What do you guys think of social engineering? Marketing, social manipulation of any kind? Is it all some degree of evil, or are there some kinds of manipulation that at least has good intentions?
This leads me to a second question: Should people be allowed to form their own opinions (such as in politics) from scratch or should they be guided/manipulated? How would an individual go about forming their own opinion?
I feel as though everyone is born a blank slate, that they need a small degree of information given to them before they can use that information and explore more information to form their stances.
People should be allowed to form their own opinions, and the responsibility of educational institutions is to present many angles of a topics, so that the individuals can decide.
Sadly, often times only one side is pushed in schools / media nowadays (evolution vs. creationism, global warming vs. natural climate progression, 69 sexual identifications vs. 2 genders etc…), and children are exposed to these at a very impressionable age. Im not sure if this is called “confirmation bias”, but its closed, and it states that you are more likely to believe (and hold on to that belief system) the first series of information presented to you. It takes some time, effort on their part, courage, and an open mind to really dislodge yourself from the cognitive dissonance that you live in.
Often time, it leads to mild depression and self-doubt. Like I said, it takes some courage.
I went along with the crowd back in 2016 and was on the MAGA train so hard that I pretty much destroyed all family and friend relationships anytime someone said anything remotely critical of Trump. Then I realized that I got owned. Trump was never going to fulfill all of those promises. I would never live in a Guatemalan free America again. I would never get the wall that Mexico was supposed to pay for.
I learned through experience. I formed my own opinion after getting screwed by a politician I actually believed in and wanted to succeed. Now, I don’t give af what anyone says. I am all in for Yang. I got there by experiencing the butthurt of Trump failing. It’s liberating.
I don’t think any kind of social engineering is acceptable IMO! I am a strong believer in promoting the “organic” way in every facet of our living species! This also applies to your second question as well.
When contemplating your OP on a deeper level of thought, I couldn’t help but think of something previously I was saying to a friend here. We as humans are all born innocent. Its our parents who shape such innocence into good or bad. If a baby is mistreated at an early age or a child is neglected, then the baby will be predisposed to mistrust, anger, and negativity that later becomes an adult with those traits. If a child is nurtured and loved and is taught values that are positive, then that child too grows up reflecting those values and better prepared to have the cognitive ability to scrutinize the dangers and dark influences of the world such as social engineering, Marketing, advertising, political indoctrination. It really comes down to how much parenting a parent is willing to do to help prepare their off-spring in their discernment of the dark forces of the world.
Nations are like parents, the minute they have submitted to the idea of social engineering then that is also the moment they decided to throw away their values as well, and thus plunge their societies into negative chaos. We are seeing this trend all over the world and for the most part is having devastating consequences for humanity as a whole. Social Engineering should be refuted at all costs, and the ones responsible should be held accountable, tried and sentence to death without prejudice! In other words they should be treated like war criminals for all the deaths so far that is has caused. Social engineering destroys cultures that make humans unique and interesting as well as destroying the concept of individualism and replaced with “Collectivism” (hive mentality) that serves to enslave humanity world wide!
Taxes, regulations are prime tools for social engineering. Taxing the Big Gulp. sugar rings, a can/bottle tax, regulations demanding green energy, subsidies for electric autos, all examples of social engineering.
The media is the great social engineer today. An example is the negative reporting on Trump, the positive reporting of Pelosi and the shutdown.
Bottom line, government and the media are the great social engineers.
That’s okay. I would put my MAGA hat back on in a second if I was proven wrong. Thing is, it’s going to take a lot to change my mind at this point. Trump is not playing 4D chess.
I understand that view! But let me remind of something that often gets lost in the bigger picture of things. Trump is only one man, who is working against a sea of corruption from many different angles who is limited by the powers of the executive branch. If he is not supported, and his base becomes demoralized, then the enemy has won. and that is exactly what is happening. This in my view anyway, really comes down to “We The People”. If “We the People” fall on the alter of apathy, then there is really nothing that can be done to stop politicians from doing anything they want. A grass roots effort has to come to the forefront to make its presence known and felt, and right now I don’t see any effort whatsoever in support for American sovereignty and pushing back on issues such as immigration, as well as holding people accountable who have systematically subverted the laws of the country. (See Hillary, DOJ, FBI etc.,etc.). Until that happens, contempt may simmer just below the surface long enough over time to plunge the country into chaos. Its either now or never as 2020 approaches, we have an agent of change in the White House now, and it will interesting how much support he gets when the rubber finally hits the road.
The recent battle over border security is the perfect example. It really wasn’t about border security but about Trump and the right not getting what they deemed important. Why do we need a wall? Why do we need border security?
The US has ordered 700K people deported and they gave the US the middle finger and disappeared into the US. Another million are ladies doe deportation and they will also disappear into the US. Thousand are caught and released as there is a lack of funding to house and judges to deport them immediately.
The left could care less and give America the middle finger.
All due to apathy as congress ignores our laws and funding our laws. What’s to stop a future congress from refusing to fund SS or medicare of the ACA or medicaid???
