Most headlines driven by marketers/manipulators give us something to worry about. What follows tells us why we should worry. The third stage of this process is to involve each person by outlining things that we can, and should, do to make things better.
Successful marketers/manipulators always follow three steps.
The first stage is proposing the problem: “Polar Bears are Nearing Extinction!” That’s typical of the “problems” spewed into our minds. It demonstrates the fact that all of us seem to have a life-long yen for things to worry about, and all media feeds on this desire.
Secondly, the successful marketer/manipulator realizes that all human beings have an endless urge to absorb details. So, headlines like, “What’s Really Happening to the Polar Bears.” are followed with mindless barrages of the usual “accepted facts” about “climate change”, “icecap melting”, “food shortages”, “carbon footprints”, “rising sea levels” and “the breaking down of natural food chains”. The absorption of this information leads people to believe that they “are informed about the problem.” Most people, after having had their brains stuffed full of such drivel, will then prompt themselves to conclude, “I am a very well informed person on this subject.” They will rarely be bashful about sharing their superior “knowledge” with others. Their grotesquely high levels of vanity keep them from seeing how easily they have been manipulated and are being used. That same vanity utterly blinds them to the fact that they are little better than ventriloquists’ puppets.
Thirdly, there’s also a near-universal desire among human beings to do something to “solve” the problem. So, the successful marketer/manipulator provides lots of instructions like “use the lowest watt bulbs you can”, “turn down your thermostats”, “walk or ride a bicycle”, and “park your car and take advantage of public transportation”. A surprising number of people will think there is actually a relationship between doing these things and saving polar bears.
Boiling it down, we see the typical, three-pronged attack on us information absorbers:
First, invent a problem.
Second, provide lots of details, the absorption of which will distract most minds from considering whether or not the problem is real.
Third, provide ways to let each individual appear to be able to do something meaningful to “solve” the problem.
Catholic Fundamentalism suggests that, in an automatic response to any such marketing ploys, we orient our minds to:
First, we ask if the problem is real, or if it’s been invented to serve whomever is paying for this particular communication from the media. The best way to do this is by asking the ancient question “Who benefits?” As we train ourselves to do that, we are less frequently fooled.
Second, we see if the details are in any way meaningful to us, to our families, or to anyone but those who’ve rented the media space.
Third, we realize that every action recommended will either make us less comfortable, less able, poorer, more inconvenienced, sicker, or sooner dead.
