Staying Calm and Educated in an Angry World
In over a year of having a new President of the United States, the world has become very divided and angry, needing reassurance and answers that don’t come. Who is right? Who is wrong? How dare the other party think that way? Fake news! The answer to it all lies in educating ourselves, staying calm, identifying our own morals and keeping open minds. Going beyond the news to study history, psychology and the past biographies of political players.
To really understand why the other side is so mad at your President, read about how he came to power. His philosophies, methods of engaging an audience and treatment of other people. Do you think he is honest, empathetic and diplomatic? Does he encourage unity or dissent? Is he a rebel, blazing a new trail to a better life or a tyrant who uses psychological tactics to manipulate and control everyone around him? Do you agree with his methods or are they disturbing to you? Only you can decide what is right and wrong. Follow your true inner beliefs, not those of someone else. Keeping a calm mind allows us to think clearly and not become overwhelmed.
Reading history is a good way to understand styles of leadership of the past, to compare with how leaders are today. Really understanding the rise of World War II, how FDR, Churchill and Hitler ruled, helps us compare with modern leadership methods. Their styles were vastly different. It took countries banding together as a team to handle an aggressive dictator, who came to power based on manipulation, charisma and lies. Hitler’s rise to power is a study in psychology of mood disorders such as Sociopathy and Narcissism. Without judgement or anger, note how a person like this went from promising the sun and moon to the people then taking his country and others to the depths of destruction. What was his motivation? Power and control.
Studying psychological disorders helps to understand the motivations of mood disordered leaders. The most malevolent, the dictators, are cunning sociopaths and narcissists. They use brainwashing techniques such as charisma, constant repetition of lies and rallies to reinforce their beliefs over and over, until the most vulnerable public members believe them. They then build on this base of lies by using psychological techniques such as “gaslighting” to slowly gain control and acceptance. In time, they start to bully and attack those who don’t agree with them. Their tactics get more cruel and intense as time goes on. Just observe and compare/contrast past leaders with those of today. Who is a good and fair leader? Who isn’t? Ignoring partisan lines and what the news says, who do you believe is good for you and your family?
In the end, it is important to note that we cannot change other people’s minds when it comes to political parties. Our duty is to ourselves, knowing true facts and not relying on general chitchat being passed around by different sources. Remove the emotion of it all and just focus on facts. Read cited articles on history, psychology and understand that they are valid in helping us understand the mistakes of mood disordered and ultimately failed leaders of the past. Our future depends on us all standing up for honesty, diplomacy and fairness. Relying on unhealthy people is nothing more than a recipe for failure so we must be very prudent in our choices. Look beyond the glitz, charisma and glamour and see the true personality. In a world of fake news, relying on facts is our way out of chaos.
