Paranoia in perspective
I believe it was Hunter S. Thompson who said, "Paranoia is just having all the facts." However, like anything else there is healthy and unhealthy strains of paranoia.
For a community like ours an unhealthy paranoia is the obsession regarding the motives or public figures or figures in our movement.
A constant search for plants, patsies, and "true" patriots is a wild goose chase that will invariably lead to disappointment.
In a political and thinking community like ours, it is a distraction.
If someone asserts something that can be supported or verified (though absolute certainty can never be established) then they may be worthy of our time and attention. It does not matter whether they are the most respected scientist in the world or personally believe in lizard aliens. We must judge their content not their person. To focus on the personality is to promote the fallacies of "appeal to authority" or guilt by association....or the ultimate doomed course: cult of personality.
Can you imagine what this website would have looked like in the 1770's?
"Is Ben Franklin really an agent of the King?"
"Is Patrick Henry hurting our movement?"
"Washington is a Mason - nuff said!"
Let's focus on the facts before us and the mission at hand.
That said, Glenn Beck is a tool and a danger to liberty in this country :) ]
Bump
Freedom
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, then you win!"
GANDHI
We're in an information war.
The enemy propagandizes us, using psychological operations against us, so as to create the results that they want from the population. And of course, the major media outlets of all types are used hand-in-hand with this effort, and have been for decades.
So, basically nearly everything we hear "officially" is a lie, unless it somehow advances their position to force themselves to tell the truth. And even when there is some truth in what they say, they use that as a means to get us to swallow more lies along with it, so that no "opportunity gets wasted" as Rahm Emmanuel so accurately phrased it.
Everything else is "unofficial", and comes from all kinds of sources, which may be accurate, inaccurate, made-up, total lies, or whatever.
Only people who are diligent in their research can even get any reasonable discernment of what is actually going on.
My "default position" is that anything that comes from gov't is a lie, unless they are telling me that they are going to do violence against me, because they are generally reliable with that one.
The rest of what I believe comes from experience and discernment, honed over the years, and knowledge about what the goals are behind the scenes, so it helps to determine which pieces fit the puzzle, and which are disinformation.
It might be tough to recognize each little puzzle piece as anything, but if you know what the final picture is eventually going to look like, it sure helps.
I think this 12 Step adage applies...
"How do you know when a career politician is lying? When his lips are moving..."
one of the things I like so much about this site
is that it is a sort of "think tank". I listened for a long time to folks praising Ventura and calling for him to run a third party candidacy... I watched and listened keeping an open mind... I have done the same when it comes to 9/11 as well... I simply don't know what happened but the official version just don't add up...
What I like about this forum is that if anyone comes in with sensationalistic news that has no basis behind it, it will get shot down immediately... we have a solid core of truth-seeking patriots who are not looking to overthrow the government, but to reduce it to its most highly effective, streamlined state...
Paranoia is a given for us, especially when we are willing to allow our fellow nationals their natural rights to free speech... However, I believe that we have demonstrated that we have the ability to question, investigate, suspend judgement and weigh the facts until someone has proven him or herself...
While we don't have to go out looking for deceivers, we certainly need to sound the alarm when we hear one because anyone can be fooled or blind sided... On Ventura for example, we know that he is getting paid big bucks by Fox and co. for his show and he is certainly profiting from his book. on the other hand, Napolitano and Stossel are doing well on Fox so that isn't necessarily a deal breaker, the jury is still out... However, we also now know from a credible source that his 'SEAL' background is questionable... things are starting to add up... This is simply the way we think... Otherwise, we will become absorbed into the masses of the disgruntled tea partiers and get side tracked...
This whole 'tea party' thing has the potential to turn at any given moment... I am convinced that the majority of the tea party are still conservatives with a neo-con world view and all that needs to happen is another 'catastrophe' and they will run to the loudest voice ready to say 'nuke the bastards'...
"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't really out to get you" We cannot afford to close our minds to the voice of reason and Truth but we can rest assured that there will always be one or two in this forum who will represent them... we just need to be willing to listen...
Hear, hear!
I agree.
I am behind you 100%
Even though I take a little offence to the "True" patriot thing,You are on the right track.
It is important to keep this all in perspective,Or none of those you mentioned above would have stood a chance at creating the document we so love.
They would have been blown out of the water before they could do a thing in the right direction.
Trying to get an interesting website rolling along, Offering free banners to DP business owners. Please contact me through the DP for details with size Etc. If you don't have one I can adjust, I will make you one.
http://www.shtfknowledge.com/index.php
it takes time to sort things out--
and the last time I checked, most of the people on here are probably human--
*chuckle*
pendulums swing--
I don't think anyone has taken a gun out and loaded it yet, because of being 'concerned' about the motivations or actions of a 'celebrity'--
if that sort of thing happens, *I* don't think it would be fair to blame the thinking/sorting process.
That sounds 'big brother'--
"You cannot discuss this; some unstable person may take it the wrong way and hurt someone"--
eh? no--
the free movement of ideas is a vital thing in a state as controlled as 'ours'--
it's hard to be awake; it's easier to dream--
Letmapeoplego: I "hear" you
.....It is a distraction; if these "men" are put up before community (at all).
This is a Ron Paul community.
Not a Glen Beck, Alex Jones, Jesse Ventura, Chem Trail, Truther, Birther, Conspiracy Site.
As long as it acts like one -- I will dismantle the people that are put up.
I was the first to talk on Beck and Sanford -- I saved one of the RP-esque Candidates from self-destructing (I'll leave his name out of it) etc etc.
If we don't stand up to "their" B.S then we are not taking ownership of our own persuit to Liberty.
Voter-Abdication is to grant someone your self-rule (to make decisions for you)
---We don't need this anymore now that we have telephones and internet.
---We could vote on every bill that came up on our own.
Representative Gov't is not necessary in the modern age.
We could have (very easily) a gov't by the people and for the people -- quite literally.
*&^ Constitution --- Constitutional Rationality
I agree with you on the Glenn Beck thing!
I like how everyone here just throws stuff out there like a piece of spaghetti and sees if it sticks to the refrigerator.
If you are interested in straight up political junkie stuff you might like C4L's site better.
It is not paranoia
it is the evaluation of the intent of the individuals. To ask what motivates the individual is helpful in determining whether to consider some or all of their comment.
I believe it is what is meant by finding your center. I think this is what makes the Daily Paul so unique in that we dissect the comments and can tell who is either misleading or uninformed. It is very interesting to have a community who intellectually question things.
It is food for thought and very nourishing.
Prepare & Share the Message of Freedom through Positive-Peaceful-Activism.
The Quilting answer--
is always a good one!
Quilt: Hear Hear!!
...
*&^ Constitution --- Constitutional Rationality