One thing caught my attention when reading Michael Ryan's Theory for Beginners.Its how people can manipulate the thoughts of others by conditioning them to think of certain events, feelings, thoughts with just a word. Ryan mentions the word terrorism and how Americans have a very racist connotation with the word, and that the world of Islam is just as diverse as our own world.
This gets me to think about other things, such as how people use the term fat, ugly, right, wrong, sexy, smart, dumb and just about anything else. Most of these things are opinions. If someone finds someone attractive or if someone is "fat" to one person another person might not consider them in that way. But where do we get our opinions from. It can be assumed based on my own personal experience and what I am exposed to on a daily bases that my opinions are not my own, at least it didn't start that way.
We are bombarded with information at a young age. McDonalds, Toys, Walmart, Mickey Mouse, Barbie, Iron Man, Spiderman, Batman, sex, romance, vampires. This all leads to us thinking a certain way. Believing that skinny is sexy, man marries woman, don't go to jail, you will get raped, life sucks, need money, always money. Ryan mentioned money and the value we put on it. But who place the value there for us? For me it was my parents. I seen a McDonalds Commercial, I wanted McDonalds, I tell my parents, they say no money. I wanted the new toy, no money. I wanted this and that because other kids had this and that, because the TV told me Ill be cool with those light up sneakers, that happy people ate at McDonalds.
Eventually you grow out of it right? You finally have sex, and the first time is always awkward, you didn't know what you were doing no matter how much porn prepared you for. You realize that is not what happened on TV. You realize you were lied to, you were conditioned. You were born to grow up, go to school, work, go to college, work, get a better job, work, get a family, work, have kids, work, go to Disney World, work, buy McDonalds for your kids, work. Some of us might make it to that glorious 1% who runs the country but even that I'm sure, is a carrot on a stick we will never get.
Now what if we never realize, what if you continue to believe the things the media wants you to believe, that two people don't deserve the same rights as you because the bible says so. That its okay to be close minded and judgmental and vain and impose your opinions that weren't yours to being with on others. Then you vote for, or run for office with these same ideals and you gain the support of the rest of the close minded, conditioned, ignorant america and you don't do your job in helping the rest of the country. You just hold us back from growing and evolving.
Ryan explained how the word terrorism has been conditioned to us. Almost immediately after 9/11 the word terrorism conditioned to the public. Imagine what type of conditioning you have to see through and break with a lifetime or a childhood of propaganda.
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