It's not good enough to be aware of the false left/right paradigm

On the surface, it seems like we can rejoice over the fact that we do not subscribe to silly polarized teams that so obviously cloud our thoughts. But a scratch beneath the surface, reveals that there is a core problem that we are not addressing in ourselves. Most dailypaulers can easily identify when others have fallen victim to the left/right paradigm, however, there is more to it than just mere successfully identification in others. Let's explore the idea for a moment to see how it could be affecting our daily routines.

At it's core, the false left/right paradigm pins left liberal Democrats versus right conservative Republicans. This is achieved through constant repetition from pundits, teachers, parents, media, and other social upbringings. By the time the child has grown up, he is very clear on the fact that the entire body politic is a 30-second sound byte of which can be framed up in a left or right world. Unfortunately, by subscribing to one team or the other, the child grows up to become very apt at seeing the atrocities committed by the opposing team, while being hopelessly blind to seeing the atrocities committed by their own team.

The team-player mentality clouds our judgment. This is just the fact of the matter.

But even if we do not subscribe to the left or right paradigm, we are still very susceptible to the clouded thinking of the team-think mentality.

Let me see if I can explain it this way.

Everybody on the Dailypaul, is fully aware of the obama loyalists who mindlessly accept this administration's dysfunctional policies because, to them, he is "one of us." Right?

Likewise, we are fully aware of the bush loyalists who have defended and apolgized for the bush/cheney tyranny for 8 years straight.

It is oh-so-similar to watching football fan loyalists. You can always count on the call on the field being "wrong," if it is against their team. Even after watching the replay in slow motion from 3 different angles, football fans are still absolutely livid over the bad call that everyone can clearly see was a good call.

Alan Watt, in Jones' latest documentary, goes on to explain that this is actually a very natural behavioral problem with human beings. We identify ourselves in tribal teams, and cheer our tribal leaders on in hopes of winning. We lose our senses, in that we are actually being disenfranchised in our decision making process, because our thinking is being done for us.

I'm paraphrasing now, but Watts calls it a "alpha hypnotic state" which can "change an entire block of nations, by taking them on certain paths." Most people want to belong to the same group as everyone else. So, he explains, "we will bounce ideas off of each other and reaffirm what we already know, since we both heard the same information from the same authoritive sources -- having absolutely nothing to do on whether or not the information is utter nonsense."

I recently had a knee-jerk reaction to alex jones fans who attacked me because of a critical analysis I posted of his latest film. They said I was a cowardly troll who lied about my credentials as an activist, and finally, must be dating a worthless blow up doll for a girlfriend. (ouch.)

but, taking a step back, I can see just how nefarious this team-think problem is.

Instead of rejecting the comments outright, I took this as lesson and demonstration of the enormity of the problem, explained by Watts above.

We tend to be very good at identifying the attrocities committed by the left/right. But "they" are not the only ones stymied, here. We have also unwittingly subscribed to the team-think mentality. We are Republicans, conservatives, liberals, we are libertarians, we are anarchist, paleoanarchists, truthers, enlightened ones, people who "are awake," or we are just plain dailypaulers. What does this mean? This means, as it turns out, that we are also just as unlikely to see the atrocities committed by our own team as anybody else.

So it is, even if we do not subscribe to the left or the right paradigm, we still behave like we are on tribal teams. And, in the end, we feel good that we are not victims to the paradigm. but the truth is, we need not be so proud, since we haven't really escaped in the first place.

It is not good enough to be aware of the false left/right paradigm. In doing so, we have only created a new caveat -- a new team to which we faithfully subscribe to. Our fearless tribal leaders, Kokesh, Griffin, Jones, Schiff, Rand, Ron Paul, and others, tend to get put on pedestals (and perhaps, rightfully so.) But, with that being understood, it is of utmost importance to sharpen our observational skills and have a willingness to accept the same criticism that we would hope a bush or obama supporter to hear.

Thanks for reminding me, that I am certainly no exception to this, either. Welcome to the tribe.