We had an amazing, empowering, and hopeful (!) discussion this week about how we can each make a difference in our own corner of the earth in revitalizing our democracy. Thank you to everyone who joined and participated! It was a great way to start off 2024 and I am very much looking forward to more discussions like that moving forward.
For some time I’ve been mulling over your emphasis on “social capital” and “emotional bank account.” Conceptually i agree with you. I’ve also been wondering what happens when “social capital” becomes counterfeit? Just as a counterfeit currency can undermine a nations economy, counterfeit social capital can wipeout the emotional bank account of a nations citizens. Lies, half truths, mis/dis information etc, floods the national psyche. Rarely a week passes that I don’t hear someone say, “I don’t believe anything anymore.” This transcends politics, it involves every aspect of our existence. The once firm footing of a reasonably factually based world has been upended to an extent never before seen in history. If “nothing is real, and anything is possible” embeds itself in a nations psyche, we will have entered uncharted waters.
I think creating social cohesion requires us to counter the forces driving the wedges and inoculate ourselves against their tactics, which are primarily the use of fear-based marketing, which has been around since the first cave shaman told the other cave men that they could appease the thunder god by giving his earthly representative (which happened to be the cave man shaman) a chunk of that bison. The fear-based marketer tells you that you’re either missing out on something everyone else is benefitting from (or even purposely concealing from you), or that if you don’t take the recommended action something dire will happen to you or your loved ones. I’m seeing fear-based marketing tactics in every email asking for political contributions, of which I get at least ten daily.
We all have the same fundamental needs – from physiological needs critical to survival to self-actualization. It’s commonly represented in a pyramid (Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs), showing that you can’t focus on fulfilling the upper tiers of your needs until the basics have been met. Put in simplest terms, you’re less concerned about dealing with your low self-esteem than if there’s a genuine chance that Donald Trump will build death camps for people like you who don’t donate to his campaign. So, the more fear-based marketing tactics tie into the lower tiers of Maslow’s pyramid, the more you’re motivated to act to assuage that fear. A headline that says said “Studies say whole wheat bread is healthier for you than white” won’t get a click. But one that says “Are you poisoning your family with the bread you’re feeding them?!!” That gets clicks.
We are inundated with fear-based marketing messages 7x24x365. Will this constant barrage of anxiety-inducing messaging result in widespread adrenal exhaustion in our population as we are stimulated to fear and anxiety from every direction and in every context? What can we do to stop it or at least protect ourselves physically and mentally?
See what I did there? I just stimulated your fear of adverse health consequences. Physiological needs are the base of the Maslow pyramid. There’s no medical evidence that anxiety can cause adrenal exhaustion and I never stated it could. I just asked an anxiety-producing question that you now want me to answer and expect me to give you the solution. Part of the way to neutralize fear-based marketing is recognizing a baited hook and not biting into it.
If you’d care to see my idea of a well thought through counter strategy to fear-mongering, there's this one dealing with fear-based messaging about African Americans, Latinos, Muslims, and immigrants, on the “Rise Above” page of opportunity.org . I wish they’d have a chat with the folks at the DNC about their fund-raising emails and how to positively message positions and goals. https://opportunityagenda.org/messaging_reports/fear-based-messaging/
But, having stimulated your fear I do want to suggest you apply as many filters to your information sources as you reasonably can. I hit the unsubscribe button on any email that gets past my junk filter from an organization I'm not part of, especially the ones that begin with "Dear Courageous Conservative." I don't use clickbait platforms disguised as browsers like Microsoft Start. I record shows I want to watch so I can fast forward through or at least mute the ads (if you fast forward through one very popular MSNBC host's segment teasers her show only has about 20 minutes of actual content per hour). I'm not saying you'll promulgate social cohesion if you just don't invite the boogie man into your home or your head, But it's a place to start
For some time I’ve been mulling over your emphasis on “social capital” and “emotional bank account.” Conceptually i agree with you. I’ve also been wondering what happens when “social capital” becomes counterfeit? Just as a counterfeit currency can undermine a nations economy, counterfeit social capital can wipeout the emotional bank account of a nations citizens. Lies, half truths, mis/dis information etc, floods the national psyche. Rarely a week passes that I don’t hear someone say, “I don’t believe anything anymore.” This transcends politics, it involves every aspect of our existence. The once firm footing of a reasonably factually based world has been upended to an extent never before seen in history. If “nothing is real, and anything is possible” embeds itself in a nations psyche, we will have entered uncharted waters.
Thanks for hosting the great discussion!
Couple links I referred to:
https://www.astartingpoint.com/about
https://www.educatingforamericandemocracy.org/take-action/
https://ncoc.org/about/
Thank you, Asha. Sorry I missed it but glad to have this information.
Asha, many thanks for the references. Agree it was an informative interesting discussion last week. Happy Mardi Gras a little early. 💜💚💛
I think creating social cohesion requires us to counter the forces driving the wedges and inoculate ourselves against their tactics, which are primarily the use of fear-based marketing, which has been around since the first cave shaman told the other cave men that they could appease the thunder god by giving his earthly representative (which happened to be the cave man shaman) a chunk of that bison. The fear-based marketer tells you that you’re either missing out on something everyone else is benefitting from (or even purposely concealing from you), or that if you don’t take the recommended action something dire will happen to you or your loved ones. I’m seeing fear-based marketing tactics in every email asking for political contributions, of which I get at least ten daily.
We all have the same fundamental needs – from physiological needs critical to survival to self-actualization. It’s commonly represented in a pyramid (Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs), showing that you can’t focus on fulfilling the upper tiers of your needs until the basics have been met. Put in simplest terms, you’re less concerned about dealing with your low self-esteem than if there’s a genuine chance that Donald Trump will build death camps for people like you who don’t donate to his campaign. So, the more fear-based marketing tactics tie into the lower tiers of Maslow’s pyramid, the more you’re motivated to act to assuage that fear. A headline that says said “Studies say whole wheat bread is healthier for you than white” won’t get a click. But one that says “Are you poisoning your family with the bread you’re feeding them?!!” That gets clicks.
We are inundated with fear-based marketing messages 7x24x365. Will this constant barrage of anxiety-inducing messaging result in widespread adrenal exhaustion in our population as we are stimulated to fear and anxiety from every direction and in every context? What can we do to stop it or at least protect ourselves physically and mentally?
See what I did there? I just stimulated your fear of adverse health consequences. Physiological needs are the base of the Maslow pyramid. There’s no medical evidence that anxiety can cause adrenal exhaustion and I never stated it could. I just asked an anxiety-producing question that you now want me to answer and expect me to give you the solution. Part of the way to neutralize fear-based marketing is recognizing a baited hook and not biting into it.
If you’d care to see my idea of a well thought through counter strategy to fear-mongering, there's this one dealing with fear-based messaging about African Americans, Latinos, Muslims, and immigrants, on the “Rise Above” page of opportunity.org . I wish they’d have a chat with the folks at the DNC about their fund-raising emails and how to positively message positions and goals. https://opportunityagenda.org/messaging_reports/fear-based-messaging/
But, having stimulated your fear I do want to suggest you apply as many filters to your information sources as you reasonably can. I hit the unsubscribe button on any email that gets past my junk filter from an organization I'm not part of, especially the ones that begin with "Dear Courageous Conservative." I don't use clickbait platforms disguised as browsers like Microsoft Start. I record shows I want to watch so I can fast forward through or at least mute the ads (if you fast forward through one very popular MSNBC host's segment teasers her show only has about 20 minutes of actual content per hour). I'm not saying you'll promulgate social cohesion if you just don't invite the boogie man into your home or your head, But it's a place to start
Upcoming Civic Education and Engagement forum in D.C.
Can register to watch virtually.
https://civiclearningweek.org/national-forum/
There's a newer edition of the Hassan book than the one Asha links to: https://www.amazon.com/Combating-Cult-Mind-Control-Best-selling/dp/0967068827
Just heard a very good Hidden Brain podcast series they are starting for election season on understanding our differences.
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9rd1djMGxoZg/episode/Y2E2ODg5NGYtOWMzMy00ZWM3LThlYjktMjE3Y2UxZmI4NzFh?ep=14