A HERD MENTALITY LIMITS ALTERNATIVE VIEWS!
We have been socially conditioned to conform. We have consented to be ‘herded’ like sheep. We have been taught to be wary of anything outside of mainstream views. New independent ideas are viewed with suspicion!
We are conditioned to accept strategies offered by so-called experts! These are typically government committees and scientific organizations. They are promoted as being the consensus of the best expert views. So therefore, we should trust and abide by these!
There are also a range of celebrities who promote certain narratives and opinions. These include sports people, film and music stars and social media influencers. Very often their opinions are supportive of who will pay them the most for their promotional power.
ALTERNATIVE VIEWS ARE DISMISSED AS RADICAL.
People who advocate for non-conventional solutions are branded misfits or radicals. Those alternative views are often labelled as being racist or sexist or discriminatory in some way. Or they are censored as being politically incorrect.
Opposing views may even be labelled ‘conspiracy theories’ to further demean them. Often the ‘radical’ is personally attacked, without even discussing the message itself. In the political sphere, those who promote are considered agitators, anarchists, or terrorists.
…What do you think are the consequences of this herd mentality?
HERD MENTALITY LIMITS OUR BEHAVIOUR!
Those in power would like us to believe that new, independent approaches will be ineffective or disruptive. We have been conditioned to distrust or become fearful of people living alternative ways. We might even consider them dangerous or extreme. We are first encouraged to disparage or make fun of them. Then to criticize and reject them. By being closed-minded to different approaches, we limit our range of opportunities.
A more overt control strategy is to impose laws & regulations. This includes fines and punishment for non-compliance. This limitation & control is promoted as being of benefit to the community. It's supposedly done for the stability and preservation of our society. But actually, these regulations are designed to encourage herd behavior. What a clever ruse! What a subtle yet powerful way to stop dissent, prevent real change and maintain control.
WE ARE SHIELDED FROM REALITY BY CENSORSHIP.
Censorship is another control strategy that is widely used to exert control. This starts with the perceived need to ‘shield our children’. Children are deemed too sensitive for certain information or events. Our parents filtered & limited our exposure to distressing news when we were ‘too young to understand’.
Parents also try to explain away or soften the horrors presented on the daily news. Our school teachers also filter & sanitize reality. This censorship and spin then continue through our mainstream media.
…Can you see how people justify and rationalize censorship?
ACCEPTABLE NARRATIVES ARE PROMOTED.
Media companies regularly censor their content to make this ‘more acceptable’ for general consumption. For example, they choose not to show pictures of murdered or mutilated people on news broadcasts. This is considered to be too distressing to society. Similarly, they keep pictures of starving or abused children to a minimum, unless it's to support some charitable relief project. So, the media moderates the content and sets the acceptable narrative.
POLITICALLY INCORRECT VIEWS ARE MODIFIED.
The modification of the narrative extends to content that is not deemed ‘politically correct’. It might be considered sexist or racist or opposed to the acceptable narrative. This bias subtly suppresses views & solutions that don’t align.
But who will decide this? Again, it might be the supposed ‘experts’. But who decides which experts to use or believe? Often it is political, media & community leaders who appoint these fact-checking committees.
MEDIA LEADERS DECIDE WHICH SPIN TO APPLY.
The media owners decide which angles of reporting or investigative journalism they want. They can also drop or modify reports that might offend their advertisers or their political and financial backers. The media owners choose the viewpoint or narrative that best suits their own agenda. This is the hidden bias in news & current affairs reporting.
This censorship and information filtering is managed by editorial boards. The boards usually delegate this to fact-checking committees or subeditors. They then decide which stories infringe the accepted narrative and which are promoted. The entire system is inherently biased. But who assesses this bias? Who checks if the censorship is balanced and for the greater good?
TECH ALGORITHMS NOW AUTOMATE CENSORSHIP.
This control strategy has now been extended to social media corporations and also the search engines. Computer algorithms now decide what comes up on our google search results and social media newsfeeds. But who decides what the computer’s selection criteria will be? Who decides which accounts will be shadow banned, de-monetized or delisted? Media management and their committees usually decide the guidelines.
…Do you see how widespread and invisible this influence can become?
SOCIAL MEDIA CAN INCREASE SOCIAL DISTANCE.
We might think that the internet & social media would bring us closer together. But this is not always the case. We can become distracted by the highly entertaining but low value content. In doing that we can distance ourselves empathically from real people. We therefore miss out on direct human face to face contact.
By aligning with special interest groups on social media, we risk becoming super specialized. We can become isolationist in our views and stuck in our bubble. We are encouraged only to support our own special interest group and ignore other differing views. Our views can become increasingly narrow and reinforced!
OUR BEHAVIOUR IS MANAGED LIKE A HERD.
The survival and control of the group is the unwritten priority of the current system. We are socially conditioned to believe that without external control there would be no stable framework for our lives. There would be no constant reference base, and no safety or security. That is what we have been led to believe.
That's how we have been powerfully influenced and ‘herded’. But have we considered this might not be in our best interest? Maybe it's not in the best interest of ourselves, the community, or the planet. But usually, this question is too radical a concept for us to even contemplate. We have been too thoroughly conditioned!
We generally conform, as loyal group members should! We generally follow or submit to external directives. This control primarily arises from those in positions of power or leadership. Perhaps this social conditioning was essential for survival in a primitive society. But in this modern age, it is now purely an imposed control system!
FREE COMMUNICATION CAN FUEL CHANGE.
This primitive level or 'herd mentality' has been maintained on Earth for a very long time. Recently there have been signs of improvement. The global level of awareness is now slowly rising. People are now questioning more and considering alternative views.
Part of this breakthrough has come from the internet. People can more easily share views which are outside of the mainstream narrative. We now have a wider range of news sources and information. Internet access is now available at little cost to most communities and even some remote villages.
…Can you see how the internet has fueled change across the world?
IT’S POSSIBLE TO BYPASS CENSORSHIP.
The currently high levels of censorship and control can partially be overcome. But we must actively choose more independent news sources and citizen journalists. Less biased search engines are also becoming available. Consumers are now able to find the information & perspective they want.
On the opposing side, there is now increased media censorship and control of social media and search algorithms. This extends to demonetizing and de-platforming independent sites on search and social media platforms. Plus, there is now more manipulation of the narrative. This is often done under the guise of avoiding misinformation and potential conflict.
GLOBALISATION BREAKS DOWN BARRIERS.
Affordable access to global communication & travel has been another recent change. This can help reduce the barriers between nations and cultures. The level of connection between different global communities is increasing.
Despite all the setbacks and increasing control systems, a global awakening is still occurring. This parallels our individual personal awakening. The consciousness of the human collective is now starting to rise! It is now up to each of us to raise our own level of awareness & consciousness further.
We can break through our conditioned ‘herd’ mentality. We now know why this is so important. Achieving our personal autonomy is an important theme of this book. That is how we contribute to the collective consciousness of mankind.