The “majority” in America (however you decide to define it – white, Christian, Western European culture) has been, and is constantly being, tested in a very unique way.

In the past, want-to-be dictatorial political parties tend to inflame the majority in common cause against some scapegoat minority. For example, in pre-WWII Germany, the negative aim was Anti-Semitism, an induced hatred for the Jewish people.

Over the past few years, the progressive left, inarguably the contemporary embodiment of command-and-control ideology, has worked to inflame various minorities (racial, ethnic, economic) against a majority. It has worked so well that members of the majority have made common cause with minorities, allying with them against themselves. This process is directly evident in the actions of our various state level governments during the Covid-19 pandemic to quarantine the healthy rather than focusing on the sick.

This process seems to be diametrically opposed to a successful ideological and philosophical takeover – unless the majority is judged to be too weak to mount an effective defense to the suggestions of deficiency that are aimed at the majority and broadcast constantly via almost every outlet of entertainment, communication, and information.

But it is all about the power of suggestion.

The power of suggestion, a psychological process in which people are manipulated by a scene, an image, a word, or a situation, is extraordinarily strong and amazingly effective. The mind is the most interesting, and most powerful, of all human organs – but it is also the most manipulatable.

• Humans can be convinced they are smarter than they really are. In an experiment at a large, well known university, a pill was given to a group of test subjects. They were told the ingredients contained in the pill would increase their level of intelligence – it was a placebo. The pill contained nothing that would increase any cognitive ability whatsoever, and yet, the state of alertness and attention of the test subjects increased, and due to the power of suggestion, the pill would work caused them to perform measurably better on the tasks they were given.
• They can be convinced they are physically ill or are experiencing conditions that are not real – suspension of disbelief is a common technique in film and political campaigns.
• They can be convinced to work harder – the “Hawthorne Effect” is a well-known effect related to the power of suggestion. Based on the idea that when people are being observed, they will act differently. If they think their boss is watching, employees often work harder and more effectively.
• People can be convinced to change personal habits and addictions – quitting smoking, drinking or some other undesirable behaviors are common examples.
• Suggestion alters memory in such a way that people can forget (or even deny) what they really experienced. If you witness a crime and are asked to describe the perpetrator, if someone else states the suspect had a scar across his face, people are more prone to describe the suspect as having a facial scar than not. That is why witnesses are always questioned separately, to avoid such influences.

Any majority that is spiritually empty, lacking in confidence, ignorant of their own history and simply lacking the intellect to critically evaluate and validate their own core beliefs, leaves itself vulnerable to attack. They simply lack the tools to fight back, much less to go on the offensive.

Today’s attack is not violent, it is a far more pervasive, passive-aggressive, malevolent, Madison Avenue conceived, hypnotic process, rivalling the greatest performances of the masters of prestidigitation. It is a performance of national suggestion and suspension of disbelief that Houdini, Harry Blackstone, David Copperfield, Penn and Teller, Chriss Angel and David Blaine would envy.

We all make decisions every minute of every day. Getting out of bed is a decision – but especially during the onslaught of disinformation and #FakeNews we are witness to each day (think of the massive correction just issued by the Washington Post), it is critically important to understand the role that suggestion plays and sort things out. If you do not possess the internal strength, coupled with the tools of critical thought – and you are not receptive to hearing opposing opinions and data, most of what you believe might just be a product of your own imagination.

As the great philosopher Steve Miller (of Steve Miller Band fame) would say, “Abra-abra-cadabra, I want to reach out and grab ya”.