submitted by jwithrow.
The following is a particularly truthful yet entertaining excerpt from Bill Bonner’s new book titled “Hormegeddon: How Too Much of a Good Thing Leads to Disaster”. For more information on the book, go here: http://pro.bonnerandpartners.com/BBLHORMV2P/WBBLQ800?h=true.
Today, truly independent thinking isn’t illegal, but it is rare. Psychologists have done a number of studies proving that most people will ignore obvious facts and conclusions in order to remain steadfast with the group. That is, they prefer solidarity to truth. They prefer public information to private information, even though the former lacks meaning, cannot be verified and often is contradicted by personal observation and experiences. That is why people stand in line in airports watching an old lady get patted down by TSA agents, even though everyone knows perfectly well the old gal poses no threat.
It is also why most people can see little difference between a sporting event and a war. In both instances an instinct—developed over thousands of years—causes them to support the home team without quibble or equivocation. Their brains are not adapted to the kind of abstract thinking required to separate one competition from the other. For 99% of our time on earth there was no need.
These instincts make people easy to deceive, especially when they are out of range of the herald’s voice. They are encouraged to believe that the collective projects are beneficial, whatever they are. Often, in a spirit of solidarity, they go along with the gag—for decades—even as the evidence from their daily lives contradicts its premises and undermines its promises. How else do you explain WWI, in which all major combatants continued making extravagant investments in a war, year after year, with no positive return? By the time the war ended there were 37 million casualties and the leading participants were bankrupt. What was the point? What was at stake that would justify such an investment of resources? Apparently, nothing. Nor did the Russians or Chinese readily give up their experiments with communism even when their schemes disrupted the private plans of nearly a billion people over three generations. And already, America’s War on Terror has loomed over us for more than 10 years, even though there have been far more sightings of Elvis and Jimmy Hoffa than actual terrorists.
Not everyone goes along, however. First, a few “out of the box” thinkers question the program. Then, the masses begin to grumble and complain. Unfortunately, that’s when the planners make even more plans. Typically, they urge people to make sacrifices. They promise that it will all turn out right in the end. “You can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs,” said Lenin. People go along with breaking a few eggs for a while, particularly if the eggs belong to someone else. But ultimately, the problem is not the eggs, it’s the omelet. It has the right shape, it appears sensible and rational. It should taste good. But it’s disgusting. When you cut into it, it’s burnt and runny. There are things inside you didn’t order. There’s probably a hair. And that’s when you realize that you never wanted an omelet. You just wanted some eggs.
