Don Cobb
Killing the elephants in the living room - - the downside of capitalism
By Don Cobb
There seem to be pros and cons to just about everything in this life, even Capitalism. Self-absorbed is a term which accurately describes many of us, and after decades of media propaganda and effective marketing which is designed to make us focus on ourselves, we are more self-absorbed than ever, collectively speaking. Effective marketing works best when it (1) isolates us one from another, (2) convinces us we are weak or exploits our weaknesses by instilling fear in us, then (3) offers us a product or service which will overcome that about which we have been made afraid. When accomplishing those goals, they can even sell us a rock for $5 and we bought them by the millions when they were called "Pet Rocks." There is nothing about propaganda marketing (not to be confused with marketing a real and valuable product or service) that is edifying, encouraging or principled. It's about business, for goodness sake. By its very nature it is driven by greed and is considered successful only when it has effectively and successfully exploited our weaknesses, created fear and convinced us to invest in a product or service in order to alleviate our perceived fear. It's not a bad thing. It's just the truth about marketing. It is intended to manipulate we, the people. That is marketing's job.
STEP ONE TO RESTORING OUR NATION'S GREATNESS: In a word, America must begin our journey back to freedom with Faith. We all have faith. Even Atheists have faith that their belief is accurate. For those who have a relationship with God, faith will be the cornerstone of our nation's recovery, just as it was for our Founders. Faith, therefore, is step one.
STEP TWO: Start practicing Godly Spiritual principles in your own life. Do it now. For those of us who practice rigorous honesty, lies stand out like giant neon signs when we hear them. When we tell the truth as a way of life, and then when someone lies to us, we get it...big time. Familiarize yourself with Godly principles in order to begin implementing them personally. Humility, acceptance, love, honesty, patience, courage — there is a long list of Godly principles which, when practiced on a regular basis, will absolutely change your entire perspective about yourself, about others and about your life.
How does becoming a person of integrity literally change a person's life? Simple: When we choose to be humble, honest, truthful, loving, patient, compassionate, tolerant, etc. the world around us simply enjoys our company more. The world responds well to principled individual because they can trust us and are strangely mesmerized by the peace in our countenance which comes with the practice of Spiritual principles. Because the world responds better to us, we enjoy our life experience more. Encouraged by this change in our life experience, most of us practice principles more, people continue to respond well to us, and a new cycle Is created which blesses us and those around us. Try it. It works, every time. Our self-esteem goes through the roof, our personal confidence increases and the world likes us more and more every day, which edifies and blesses everyone of us.
STEP THREE: Regardless of what religion you are or aren't, begin to implement prayer into your daily routine. I suggest that we all start by thanking God each morning as you open your eyes and begin another day. Thank Him for giving you another day above ground. Ask Him to protect you and guide you through your day and then pay attention during the course of your day. You'll see that He is there, doing exactly what you asked Him to do, provided you are practicing principles to the best of your ability each day. Principled living is God's way. When we show Him that we want to be like Him, to follow Him and to humble ourselves to Him, it pleases Him and He blesses us. It's not magic, it's just Godly and Spiritual living.
It is important that as you launch into a life of integrity by practicing Godly principles to the best of your ability that you begin to find others who live lives of integrity to spend time with. Men and women of integrity support and encourage one another along the way and it's far better than wallowing in the all-too-Human selfish, oftentimes unethical and casually profane way of life many people have adopted over the past 40 years. It's important to distance ourselves from those who aren't interested in Truth, Spiritual growth or lives of integrity while we're in the transforming process of becoming men and women of integrity. You can reconnect with them down the road if you really want to, but give yourself a season in which you're surrounded by like-minded others who value principled living, ethical and moral standards of living who make the truth an important element of their lives. Never forget that, socially speaking, Humans tend to gravitate to the lowest common denominator. Pay attention to who that might be and avoid them like the plague.
As we develop into men and women of integrity, some more amazing things happen to us. We begin to see the truth. The truth becomes clear, undeniable and our vision and ability to see the truth becomes razor sharp. It, too, changes everything about the way we perceive life, other people and our own purpose in this life begins to become clear, as well. Courage, another Spiritual principle, begins to manifest itself in the core of our being as we begin to experience disgust toward lies and deceit. Confronting those who engage in game-playing and lying in order to play out their selfish agendas isn't even a choice any longer: We just do it naturally. As we practice Godly principles, God's Spirit fills us with courage, joy, understanding and wisdom that none of us have previously experienced.
If this sounds foreign to you, I understand completely, but all the more reason to get started on this path of personal integrity and social righteousness. Marketing and propaganda have intentionally tried to make integrity a corny thing of the past. That is the only way that unethical and immoral people can play out their selfish agendas, by convincing us that everyone is like them. The truth is that most people are not selfish, manipulative, hateful or arrogant, but mainstream media propaganda on Primetime television has worked very hard to paint a picture of Americans that lowers the bar ethically and morally, and tries to convince us all that there is no point to try be anything other than selfish and deceitful. Primetime TV shows and advertising alike exalt liars, cheats and thieves and attempt to do it in a way that convinces the viewer that "that's just the way people are." Well, "the way people are" — when they are selfish lying manipulators — renders us all blind, incapable of seeing the truth or telling the truth from a lie, eventually causing us not to care anymore about the truth at all. It instills in us a sense of hopelessness and "what's the use?" about life and about integrity.
HOW TO KILL THE ELEPHANTS IN THE LIVING ROOM: The answer, my friends, is not blowin' in the wind. Prayerfully seeking God, practicing principles and making the effort to do so in all of our affairs gives us eyes to see the truth and exposes elephants in our living rooms. Adopting a principled lifestyle — as opposed to a selfish, sexual or addictive lifestyle — reveals propaganda to us when we see it, raises our self-esteem and makes us proud to be who we are: men and women of integrity. America's social health depends on good people stepping out in faith to serve our communities. On the other hand, learning to become good liars and embracing a lifestyle of selfishness and self-servitude and deceit blinds us to the truth and destroys our self-esteem and is facilitating the destruction of our nation. The choice is yours. Shall we get busy preparing to kill the elephants which are destroying our nation? Or shall we keep lying to ourselves and each other while corrupt politicians finish destroying America?
After the mainstream media showed us their true colors this past presidential election, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and MSNBC became open and honest about the fact that they are not journalists, but are openly engaged in propaganda. Their collective effort is what put Barack Hussein Obama — a man whose life is still under lock and key and about whom we really know very little regarding his life history — into the White House. The Media (elephant #2) has never had to answer for their propagandizing securing the 2008 election and has never been called on the carpet for the obviousness of their promotion of one man over another in that election. That is because those media giants all appear to be under the influence of our government, taking orders from our government, saying whatever they are told to say and not saying whatever they are told not to say, in obedience to the corrupt politicians and their hidden NWO handlers. So if you would like to be a part of this peaceful revolution which will take our nation back and put America back in the hands of we, the people again: Stop watching those television stations and stop reading mainstream newspapers. The news they broadcast is not news anymore. It is propaganda, designed to influence us into believing that lies are true and that what is important is not important. It is designed to manipulate our thinking.
Oh, and get off the couch and get to a City Council meeting. Get involved with the process of electing principled leaders. There is so much to do to save this nation from those who seek to destroy it and the good news and the bad news — depending on your point of view — is this: it starts with you. We can do this.
© Don Cobb
February 21, 2010
There seem to be pros and cons to just about everything in this life, even Capitalism. Self-absorbed is a term which accurately describes many of us, and after decades of media propaganda and effective marketing which is designed to make us focus on ourselves, we are more self-absorbed than ever, collectively speaking. Effective marketing works best when it (1) isolates us one from another, (2) convinces us we are weak or exploits our weaknesses by instilling fear in us, then (3) offers us a product or service which will overcome that about which we have been made afraid. When accomplishing those goals, they can even sell us a rock for $5 and we bought them by the millions when they were called "Pet Rocks." There is nothing about propaganda marketing (not to be confused with marketing a real and valuable product or service) that is edifying, encouraging or principled. It's about business, for goodness sake. By its very nature it is driven by greed and is considered successful only when it has effectively and successfully exploited our weaknesses, created fear and convinced us to invest in a product or service in order to alleviate our perceived fear. It's not a bad thing. It's just the truth about marketing. It is intended to manipulate we, the people. That is marketing's job.
STEP ONE TO RESTORING OUR NATION'S GREATNESS: In a word, America must begin our journey back to freedom with Faith. We all have faith. Even Atheists have faith that their belief is accurate. For those who have a relationship with God, faith will be the cornerstone of our nation's recovery, just as it was for our Founders. Faith, therefore, is step one.
STEP TWO: Start practicing Godly Spiritual principles in your own life. Do it now. For those of us who practice rigorous honesty, lies stand out like giant neon signs when we hear them. When we tell the truth as a way of life, and then when someone lies to us, we get it...big time. Familiarize yourself with Godly principles in order to begin implementing them personally. Humility, acceptance, love, honesty, patience, courage — there is a long list of Godly principles which, when practiced on a regular basis, will absolutely change your entire perspective about yourself, about others and about your life.
How does becoming a person of integrity literally change a person's life? Simple: When we choose to be humble, honest, truthful, loving, patient, compassionate, tolerant, etc. the world around us simply enjoys our company more. The world responds well to principled individual because they can trust us and are strangely mesmerized by the peace in our countenance which comes with the practice of Spiritual principles. Because the world responds better to us, we enjoy our life experience more. Encouraged by this change in our life experience, most of us practice principles more, people continue to respond well to us, and a new cycle Is created which blesses us and those around us. Try it. It works, every time. Our self-esteem goes through the roof, our personal confidence increases and the world likes us more and more every day, which edifies and blesses everyone of us.
STEP THREE: Regardless of what religion you are or aren't, begin to implement prayer into your daily routine. I suggest that we all start by thanking God each morning as you open your eyes and begin another day. Thank Him for giving you another day above ground. Ask Him to protect you and guide you through your day and then pay attention during the course of your day. You'll see that He is there, doing exactly what you asked Him to do, provided you are practicing principles to the best of your ability each day. Principled living is God's way. When we show Him that we want to be like Him, to follow Him and to humble ourselves to Him, it pleases Him and He blesses us. It's not magic, it's just Godly and Spiritual living.
It is important that as you launch into a life of integrity by practicing Godly principles to the best of your ability that you begin to find others who live lives of integrity to spend time with. Men and women of integrity support and encourage one another along the way and it's far better than wallowing in the all-too-Human selfish, oftentimes unethical and casually profane way of life many people have adopted over the past 40 years. It's important to distance ourselves from those who aren't interested in Truth, Spiritual growth or lives of integrity while we're in the transforming process of becoming men and women of integrity. You can reconnect with them down the road if you really want to, but give yourself a season in which you're surrounded by like-minded others who value principled living, ethical and moral standards of living who make the truth an important element of their lives. Never forget that, socially speaking, Humans tend to gravitate to the lowest common denominator. Pay attention to who that might be and avoid them like the plague.
As we develop into men and women of integrity, some more amazing things happen to us. We begin to see the truth. The truth becomes clear, undeniable and our vision and ability to see the truth becomes razor sharp. It, too, changes everything about the way we perceive life, other people and our own purpose in this life begins to become clear, as well. Courage, another Spiritual principle, begins to manifest itself in the core of our being as we begin to experience disgust toward lies and deceit. Confronting those who engage in game-playing and lying in order to play out their selfish agendas isn't even a choice any longer: We just do it naturally. As we practice Godly principles, God's Spirit fills us with courage, joy, understanding and wisdom that none of us have previously experienced.
If this sounds foreign to you, I understand completely, but all the more reason to get started on this path of personal integrity and social righteousness. Marketing and propaganda have intentionally tried to make integrity a corny thing of the past. That is the only way that unethical and immoral people can play out their selfish agendas, by convincing us that everyone is like them. The truth is that most people are not selfish, manipulative, hateful or arrogant, but mainstream media propaganda on Primetime television has worked very hard to paint a picture of Americans that lowers the bar ethically and morally, and tries to convince us all that there is no point to try be anything other than selfish and deceitful. Primetime TV shows and advertising alike exalt liars, cheats and thieves and attempt to do it in a way that convinces the viewer that "that's just the way people are." Well, "the way people are" — when they are selfish lying manipulators — renders us all blind, incapable of seeing the truth or telling the truth from a lie, eventually causing us not to care anymore about the truth at all. It instills in us a sense of hopelessness and "what's the use?" about life and about integrity.
HOW TO KILL THE ELEPHANTS IN THE LIVING ROOM: The answer, my friends, is not blowin' in the wind. Prayerfully seeking God, practicing principles and making the effort to do so in all of our affairs gives us eyes to see the truth and exposes elephants in our living rooms. Adopting a principled lifestyle — as opposed to a selfish, sexual or addictive lifestyle — reveals propaganda to us when we see it, raises our self-esteem and makes us proud to be who we are: men and women of integrity. America's social health depends on good people stepping out in faith to serve our communities. On the other hand, learning to become good liars and embracing a lifestyle of selfishness and self-servitude and deceit blinds us to the truth and destroys our self-esteem and is facilitating the destruction of our nation. The choice is yours. Shall we get busy preparing to kill the elephants which are destroying our nation? Or shall we keep lying to ourselves and each other while corrupt politicians finish destroying America?
After the mainstream media showed us their true colors this past presidential election, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and MSNBC became open and honest about the fact that they are not journalists, but are openly engaged in propaganda. Their collective effort is what put Barack Hussein Obama — a man whose life is still under lock and key and about whom we really know very little regarding his life history — into the White House. The Media (elephant #2) has never had to answer for their propagandizing securing the 2008 election and has never been called on the carpet for the obviousness of their promotion of one man over another in that election. That is because those media giants all appear to be under the influence of our government, taking orders from our government, saying whatever they are told to say and not saying whatever they are told not to say, in obedience to the corrupt politicians and their hidden NWO handlers. So if you would like to be a part of this peaceful revolution which will take our nation back and put America back in the hands of we, the people again: Stop watching those television stations and stop reading mainstream newspapers. The news they broadcast is not news anymore. It is propaganda, designed to influence us into believing that lies are true and that what is important is not important. It is designed to manipulate our thinking.
Oh, and get off the couch and get to a City Council meeting. Get involved with the process of electing principled leaders. There is so much to do to save this nation from those who seek to destroy it and the good news and the bad news — depending on your point of view — is this: it starts with you. We can do this.
© Don Cobb
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