uncomfortable, it is because it pings what psychologists call a “cognitive dissonance.” That is a fancy way of describing the gap between what people believe to be true, and reality.  For the brave souls interested in personal growth, closing that gap is a life-long journey involving the rigorous process of constantly recalibrating personal beliefs, to better match reality. For everyone else, there is the “Unsubscribe” button. Clicking it allows you to quickly don your cognitive blinders, bask in the warm glow of denial, drink from a pool of confirmation bias, and completely avoid the difficult task of eliminating cognitive dissonance.

   Unsubscribing is a form of self-censorship and a crystal clear indication of a captured, controlled, and closed mind.  Opting to surround oneself with only those who agree, may provide some immediate emotional comfort, but it is at the expense of both spiritual growth and long-term mental well-being. Simply put, we cannot grow as individuals without being open to thoughts and opinions from all sides. Bag has no problem if people get their news from liberal sources or more conservative sources. Problems arise when people choose to get their news from ONLY liberal sources, or ONLY conservative sources.  Narrowing the range of incoming information stunts individual growth and polarizes us into groups, ultimately making us easier to control.

  This capacity to self-censor, and thus limit the flow of information is precisely what makes 21st-century social media so dangerous. In the hands of the emotionally fragile, which is to say nearly all of us, the dopamine-releasing unfollow button is no different than heroin in the hands of a junkie. It isolates individuals, destroys relationships, limits communication, and ultimately diverts attention away from where it is needed most. Social media preys on our innate desire to belong and the tendency to embed ourselves in a herd of the like-minded, hopeful that when the wolves come calling, we don’t get noticed.

   Once we are safely inside our chosen herd, head down, focus narrowed, and seemingly safe from predators, the real imperial conditioning begins. Much like the first dose of heroin, YouTube, Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, etc… are all, of course, free of charge. In an approach that would make the Devil blush, the tech giants have gifted us the capability to open up an app, and main-line seductive feelings of righteous superiority by smugly passing judgment on those in other herds. Considering this can be done anonymously and without consequence, it should be obvious the nefarious gift of social media is nothing more than a vile circus of distraction. In exchange for that Greek gift, our keepers took for themselves a near-total 24/7/365 surveillance state, willingly entered into by all their social media scrolling cellphone-carrying subjects.

  Fortunately, the dark cloud of social media does have a silver lining. Watching others frolicking on a beach in Hawaii while heading to a cubicle for another double shift of churning out drivel for some corporate overlord, can make one question their life choices. Depending on your appetite for introspection, the constant stream of “look at me” videos can be a feature or a bug. In much the same way uncomfortable truth will illuminate cognitive dissonance, social media effectively illuminates what psychologists call an “Identity crisis.” In layman’s terms, that refers to the gap between who we want to be, and who we really are. Think Hawaii, or a cubicle.

     There is a third psychological gap that merits our attention today. Have you ever wondered what causes a “mid-life crisis” in middle-aged adults, why some get it and some don’t?  Many of you reading this might suggest it has to do with coming to grips with our mortality. The fact is mortality has nothing to do with it. The mid-life crisis stems from the gradual recognition that there is a gap between one’s words and one's deeds. The size of that gap in any given individual is directly proportional to the severity of their crisis. Admittedly, some people can avoid their mid-life crisis altogether by immersing themselves in some form of addiction, but that’s a blog for another day.

   We all have a little voice living between our ears, known as our “conscience.” When we are young, with boundless energy, hormones coursing through our veins, and our whole life in front of us, keeping your conscience at bay is easy. As we age, the consequences of our life decisions unceremoniously confront us, and at the same time, we begin to recognize in a very sobering manner how those decisions affect the lives of others. Aging also brings with it a more forceful conscience, armed to the teeth with a variety of emotions like guilt, shame, and remorse. Failing to minimize the gap between words and deeds as we age, will make the voice in our head a cruel master.

  All conflict, whether personal, with a loved one, or even a stranger, stems from an existential threat to our identity.  When who we are is threatened, anything and everything can seem reasonable. In those moments of conflict, truth, however uncomfortable, must be honored. Do that, and navigating the gaps between: belief & reality … who we want to be & who we are … and words & deeds …. will be little more than a peaceful stroll through a garden. Unfollow the truth, and those gaps will present as an unnavigable chasm of depression.

1.  For those believing the above truths are too harsh, feel free to unsubscribe.

2. For those who enjoyed this article and are willing to risk judgment by the Google algorithm, there is a like button below.

3. For those interested in similar subject matter to today’s article, one of Bag’s previous blogs, “The Holy Grail of Personal Growth” (linked here), would be a nice read.