Exposing the Mechanisms Used to Manipulate Your Thoughts, Actions and Beliefs.

" It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see ."   Henry David Thoreau Have you ever had a discussion with someone in which it just seemed like that person just couldn't grasp the point you were trying to make?  It could have been on a deep subject, or something quite simple, but at the end of the conversation it seemed as if nothing penetrated the mind of the person you were speaking to?  It was not that you were speaking a different language to him/her but perhaps your perceptions of reality were so different that no points of commonality could be found. Case in point, a hypothetical conversation between a person on the political/cultural right and one on the left.  In today's America it is quite apparent that meaningful conversation has become very difficult.  Of course I am attempting to access the minds of people here, just as I would in developing a character for one of my novels (check link to works below, you might enjoy con...

" Our secret weapon is nationalism. To have nationhood, which is a sign of maturity, is greater than any weapon in the world. "        Ho Chi Minh While I am not in the habit of quoting those who led wars against US soldiers, I find it interesting that the left condemns Donald Trump for saying he is a nationalist, while they never condemn someone like Ho for praising nationalism.  Maybe Trump intentionally used the term to trigger the left to lash out at nationalism, and expose their underlying contempt for American patriotism and belief in sovereignty. Nationalism is not racism, in fact far from it.  The nationalism that grew out of Europe, particularly in the 19th Century, was an attempt by governments to unify their peoples DESPITE regional, religious and ethnic differences within the national boundaries they controlled.  The nation-state in the more modern sense attempts to draw people's allegiance to symbols, ideals, and c...