On Fads and Pop Culture Gurus

Low carb diets, pet rocks, reverse incline shoes, bell bottom pants….There have been and will be many fads, and many false gurus; not to mention narratives that have turned out to be lies, distortions, or sheer propaganda, designed to manipulate the people into supporting something truly nefarious, or even diabolical. Take the universally chanted media chorus that told us, in solemn, grave terms, that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, and therefore, war was unavoidable. It was later revealed that Saddam had no WMDs, and that Washington elites and the Pentagon knowingly lied, in order to gain support for a war for oil – a war that killed a million people. And the blood is on the hands of the gullible masses, and not just the hands of the elite.

Discernment is essential. Question all norms, fads, sources, “news”, and supossed authorities. There are sometimes serious dangers from being credulous, unquestioning, conformist, unduly obedient or naive. Sometimes the dangers are minor, sometimes great; and sometimes, truly grave.

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Interesting discussion here (linked below), on the power of ritual, the positive functions of mythology, and the value of mentors. One negative point: the cold immersion fad is rooted in ignorance. If you preheat your body with saunas, sweat lodges or vigorous exercise, a short cold dunk is very health-promoting, and increases chi, energy and vitality. If you do not preheat your body first, then cold immersion will deplete your chi, energy and vitality.

Beware of pop fads. Be cautious about pop culture celebrity gurus. Follow the lamas, Zen masters, Taoist masters, native elders, yogis and sages. And, I would add, listen thoughtfully to the permaculture teachers, the Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurvedic and integrative/functional medicine doctors, and the rare scholars, journalists, thinkers, philosophers and researchers with a proven track record of honesty, integrity, courage, and an ability to see through propaganda, fads, false messiahs and illusions. They, and a few others, actually know what they are talking about.

There are two extremes we can fall to – and most people fall to both, depending on the subject and the moment. One mistake is gullibility, naivete, credulity, or unthinking conformity, group-think and unquestioning obedience to authority. That is a common mistake, and it can lead to anything from minor foolishness, to mass psychosis, paranoia, genocide and fascism.

The other mistake is to confuse skepticism with closed-mindedness. Closed-mindedness is simply dogmatism, and dogmatism is for idiots. True skepticism is the refusal to believe something to be a fact until it can be shown to have at least some evidence for it. Closed-mindedness is much more common than a healthy skepticism, however; and that is when we refuse to believe something, even though the evidence supporting it is strong and clear.

Falling to either extreme turns otherwise intelligent people into idiots. We must find the middle way. Keep an open mind. But do question everything – and everyone.

This case of the cold immersion fad, and its roots ignorance, is just one of many examples of why it is very important to question what you read or hear. In this case, not questioning will only deplete your core energy. In other cases, the consequences are far more stark. Also beware of “experts”. Expert in whose opinion? Question everything. Think for yourself.

As I said, sometimes the consequences of naïveté, credulity, and not asking enough questions, are minor. Sometimes they are severe. And sometimes they are horrific. Remember, Hitler was elected. Not only that, but the big chemical and pharmaceutical companies were all aboard, and they provided the deadly gas for the gas chambers; IBM supplied the data management for the gas chambers; and the Western business elite widely supported and backed the fascists in both Italy and Germany. The Western political elite were all agush over the fascists throughout the 1920s and well into the ’30s. Hitler was even named Time magazine’s man of the year – not once, but twice. To think that it couldn’t happen again, or that it couldn’t happen here, is both foolish, and dangerous in the extreme.

JTR,

August 13, 2021

https://allthatsinteresting.com/hitler-election