Just Read “Trust Me, I’m Lying”

I never entered the world of politics to run for office because I didn’t want to be broad-brushed as corrupt, as so many representatives are believed to be (and as far too many are)…

 

But now I find myself in another sea of corruption, it seems…

 

I got into blogging to connect with my “tribes”–DeForest Kelley fans, animal fans, book readers, copywriters, business owners… you know the list. I wanted to bring good information and good vibes to the conversation.

 

But after reading Trust me, I’m Lying I can see why I’m “losing” the battle to become higher profile than I am: I’m too decent a soul to stoop to the tactics that others do to place themselves at the top of the news feeds.

 

I’m utterly disgusted by what I learned in Trust Me, I’m Lying… as disgusted as I was by reading Blinded by the Right. We’ve all fallen victim to the tricks and techniques that people employ to become (and remain) ‘top of mind influencers’.  When these tactics are used to worthy ends, they’re fine, I suppose, as no harm is done. But who’s to decide what’s “worthy”? Anyone with an agenda can abuse the system and mislead millions of people. Using the system to sell t-shirts and books is one thing; using it to sell politicians and spur international crises is quite another…

 

The author himself became disgusted by the practices he used to make lots of money for lots of people (and hence for himself, the person they employed to “make it so”). In this book, he exposes the tactics and warns against them–but he has no solution for them. All he knows is that we have to use them while remaining fully aware of their eventual consequences or we’ll lose our soul (speaking metaphorically here) and our way… utterly.

 

He doesn’t know how to fix the mess that he helped create.  I suppose he feels a little like the guy who split the atom, Ernest Rutherford. Rutherford thought he had achieved something grand–until the knowledge he uncovered was hijacked and used by warriors to annihilate their enemies. As a result, today we live in a world that is not safe from the machinations of any madman with access to nuclear codes.

 

Trust Me, I’m Lying led me to pretty much the same conclusion.  Today we live in a world that is not safe from anyone with access to the Internet and a blogging platform. Good people will use what they know to bless. Bad ones will use what they know to blast.

 

The genie is out of the bottle.  It’s nightmarish.