It is something I have written often, "emotions are great motivators, but seldom good guides" and I stand by that wholeheartedly. I'm quite certain I'm not the first person to make that observation and haven't gone in search of any famous quotes to support it. I'm not concerned with being "right" according to what others may have to say about that, I'm just speaking from personal experience. You get all charged up about something, either happy or angry and blaze your trail. Seldom does the trail end like you had hoped or expected it to. It does go hand in hand with another proverb I have heard, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It is also paved with bad ones is my guess.
We hear a lot about influencers these days. Just what is their purpose? They wish to stir our emotions, to make us act with an emotional response rather than a considered choice. The objective being to elicit a response from you, one that favors them in some fashion. That is the stock in trade of any politician. That is their most effective tool. It's for the children is a favorite. Whether we are fighting to secure the future for our children, to preserve their legacy, their culture, their very identity or meet some immediate need, for the children stirs that emotional response. The only thing a politician needs to know is what creates that emotional response in you. Is it your family or your money. Yes, those are the big two. Either one is almost a guarantee that you will respond in an emotional way.
It is conviction that motivates us to act. Once we are convinced, in our own mind, action must be taken. Conviction creates desire. Once the desire has been created all that is left to do is act upon that desire. Whether we actually need the product is no longer debated, you are convinced you do. Same with everything else in your life. Then you get buyers remorse. Happens to all of us. It is always a difficult thing to remove that conviction from our minds. There are times we will hold onto that for years, despite realizing the reality of that choice. Sometimes we call that being bitter or angry. We are really angry with ourselves for having been convinced in the first place. You have to set that emotion aside, not an easy thing to do.
I am seeing a great deal of emotional responses to the issues of today. No matter your feelings about Trump, he is a master at generating an emotional response. It's my feeling a great deal of his talk is designed just for that purpose. Manipulation is what some would call it, Machiavellian is another term that could describe his persona. I just see him as a wealthy guy used to getting his own way. A bit of a bully because he can get away with that. He is convinced he can straighten out the "business" of government. And make no mistake about that, it is just business with him, success is measured in dollars and cents and in the ability to say, "told you so." That conviction created his desire to be the president. An emotional response, not a sound business judgement. Had he not done any of that his "business" would not be under attack on every front. It is the same thing with the famous, fame puts a target on your activities, good and bad.
Today we are all expected to go "all in" on any political choices we make. You either have to love Trump or hate him. There is no middle ground with any of that. We are expected to "stand our ground" at all costs. If you are a democrat your only choice is to denounce Trump and anything he says or does, regardless. Never are you to admit that trump has accomplished anything positive. The same is being expected from those supporting Trump. The democrats are all evil, every single one of them. Everything the democrats have done or proposed must be reversed, nullified or somehow prevented from happening. There is no in-between with that either.
And the reason for all of that is a simple one: we are acting upon emotions alone! Common sense has been thrown out the window. One side being the authoritarian parents, while the other are busy being a friend to their children. Just listen to the news. The biggest topic is always how much people oppose Trump or support the Democrats. Popularity polls are taken daily and the results broadcast. Hey, if everyone says he is bad, I should believe that, if everyone says he is great, I should believe that. The name calling should be your first clue. It is the oldest tactic in the book, used on the playground. It creates an emotional response and forces others to either embrace or reject that emotion. The popular kid wins. Maybe he isn't the best kid for the job, but he is the most popular.
I have made another observation about all of that. The ones with the weakest convictions are usually the ones hollering the loudest. And the irony in that is exactly what I said in my opening statement; "emotions are great motivators, but seldom good guides." Who is squealing the loudest today? What emotion is causing that reaction? My guess is, money. Yes, it is all about the money. Without the money I can't keep my "family" passive and they just might revolt against me. What if they really did become independent of government?
"Everyone wants to be treated equally, until they are"
No comments:
Post a Comment