Becoming Practitioners

While reestablishing a spiritual connection with all of creation is undoubtedly the way to save the soul of humanity, making that connection is easier said than done. Since most of the harm inflicted on creation is by the disconnected consumer societies, breaking the spell of advertising — that compels them to consume toxic products and ideas — should be foremost for creation’s protectors.

Whether consuming advertising that seeks to persuade consumers to purchase wasteful, unhealthy products, or consuming propaganda that seeks to persuade consumers to support mass murder, mass communication strategy is designed to deceive consumers into believing they want or need what is being promoted. If the truth of the consequences of their consumption would be offensive to their ethics or morality, then those truths are targeted by promoters for destruction. Defending those truths in an open, forthright manner may be a natural response, but in a psychological warfare environment, it is unlikely to be effective.

While conducting ongoing research and analysis of these truths is critical in confronting the enemies of truth, the deployment of information in the war of ideas requires knowledge of how psychological warfare works, as well as an understanding of mass communication technology and behavior. While academic seminars on these topics have their place in preparing protectors to become practitioners, academic formats are not conducive to mass education–especially in consumer societies where populations are conditioned to conform and consume based on advertising designed to short circuit the intellect.

While promoters of truth and protectors of creation must be authentic in order to prevail, they must also be intelligent in how they attack the enemies of truth.  When the targeted audiences have media-induced attention deficit disorders and institutional-inflicted ignorance of history, altering consumer behavior requires active imaginations trained for the task.

Training centers focused on communication for change, where psychological warfare can be studied methodically, would be a useful infrastructural addition to the human rights movement. Since the Indigenous peoples subset of that movement is currently at the forefront of the battles to protect all creation, they are in a position to take the lead on this vital project. Whether they will remains to be seen.