Early Signs of a Fall From Grace

I used to like shopping at Wegmans. In fact, when I lived down south, and had to shop at other large chain grocery stores, it became evident that Wegmans provided quite a nice experience in comparison. Recently, however, I have become annoyed, so I thought I'd write a letter:

Dar Wegmans,

You are a successful and profitable company. You sell groceries, and you are very good at it. So why do you ask me for extra money every time I shop there? The minions who stand at your cash registers tell me it's to help feed the hungry. It doesn't seem like a lot, it's only a dollar. It would be selfish of me not to donate an extra dollar to such a worthy cause, wouldn't it? I feel a little like a jerk when I politely decline, over and over. But how do I know where that money goes?  And why are you really doing this? You are a profitable company.  If you want to feed the hungry, do it!  The need to beg people like me for the money, rather than take it out of your own coffers, and then to broadcast this "honorable" act for all to see and to praise you, indicates a level of putrefaction within your corporate soul that makes me throw up a little bit.

Shame on you for attempting to hide your desire for profit behind the veil of altruism. 
I think it's clear that you do this to make yourself look good in the public eye. This, in turn, increases profits. I have nothing against trying to increase profits by improving the products or services you offer. You should be proud of your desire for profit! Quid pro quo! But the attempt to increase profits by promoting yourself as a selfless organization is a contradiction within itself, and, by definition, evil. This behavior indicates that your organization is a lie. Thank you for the good stuff you have provided in the past. And thank you for the very pleasant environment you have created with your stores. I am willing to pay a little extra for those things. But, because you require, or cleverly encourage, your check-out people to badger your patrons, which at its core is an attempt to lay guilt upon them if they don't donate to this "good" cause, I will be seeking another place to shop. The moral code upon which your organization rose to great heights, seems to have gone bankrupt. The organization itself will undoubtedly soon follow.

Love, Jeff.

"Brain Games," the hidden agenda, and the double-edged sword

"As you can see, there are ways to manipulate trust below your conscious awareness, which is a good thing, because mistrust can cause you to miss opportunities. And as these experiments have shown, you're sometimes better off trusting other people more, and yourself a little less. Because when you get right down to it, trust is what makes the world go 'round."

These are the words spoken by Brain Games host Jason Silva, a transhumanist philosopher/entertainer from Venezuela, at the end of one episode we just finished watching. Take a good look at the above statements. Is this what you believe? Is this what you want to teach your children, if you have them? Ask yourself, what kind of person would want to undermine people's trust in themselves? The answer should be pretty clear...

If you haven't seen this show, "Brain Games" on the National Geographic Channel, it's actually pretty interesting.  Each episode contains demonstrations of how our minds often play tricks on us, like the following image, which appears to be moving if you stare at one of the dots, but does not move when you blur your vision out to stare at all simultaneously...

or this one, where if you stare at the x in the center, you will begin to see a green dot emerge...

The show is a very good source to show kids, and adults, ways in which the mind can be manipulated. But, like all good feats of prestidigitation, you have to keep your awareness on the parts they are not emphasizing, because the writers and producers are masters at slipping ideas past your conscious awareness and into your mind without you realizing what has happened. After all, that's what the show is about, right?

When you watch the show, it's easy to get mesmerized.  This is important, as it is a show about how your mind can be manipulated, and it uses this very information to manipulate your mind!

I like to watch this show with my kids, because it exposes some of the ways in which the mind can be manipulated.  I feel it is important, however, to help them use that information to EMPOWER themselves, rather than to DISTRUST themselves, as the show openly recommends. Knowledge of these tricks can lead them to better awareness of the limitations of their senses, and in turn they can develop greater confidence in the reliability of their perceptual awareness through their five senses. Temet nosce.

To understand what the hidden agenda is here, you'll have to peer into Jason Silva's background a little.  You will see that he is involved with Transhumanism and the Hedonistic Imperative, which promotes the abolition of all human suffering through genetic engineering and nanotechnology. Ever seen Revolution?

So these people aim to eliminate suffering by inserting tiny robots into your brain to shut off your "suffering" centers, or to manipulate the genetic code so that people can no longer feel pain. Ever seen Fringe?

I don't know about you, but I don't believe that all suffering and negative karma can be eradicated from existence simply by manipulating our genome and inserting technology into our biology. Reminds me of another TV show...

Resistance, however, is NOT futile, and it is necessary!  This is why I would encourage everyone to watch this show.  It is entertaining, and educational.  But it is very important to watch with a critical eye, consciously, and understand that the agenda of this show is to manipulate you into believing that your mind is not something that can be trusted.  Do not believe this!  Your mind is THE ONLY THING that can be trusted.  It has its flaws, yes.  And there are ways that it can be manipulated, but there are also ways in which you can protect yourself from such manipulation.  Ask yourself why you believe what you believe.  Study the Trivium Method, the lost tools of learning, and understand how to recognize logical fallacies.  Trust your senses, but understand their limitations.  And most of all, don't be fooled, especially by people who claim that because you are so easily fooled, the only answer, is to trust them...