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Protecting Yourself from Emotional Blackmail,
Cognitive Dissonance and Misinformation
Preventing yourself from becoming a victim of emotional
blackmail and setting yourself up for cognitive dissonance is
simple whether you are dealing with a relationship, government
or company. Once you know what it is and why it is being
applied, it loses its power.
To
defuse the current political game of emotional blackmail, begin
looking at the news critically. Make a game out of truth seeking
taking the power out of the practice of emotional blackmail.
Though it may take years or a century, truth ultimately wins
out, swinging the pendulum to the other side as anger over
deception overtakes the arguments.
Powers
or people using emotional blackmail know this. The closer
to the truth, the more shrill the voices of manipulation become.
Pressure is applied to the point of agony, all in an effort to
hide the truth.
The
harder the pressure, the closer you are to toppling the house of
cards. Name-calling, hatred and verbal bulling tactics are
all brilliant neon signs you'll see on the news that say, "I'm
hiding something", "I don't want you to hear the whole story" or
"Dig a little deeper and see what my real agenda is".
1. Know how to
recognize the tactics of emotional blackmail
2. Separate
yourself from the person or group practicing emotional blackmail
if possible.
Begin sampling
other sources of information outside of your country to verify
facts with the information reported in your country.
Satellite television and the Internet now make this easy.
You will be amazed (if you are in the US) how much information
is withheld from American broadcasts but major news in the rest
of the world.
3. When you realize
this is what is happening, take no statement or representation
at face value. Write it down and research it. Talking
heads and pundits are a good place to start. Write down
their names and affiliations then do a background check.
You'll be amazed at the agendas many of the "opposing" pundits
have.
4. Omission of fact
(silence) is the greatest weapon of manipulation. Ask
yourself what questions aren't asked and answered.
5. When you hear people referred to as
anti-anything, research it. 80-90% of the time you will
find these labels unwarranted.
6.Education and correcting these facts when misstated is your most
powerful weapon against being manipulated.
7.
When you hear someone use incorrect information, tactfully
correct them by saying, "I'm sorry that information is
inaccurate. Are you aware of ______________" and state
your facts and source.
8.
Speak with people from outside of the United States every chance
you get. The rest of the world gets one story, the US gets
another.
9. Look for the truth, not the agenda. Sometimes this
is hard because decades of thought and conditioning can be
unraveled and the truth staring you in the face destroys all
your pre-conceived notions.
Return to:
A lesson in Critical Thinking:
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