- Credits:
- Shutterstock: Tribute to Ukraine
Helen’s Place LLC Update: August 15, 2022
Watching the buildup to the Ukraine war in August 2021 was a wake-up call. As Putin spread disinformation about his troops being part of a training exercise, the Ukrainian people carried on with their lives, convinced that Russia would not invade – and then it did; such is the power of the mind to believe what it wants to believe despite the evidence to the contrary.
The mind does this so frequently, that it leads to the question – how do we educate ourselves against being manipulated?
Maybe It starts with the awareness that we are susceptible to influence from people and the environment around us because we are human beings. Sometimes the influence is for good, like when a teacher or parent teaches children to read. Other times, the outcome is disastrous.
Susceptibility is just the way it is, but we can train ourselves to resist.
At some point at the age of about five or so, we start realizing that people aren’t always telling us the truth, and we have to figure out who and what to believe. Life gets complicated from then on as we choose people to associate with.
It sometimes becomes easier to form friendships with like-minded people on social media platforms than to deal with our own family members.
Unfortunately, this can lead to some of us becoming groupies – hanging out with only those who agree with us, while fooling ourselves that we’re free.
The fact is that videos and images on social media sites might be alluring, but we need to stop believing the information is true, because the world’s evil wizards are after us.
It’s not an accident that politicians and corporations spend millions on advertising, trying to manipulate us like guppies; if it didn’t work, they wouldn’t do it. We often don’t realize we’ve been played until it’s too late and we’ve been hooked.
A case in point is Putin’s efforts to weaken America by turning Americans against each other. Like the antivaxxer disinformation he promoted, for example, now every time an American refuses to get vaccinated against COVID-19, Putin wins.
Yes, the world is in a dark time of pestilence, war and false information, with battles being fought between freedom and slavery; between democracy and autocracy.
The images of war are horrific, and suddenly we are forced to see how anger leads to hatred that makes us vulnerable to manipulation.
The simple truth is that when we are angry, we’re more easily tricked into following a charismatic demagog who promises to go after the people we hate.
But the invasion of Ukraine opened our eyes! Now, some are realizing that QAnon, antivaxxer, Big Lie, and democratic-hating beliefs melded together with a Putin-backed, right-wing love fest, helped destabilize our society.
The false statements of the former president, Tucker Carlson on Fox News, and other pundits on right-wing media channels ring hollow; their lies are footnotes in history, as American’s by and large support Ukraine.
It won’t be forgotten that there were many Putin puppets for years touting how great Putin was and echoing Russian TV (RT) talking points before the war.
It remains to be seen if Putin will ever again be able to unite right-wing groups in the world against democracy. But he will make a concerted effort to bring the evil players together until his death.
We see oligarchs sailing yachts to the United Arab Emirates, and the alliances with China, Belarus, and Syria strengthening.
Before long, Russia may have many more state owned versions of McDonalds and Starbucks to replace the American and European companies that left Russia, and shopping malls filled up with Chinese goods.
Years from now, Ukraine and the West will hopefully prevail in the long run, even if Ukraine is occupied by Russia. Young people will stand up with President Zelensky and Alexander Vindman or their memories, to win the physical and disinformation war in Ukraine and the U.S.
If anything, the lies Putin told leading up to and during the war with Ukraine made it clear we can never stop fighting for freedom.
Donald Trump and his Big Lie playing out in parallel to the Ukraine War, may one day be on the trash heap of history, along with the people who supported him, as examples of what happens when you sell your soul to the devil.
In essence, Putin and Trump misjudged their ability to sow disinformation and went too far. But many other wizards are waiting in the wings to take their places of power, and so we’ll always have to be vigilant and prepared to take action.
We have hopeful signs in the U.S. that young people are fighting pressure to conform by resisting disinformation and the spread of misinformation, but it’s not easy for them.
Here’s a list of Resistance Suggestions:
- Use tools to get savvier distinguishing fact from fiction.
- Watch a variety of news shows to be exposed to different ideas – even if we don’t want to.
- Whenever possible, watch political speeches directly instead of pundits talking about it.
- Stop often and think how much we love democracy and freedom including the free speech to say whatever we want to.
- Dislike lying – if someone lies or says one thing and then another, throw them down like a hot potato, as they’ve proven to be an unreliable source of information.
- Resist feeling hatred – it’s ok to be frustrated and angry, but when anger turns to hatred find a counselor fast.
- Support causes that matter more than petty grievances like supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, and environmental movements to save our planet.
Related audio/video interview recording:
A tribute to stand with Ukraine for truth and democracy:
Video, Alexander S. Vindman post, “Ukrainian Woman’s Tribute to Ukraine”
Other related article you may be interested in:
An article about supporting the BLM movement, and fighting for truth and justice:
Helen’s Place LLC, “Black and Innocent Lives Matter in Truth and Denial Age”
Helen’s Place LLC is an information and educational materials company celebrating English Language Arts, Cognitive Science and the love of birds.
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