Wednesday, April 19, 2006

9/11 Addiction

How do you get drug abusers, alcoholics, out-of-control gamblers or other addicts to quit their addiction? Do you have a logical debate with them about the costs of their destructive behavior?

You can try, but it probably won't work.

A better approach might be to substitute healthier, more sustainable habits. For example, alcoholics often get hooked on spirituality and donuts at AA meetings (I am not in any way belittling either, as you'll see below).

Likewise, drug addicts might become "hooked" on exercise and gamblers could get "obsessed" with work.

In all of these cases, the addict is able to focus on an alternative habit which is also pleasurable but less destructive, which makes it much easier to kick the old habit.

Instead of going "cold turkey", which many people do not have the willpower to do, they can reach for something else which ALSO gives them pleasure. That makes it alot easier to kick the addiction.

The 9/11 Addiction

Believe it or not, this principle also applies to 9/11 truth. Specifically, millions of Americans are "addicted" to one of the following:

• The idea that they are in control

• The belief that the world is safe and stable

• The notion that they are too smart to have been fooled

• The warm, comfortable feeling of being asleep to harsh realities

• The habit of feeling helpless or cynical as an excuse for not having to take difficult actions

• The reassurance of being part of, or rooting for, the "winning team"

• An excuse to go bomb somebody else (fill in the country here) and feel powerful

• The idea that our government is good and will protect us

These are, admittedly, emotional and mental addictions. But make no mistake about it -- they are very powerful addictions. Indeed, people will fight and die for ideas.

(Emotions and thoughts actually effect our body's neurochemistry, so addictions not involving ingested substances can still be very deeply rooted and hard to kick. For example, gambling is a recognized addiction, which is strictly behavioral).

So talking to someone with one or more of these addictions about 9/11 without offering them a substitute pleasure is like trying to get a drug addict to quit cold turkey: some can do it, but most can't.

We need to offer these emotional and mental addicts something else to reach for, a more healthy and sustainable pleasure.

Like What?

That's up to you to figure out. There are many possible healthy substitute pleasures for believers of the official 9/11 story. Here are a couple:

• A sense of community will work for many. Indeed, that is a large part of the reason that so many young people took part in the 60's protests -- they felt like they were joining a community, the in-crowd, like they belonged. And there was plenty of entertainment in the form of music, etc.

I am NOT arguing that the same type of community be offered. This is a different era, and many members of the 9/11 truth community are conservative.

But in a fragmented, isolated society, a sense of community can be very attractive. And 9/11 truthers are a passionate, committed, creative bunch. So we are a community well worth joining.

Community is also a sustainable pleasure. Rather than being a short-term pleasure which causes long-term harm, a sense of community increases well-being.

• The adrenaline rush. Finding out the truth about false flag operations and trying to prevent future ones is quite an adrenaline rush. It gives a sense of excitement and purpose which can be quite pleasurable. It also links one with a long line of patriots and heroes who changed the world for the better.

The rush of throwing oneself into this type of work is sustainable in the sense that it gives one a sense of meaning in life, which -- some like Victor Frankl have argued -- is the cornerstone of happiness and mental well-being.

In addition, this type of work will protect our country from dictatorship, violence and possibly even war, which makes our society more sustainable.

• Spirituality and religion will work for some. God wants us to bring the perpetrators of 9/11 to justice.

9/11 is the "shadow" side of spirituality, the "doing justice" part of religion. Our growth as religious people, our spiritual growth, cannot break through to a higher or deeper level until we confront and deal with those who committed these monstrous acts of false flag terror.

Until we can name the devils, we are under their spell. Until we recognize and dethrone the perpetrators, they retain power over us. We cannot grow to the next level of our souls' potential until we do.

Indeed, one of the reasons AA is so successful is the sense of shared spirituality -- of connecting to a higher power with others -- that it gives.

Some of the most religious and spiritual people I know are 9/11 activists. Indeed, instead of the traditional concept of individual religious salvation or spiritual enlightenment, 9/11 may be an issue which helps us to create a group worship, a shared sprituality, the ability to walk our talk and act on our prayers within a group context more than just once-a-week in church, temple or mosque.

And what could be more sustainable than the development and growth of our souls?

There are undoubtedly other "healthy" addictions which people can substitute as they wake up to 9/11 truth, so they don't have to try to quit the official story "cold turkey".

Postscript: Intervention is another method for treating addiction. But I cannot see how an intervention could be done with adherents to the official 9/11 story. If you can think of a way it could be done, let me know.




3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice piece, George. One of the approaches that might work with a person who cannot see past the "official story" is to get them to tell that story... and then to ask questions that occur as you listen.

Story: "One bright September morning, 19 Arabs boarded airplanes on the East coast...."

Question: How were these nineteen identified? Are you aware of the statement by FBI Director Mueller stating that none of their paper trails or identities would stand up to legal scrutiny?

.. and so on...

5:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great piece. Another approach might be to work toward understanding why it is so difficult to just let the truth in.

Consider a phenomenon called PsychoRelativity. Like Relativity, which says that mass warps the space-time around it, PsychoRelativity proposes that the ego-based entities of our own minds warp the truth of passing
information.

To redirect the passage of information in a more direct and truthful way, understand (if not remove)the ego-based entities.

10:38 AM  
Blogger A.K said...

Just put the blood drenched meat in the shark tank and pooof the general American public votes for war!

8:00 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home