I've never studied psychology, but I've always had a passion for truth and have observed the powerful effect that believing a lie (verses believing the truth) can have on a person's physical and mental well-being. Some people choose to believe a lie because their false illusion seems easier to handle than the truth, while others continually believe lies that are absolutely destructive because they are being manipulated by powerful forces that benefit when the masses believe those lies. As the same lies are repeated over and over, like a hypnotic dangling watch, moving back and forth through their minds, they can no longer discern the truth from a lie. They have traded reality for an illusion.
As propaganda was produced and distributed at record rates during (and after) the Great Depression, George Orwell noted that “useful lies were preferred to harmful truths”. He went on to say, “History stopped in 1936 – after that, there was only propaganda.” Misleading propaganda was used as psychological warfare by Hitler to gain power and to control his subjects.
Orwell’s statement could also be applied to the mainstream media today. A glimpse at leading headlines over the past three and a half years from CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, the NYT, and others have echoed the same destructive themes:
- The sky is falling! Worldwide doom is near.
- It’s all Trump’s fault!
- The "orange man" is a monster.
- We must get rid of Trump!
After three years of lying to the public about collusion with Russia while burying the real collusion story surrounding the fake dossier, after repeatedly insisting that Kavanaugh’s accusers (now discredited) were telling the truth while denying Kavanaugh due process (yet now these same media outlets are discrediting Biden’s accuser without evidence, denying her press coverage, and burying the story), after repeatedly slandering Nicholas Sandman (only for his family to fight back through successful legal actions against mainstream outlets for libel), it should be obvious to all that the media is not telling the truth and will say or hide anything to promote their narrative. Yet, many Americans continue to choose to believe “The Big Lie” by consuming these exaggerated and/or deceptive headlines daily. The seed of hatred has taken root, and it's roots run deep, always hungry for more.
Then when COVID-19 became the focus, the same hate messaging continued, except this time, the hatred was compounded with unjustified fear, panic, and hysteria. The media profits from every click, so the worse the pandemic seems, the more revenues the media earns and the more negative outcomes they can falsely blame on Trump. Furthermore, the more the media exaggerates the threat of this virus, the more people will surrender their liberty to the control of tyrants who "own" the media. No matter what the facts reveal, no matter how contradictory statements may be from one week to the next, the same message has prevailed, “The virus is going to kill the masses, and it's Trump’s fault, so let’s all keep hating Trump.”
There are just too many examples to cite here, but I'll list a few. The media included ER clips from Italy and claimed it was filmed in New York. Other video clips supposedly taken inside emergency rooms showed staged mannequins on “hospital beds” instead of actual patients. Headlines claimed hospitals are facing dire shortages of equipment when the actual data indicated the opposite. Media headlines insisted hospitals did not have enough capacity, while actual resident photos showed empty triage tents. Hospital lay-offs across the nation provide further proof that hospital capacity is way below normal, not at capacity. The trending news story this weekend was the media’s attempt to misconstrue Trump’s off-the-cuff comments regarding the power of UV light to kill the virus into a crazy claim that Trump advised people to inject bleach directly into their bloodstream to kill the virus. This is not the telephone game we played as children. This is intentional deception, which some might call mind control or psychological abuse.
Regardless of our political leanings, the media will manipulate and control us if we let it. If we accept whatever they say as true without fact checking the information ourselves (by looking up source documents, the full transcript, or the full video for context), without considering the credibility of the source, without looking for repeated themes that reveal an agenda, without following the money, without running the calculations ourselves, without expanding the data or timelines for the bigger picture, without reading the entire article, without comparing one source’s information to another source holding the opposite perspective, then the media will control what we think and how we feel.
If the media is feeding negative emotions like hatred, bitterness, fear, anxiety, depression, or panic, turn it off. Odds are you are being lied to and have been programmed to only consume media that feeds those same toxic emotions. It is likely that you have been lied to so much you that you don’t even realize it and have no idea how much those emotions are hurting you and society in general. This often holds true whether your media sources are conservative or progressive, pro-Trump or never-Trump. While some are more honest and forthcoming about it than others, all media is biased. I saw it up close as freelance writer, and yet I have also let the media corrupt my thoughts and impact my emotions.
Let us consider what toxic emotions do to us physically.
Toxic emotions weaken our immune system making us more susceptible to colds and infections. Daily self-care (nutritious diet, sleep, exercise) suffers. Alcohol, drug, and tobacco abuse increases when we are emotionally unhealthy. Blood pressure, headaches, body aches, back pain, insomnia, fatigue, and sweating all increase. Appetite and weight changes are common. Stomach upset, chest pain, constipation, heart palpitations, and difficulty breathing are all symptoms of poor emotional health.
Let us consider what toxic emotions do to us emotionally.
Hatred, turned inward, will consume and distract us so that we cannot focus on meaningful tasks or on our relationships with others. Hatred will eat us up inside and make us miserable and angry. Hatred turned outward becomes destructive behavior, and it may even lead to violent crimes. It will leak out into our relationships with others and damage the relationships that matter most to us. Words and actions spewing from toxic emotions could cost us our job, reputation, marriage, and freedom.
Let us consider what toxic emotions do to us spiritually
Toxic emotions take our focus off God and lead us to obsess over our negative feelings. They lead us away from righteousness and into sin and darkness. They lead us away from wisdom and into folly. They stir up anger and wrath and cause us to grieve the Holy Spirit. They keep us from God’s good and perfect plan for each of our lives. They rob us of joy. (Reference 1 John 2:11, Leviticus 19:17, James 1:19-20, Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 4: 25-31)
Given how these lies can harm and destroy us, let us throw off deception and cling to the truth. To know and discern the truth, we first must know (as in a personal relationship) the Truth, who is Christ, Savior and Lord.
"And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free!” (John 8:32)
We must reject falsehood and fill our hearts and minds with all that is true and wholesome.
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.“ (Philippians 4:8)
We must choose love over hate.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven;" (Matthew 5:43-45a)
