Dear Friends,
It seems to me the American people are being programmed in learned helplessness. This is an excellent way for the Elite to limit opportunities for the middleclass without repercussions. Leading to a declining middle class, (as we have seen in recent years), so that those who are Elite today, will stay Elite tomorrow. This is the acme of Schumpeter’s warning about the already wealthy, and his warning about the intellectual Elite, is also being carried out in our government. Most of those in the Executive branch today are from academia. This makes my blood run cold and it should yours.
Learned helplessness, is a physiological term denoting an instance, where, an individual has “learned” to be “helpless”. This was discovered accidentally when some lab equipment malfunctioned. There were dogs who were being trained to push a certain button and get a treat else get a shock. The equipment only shocked some dogs. Later, when put in a low pen, one they could easily step over, and given mild shocks they didn’t even get up and step over. They had learned to be helpless in the face of discomfort! It breaks my heart that those dogs were so maltreated, if even accidentally, they lost the ability to make self interested choices.
The loss of the ability to make self interested decisions, because someone believes that it doesn’t help, is tragic. They are feeble. That is the state the Elite would like us to be in. Look at what they are doing. The TSA is a great example of this. They eschew profiling when it would save tens of millions of dollars and make the airways much safer. But politics trump safety and efficiency… or, are they teaching us it is useless to complain, you will only miss your plane. You are being taught. Another is the regulation smothering every aspect of our lives. Do we really need the government to regulate the weight of OUR children? Or are we being taught something? Try suing City Hall for a taste of futility.
Look at the level of depression in our society. Is that not a perfect example of learned helplessness? Isn’t the prevalence of anti depressant drugs a clear sign that there might be a problem? The Elite want to help, they see the real problem and have a real solution, they will give us the antidepressants free of charge… No way numbing the American people could ever lead to South American style government could it? Or has it already?
Obama asked for more power to reorganize the executive branch, powers he “promises” will only be used to make government more responsive to the needs of the people. This very statement is a cattle prod to the eyeball of every Constitution abiding American citizen. Do we really, truly, want to put more power into the hands of the Executive? I will remind you that Bureaucracy writes de facto law in the form of regulation! What about separation of powers? Even European citizens should be outraged! But, on inspection of the unbiased press, no problem, FDR had it, look what a great job he did on the economy and liberty.
Lets see how the Unbiased media react in the next few weeks. Had Bush said it the unbiased media would have freaked out. But, Obama is their baby, they birthed him, they changed his diaper when it got filled, they carry the water for him, they must back him on this… Else they fall victim of cognitive dissonance. So we can’t expect a righteous reaction from the unbiased media. After all, it would be biased, to not be biased. Just as, a State religion, of atheism, must be established, to protect the government from certain established religions.
I consider the reaction of the American people, to be a test, to see how well we have been inculcated in the practice of learned helplessness. If there is no reaction at all… well, all is lost. But if there is some reaction, then we can say that, not everyone has subscribed to the free antidepressants. Maybe there is a chance we can wrest the Elite from their throne and restore Constitutional government to the US. The Elite will say, resistance is futile… but resist we must, else we pass a world of weakness, worry and poverty to our children.
Sincerely
John Pepin
