Thursday, January 08, 2015

2015: The War on Our Intuition That Something Is Fundamentally Amiss

What will you accept as real--your intuition that something is deeply amiss in America, or the official propaganda that all is well?


In 1967, the rock group Buffalo Springfield recorded a song titled For What It's Worth which speaks not just to the late 1960s but to the present.
Consider the opening lines:

There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear

The ambiguity is not coincidental. When the song was recorded in December 1966, America was in the beginning throes of a full-blown national nervous breakdown that would endure for 15 years until 1981.

The fundamental narratives that had sustained the previous 20 years of apparently limitless prosperity and moral certitude were breaking down.The primary narrative of American foreign policy--that the U.S. defended liberty and always won its foreign wars over evil totalitarianism/ fascism/ colonialism was being destroyed on a daily basis in Vietnam, an intrinsically political (and thus unwinnable by military means) war defending a hopelessly corrupt state created by quasi-colonial Great Powers fiat.

The primary political narrative--that democracy and the rule of law were sacrosanct--were undermined by the Watergate affair a few years later.

Millions of solid citizens with crewcuts and permed hairdo's looked at long-haired musicians and hippies, student protests and the emergence of ethnic and women's rights movements with dismayed disorientation--something's happening here, but why it's happening ain't exactly clear.

Meanwhile, those being held in contempt by the status quo were wondering why the shackles of the supposed golden era were so invisible to everyone who was wondering why the 1960s had exploded out of the idyllically secure and prosperous 1950s.

Those doing well reckoned everything is great because I'm doing great.

This is the source of national nervous breakdowns: those benefiting from the current arrangement--the privileged few and the vested interests skimming personal wealth from the political machinery and the economy--see only rosy statistics that verify their own privileged perspective that everything's going great.

Those whose experience is decidedly un-great see the problem differently: the problem is the political machinery and the corporate media are trying to manage perceptions rather than tackle the dysfunctional reality.

In effect, the Status Quo of happily vested interests is waging war on our intuition that there is something fundamentally amiss in America--something on the scale of the period 1966-1981 that saw the complete destruction of the official narratives.

Those outside the privileged few and the protected fiefdoms of vested interests--public unions, cartels, Wall Street, K Street, bankers, etc.--are constantly told their perception is the problem: the statistics and Wall Street prove everything's going great, so get with the program and stop being negative.

This of course goes hand in hand with blaming the less privileged: if only you worked as hard as we do, you wouldn't be experiencing anything but blue-sky prosperity.

This is of course the default perspective of privilege: overlook the unspoken advantages of privilege and lecture the less privileged on how they would be doing just fine if they were inside the gated fiefdoms instead of toiling in the wastelands beyond the walls of wealth and political power.


That something's happening here, but what it is ain't exactly clear is not coincidence--the ambiguity is the direct result of the war on our intuition, which is signaling us that the propaganda-driven narratives are false, despite being backed by (heavily gamed) statistics and the ceaseless reassurances of officials and "trusted" media sources.

Subtextually, we are constantly told that not only is the current arrangement that rewards vested interests not only the best possible world-- it is the only possible world: America cannot possibly operate in any other way than the current dysfunctional, predatory, parasitic, corrupt and venal arrangement that protects and enriches the few at the expense of the many.

Here is a chart of wealth inequality:


Those of us who have benefited from the vast expansion of asset bubbles (anyone who owns real estate, stocks or bonds that have appreciated greatly in the past six years--and I raise my hand to real estate) are supposed to remain silent, since we shared in the largesse. But complicity has a price, and I for one would be happy to see real estate fall in half (yes, half) so housing would again be affordable to the younger generations.

It's said that everyone has a price (usually by those doing the buying), but this is not true. Being bought off is a transaction of two parties.

It boils down to this: are America's problems real, or are they the result of perception? The Status Quo is expending staggering sums of time, money and energy to convince you that it's perception: if only you believe the statistics and assurances, all the problems your intuition has red-flagged will vanish.

So what will you accept as real--your intuition that something is deeply amiss in America, or the official propaganda that all is well? The goal of this war is to persuade you to surrender your independence and intuition in favor of passive acceptance of the cleverly cloaked tyranny of the current arrangement.

If they cannot persuade you, then disorienting you will do. Misdirecting your intuition is victory enough.

Admin. note: I will be off-line for the remainder of the month, other than a few moments here and there to post new content. Thank you for your readership and understanding. 



Get a Job, Build a Real Career and Defy a Bewildering Economy(Kindle, $9.95)(print, $20)
go to Kindle edition
Are you like me? Ever since my first summer job decades ago, I've been chasing financial security. Not win-the-lottery, Bill Gates riches (although it would be nice!), but simply a feeling of financial control. I want my financial worries to if not disappear at least be manageable and comprehensible.And like most of you, the way I've moved toward my goal has always hinged not just on having a job but a career.

You don't have to be a financial blogger to know that "having a job" and "having a career" do not mean the same thing today as they did when I first started swinging a hammer for a paycheck.

Even the basic concept "getting a job" has changed so radically that jobs--getting and keeping them, and the perceived lack of them--is the number one financial topic among friends, family and for that matter, complete strangers.

So I sat down and wrote this book: Get a Job, Build a Real Career and Defy a Bewildering Economy.

It details everything I've verified about employment and the economy, and lays out an action plan to get you employed.

I am proud of this book. It is the culmination of both my practical work experiences and my financial analysis, and it is a useful, practical, and clarifying read.

Test drive the first section and see for yourself.     Kindle, $9.95     print, $20

"I want to thank you for creating your book Get a Job, Build a Real Career and Defy a Bewildering Economy. It is rare to find a person with a mind like yours, who can take a holistic systems view of things without being captured by specific perspectives or agendas. Your contribution to humanity is much appreciated."
Laura Y.

Gordon Long and I discuss The New Nature of Work: Jobs, Occupations & Careers(25 minutes, YouTube) 




NOTE: Contributions/subscriptions are acknowledged in the order received. Your name and email remain confidential and will not be given to any other individual, company or agency.


Thank you, Todd S. ($50), for your magnificently generous contribution to this site-- I am greatly honored by your support and readership.

Terms of Service

All content on this blog is provided by Trewe LLC for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information. These terms and conditions of use are subject to change at anytime and without notice.


Our Privacy Policy:


Correspondents' email is strictly confidential. This site does not collect digital data from visitors or distribute cookies. Advertisements served by a third-party advertising network (Investing Channel) may use cookies or collect information from visitors for the purpose of Interest-Based Advertising; if you wish to opt out of Interest-Based Advertising, please go to Opt out of interest-based advertising (The Network Advertising Initiative). If you have other privacy concerns relating to advertisements, please contact advertisers directly. Websites and blog links on the site's blog roll are posted at my discretion.


PRIVACY NOTICE FOR EEA INDIVIDUALS


This section covers disclosures on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for users residing within EEA only. GDPR replaces the existing Directive 95/46/ec, and aims at harmonizing data protection laws in the EU that are fit for purpose in the digital age. The primary objective of the GDPR is to give citizens back control of their personal data. Please follow the link below to access InvestingChannel’s General Data Protection Notice. https://stg.media.investingchannel.com/gdpr-notice/


Notice of Compliance with The California Consumer Protection Act
This site does not collect digital data from visitors or distribute cookies. Advertisements served by a third-party advertising network (Investing Channel) may use cookies or collect information from visitors for the purpose of Interest-Based Advertising. If you do not want any personal information that may be collected by third-party advertising to be sold, please follow the instructions on this page: Limit the Use of My Sensitive Personal Information.


Regarding Cookies:


This site does not collect digital data from visitors or distribute cookies. Advertisements served by third-party advertising networks such as Investing Channel may use cookies or collect information from visitors for the purpose of Interest-Based Advertising; if you wish to opt out of Interest-Based Advertising, please go to Opt out of interest-based advertising (The Network Advertising Initiative) If you have other privacy concerns relating to advertisements, please contact advertisers directly.


Our Commission Policy:

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I also earn a commission on purchases of precious metals via BullionVault. I receive no fees or compensation for any other non-advertising links or content posted on my site.

  © Blogger templates Newspaper III by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP