Musicians playing Fear Instinct Instruments

Liberal messages work on most people by striking emotional chords and instinctual reactions on the knee-jerk level. By this very definition I must admit that there is something behind them. If we didn't have these emotional chords to play or these instincts, the messages wouldn't work.

What must be done is to examine why we have these chords and instincts, and how they are being used. It was said well by libertarian author Frank Herbert in his classic book Dune (paraphrase) Your awareness may be capable of controlling your instincts. Your instinct is to free yourself from a trap. An animal will chew its own hand/paw off to escape the hunter who laid the trap. A human will wait for the hunter, eliminate a threat to its kind, and use the proper tools to free itself from the trap.

A quick (sorry, I know they never are) aside into emotional chords. There are many chords to be played. You can play someone's emotions to soothe, to excite, to please, to arouse, to incite, etc. Most often chords are played in an impersonal group setting in order to incite someone or a group of someones into action. This can be done in any number of ways, from pleasure to fear. For political activism, positive emotions rarely spur people into extraordinary action, so negative emotions are used. Successful campaigns have been waged by playing on emotional chords that make us feel intellectual, informed, and reasonable - and they have had stunning success (smoking, for one). Unfortunately, once the professionals, those who are really good at this kind of manipulation, have been successful, amateurs who haven't got the patience or talent of professionals attempt to emulate them. Since they lack the skill, they go for more direct, offensive, bullying methods and switch from a passive fear with a lot of intellectual debate (whether based on fact or not) to active fear with no intellectual debate and made-up facts.

So, when I talk about emotional chords, I'm talking about the far-end negative chords that are being played upon so regularly today.

By and large, most of us like to avoid uncomfortable confrontations. We'd rather start from a position of strength and through the power of reason and our own oratory skills convince the other side we are right and have them join us. Preferably without raised voices, making friends rather than enemies, gathering supporters and allies so that people look around and say "wow, he's a real persuasive guy."

Activists play upon the assumption (and I believe they're right) that most of us would be terrified out of our wits (and possibly out of our bladders) to find ourselves in an actual combat situation. I was nearly mugged once, and I still feel shaky about it even though I escaped the situation unscathed, without loss, and without actually running away. I can't imagine what it would feel like to know that within range there were people with guns, rockets, and explosives who would love nothing better than to kill me, and that to defend myself I couldn't just find a clever way out of the situation, but might have to actually shoot someone dead. I don't know how I would react, and I am thankful it is unlikely I will ever be in that situation.

It is only natural to assume most people think as we do, and to be probably right. But I also believe that, if push came to shove, if I were a young, strapping man again, I would gladly take up arms, find that strength within me, and defend my country. I can easily see myself picking up a gun and deliberately shooting someone in the head if they were threatening my wife or children with direct, immediate, believable harm. And I don't even have to be young and strapping to see myself doing that.

The fact is that we have these animal instincts and emotional chords because it may be vital, in the first instant, to do whatever it takes to buy a second instant in which to think. Unfortunately, the instincts and chords that are being constantly played are always fear-based, and we're being asked to form opinions about (or even make decisions in the voting booth upon) long-range issues that require more than our first instant, instinct-driven, knee-jerk reactions and fear-based emotional chords. It is important for us to calm ourselves, let the fear wash over and through us, until only we remain and we can look at a situation with reason. It may be that the first course of action that presents itself to our panic-stricken mind is only going to lead to something worse. Not until we actually absorb the facts and the greater situation can we see the danger that lurks down that path (or recognize that there is no danger so we can take that path safely).

So the next time someone causes a fear-based, instinctual, knee-jerk reaction, realize you may be the unwitting instrument under someone's skilled fingers. Come to peace with yourself and see if there isn't a still, calm voice within that represents a higher, more intellectual, more honest and encompassing instinct.

Yes, I am saying that it is actually the liberals who are the fear-mongers. They are selling it in wholesale onslaught, and they're aiming for your knees.