One of the many things I learned from my father was how to best deal with problems. He had a very logical and practical approach to handling problems. You had to start with figuring out what was causing the problem. The “problem” is almost always just a symptom of what is actually going wrong. If you take the time to figure out what was happening that allowed the problem to manifest, you have a place to start looking for the solution to the problem.

Once you have identified the cause(s), then you think about what you can do to change it. Think of all the ways you could affect it and write them down. Look at each action and think about: can this actually be done; can you do this alone or do you need help; what will people’s reactions probably be – consider all possible reactions; how will you respond to these reactions; etc., etc. Think it out thoroughly. Then you take all the potential solutions, choose the best one and have the others as back-up information. This has you prepared for the unexpected (which almost always happens somewhere along the line). Thinking it out ahead of time helps you handle adverse reactions because you aren’t caught by surprise.

Essential to the success of this formula is to have accurate facts and to be willing to see the truth – even when the truth is painful or unpleasant. Even if you hate it, you need to see the truth. There is an old Russian proverb that says, “I would rather be slapped in the face with the truth than kissed on the cheek by a lie.” “The truth shall set you free” is true. It frees you to deal with reality instead of the comfortable fictitious world in your mind and dreams.

There are many sources of inaccurate information. Sometimes it is just a person’s perception distorting how they see a situation. Sometimes it is twisted or distorted information being spread by a few for ulterior motives which is then repeated by others not knowing it is wrong. Sometimes it is deliberate outright lies. Pure fiction made up to deceive others. Distortion and lies are frequently used to further a “cause” that would not become popular without the lies. In other words, these lies are used to manipulate the people, both their emotions and their reactions, so that they will support the “cause”.

Once you get the people emotionally involved, they usually will react according to what makes them feel better emotionally. By orchestrating others’ emotions, fact-based logical arguments are not needed to get the support of the majority. Whether their decisions/actions improve a situation or not is often ignored simply because it is more comfortable to feel good about oneself. Many are not even willing to look at the truth because it is too uncomfortable to do so. I don’t know anyone who likes to be wrong or feel they have been duped and manipulated. They refuse to see the truth and therefore are not free to deal with reality.

Although deceit and deception have been going on throughout human history, it rose to new, high levels in the twentieth century. This increase is primarily due to a man named Edward Bernays. Bernays was a pioneer in the fields of public relations and propaganda. The nephew of Sigmund Freud, he used psychoanalytical and crowd psychology concepts as he developed his techniques. He has been called both the “father of spin” and the “father of public relations”. Though most people don’t know of him, Life magazine named him one of the most influential Americans of the 20th century.

Bernays was a propagandist and was proud of it. He used his Uncle Sigmund’s insights into the human psyche and motivation to design his PR (public relations) campaigns. He also used psychological techniques to mask the motives of his clients. His deliberate strategy was to keep the public unconscious of the forces he was using to manipulate them and “mold” their minds. He described his technique for controlling the masses as “engineering of consent”. In his book, Propaganda, he wrote, “If we understand the mechanisms and motives of the group mind, it is now possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing it.” Bernays pioneered many of the techniques for achieving this invisibly.

The best known use of Bernays techniques was by Nazi Germany’s Reich Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. This example shows clearly Bernays’ techniques can manipulate people’s behavior. For the past century, his techniques have been used in both business and politics to manipulate the masses of people. They are dangerous and they are being used every day right here in America as well as elsewhere in the world.

He wrote in his book, Propaganda, that “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. … We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. … In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons…who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.”

Saul Alinski taught some of Bernays’ techniques – especially about the misuse of words. In Rules for Radicals, Alinski advised his followers to use words “they are familiar with” but to have a different meaning for the words. They were to deliberately misuse the words in order to deceive the people.

The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, said that by masking reality with dishonest words, “…reasoning would be impossible; for not to have one meaning is to have no meaning, and if words have no meaning our reasoning with one another, and indeed with ourselves, has been annihilated.” The writer Philip Dick said, “The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words.”

The radicals of the 60s and 70s were the misusing words to manipulate people. They still are, but they are no longer the radicals. They are now the mainstream in politics, education and media. Their deliberate twisting of the meaning of words they use and outright lies have successfully manipulated masses of Americans and changed the face of American society.

I remember very well the 1960 incident with Russian Premier Khrushchev banging his shoe on the podium in the United Nations and yelling “We will bury you!” The cold war was in full force at that time and we all assumed he was threatening us militarily. With the advantage of hindsight, I realize we were wrong. The communist long term plan was to change the American society so that they could peacefully assume power here. They would take advantage of our tolerance and the free speech in American. Our ideas of fairness and equality would be manipulated and used to weaken the fabric of our society.

The ACP (American Communist Party) holds conventions. I remember hearing a speech by a politician who had attended one of their conventions. There were specific goals that the Party was working towards here in America: finish eliminating God from the public square – an almighty state cannot coexist with an almighty God; complete the breakdown of the family – the foundational unit of a society; increase dependence upon the government – a person dependent upon the government is not free to do what he wants but must do as the government says; accomplish public approval of alternate lifestyles and casual sexual activity – this was to further damage the fabric and structure of the society and family. Even as recently as the 90s when this convention was held, this list of goals sounded impossible. Obviously it wasn’t.

We said that communism could never happen in America. We were naïve. We have been manipulated. Our ideals and Founding Principles have been twisted, distorted and used against us. The evil that is Communism and Socialism has infected our society and the America I grew up in is deathly ill. Only if we wake up, realize what has been happening, and change it, will America stand a chance to remain the land of the free.

Marie’s blog is MarieLozito4nh.com and you can contact her @ [email protected].