Ambivalence and influence


Ambivalence and influence 1There is a lot of strange ambiguity in the world, a whole portfolio of opinions whose veracity is questionable; let’s start with some examples:

Whatever we think of Donald Trump’s personality, he seems to be working for the good of the United States and his policy proposals are likely to get the country back on its feet. During his last term, no wars were started and the country’s economy improved. Not bad compared to the achievements of other presidents. Yet he is being portrayed as a bad leader by most of the media.

Global warming theories are based on various interdependent hypotheses. Agreeing on how to measure the average temperature of the entire planet is a challenge, as is deciding which techniques and measuring points to use, how to reconcile measurements with historical and prehistoric data, over what time spans, and the link to human emissions of greenhouse gases. Global warming is often presented as hard truth and used as scare tactics in the media, as well as a reason to raise taxes and rebuild our societies.

The military organisation NATO is spreading democracy by involving more and more countries and surrounding countries that are not part of it. NATO’s behaviour is described as correct and righteous in the Western democratic tradition. Its largest and most powerful member state has started more wars in the last 80 years than any other nation. NATO and its members are described as a peace organisation.

The COVID-19 vaccine did not prevent the vaccinee from becoming infected, even when the vaccine was taken several times. In addition, there are a number of documented side effects. Despite this, the drug is mostly described in positive terms and its use is recommended in many countries.

White men and the so-called patriarchy are seen as preventing women and minorities from realising themselves. Universal suffrage, where women could vote, was introduced over 100 years ago in many Western societies. Since then, the number of women has increased significantly in government, academia and the media. They have increased to such an extent that we may now speak instead of a matriarchy, i.e. a society ruled by women. Despite this, the idea of white men and patriarchy continues to spread in the media.

There is of course much more. This kind of contrarian thinking and its advocacy campaigns are strong. Many citizens are thereby deceived and tricked into adopting a position that is described as self-evident, when in fact there are a number of question marks. The purpose of all this is of course debatable. Of course, some argue that it is a deliberate plan that ultimately benefits its perpetrators; others argue that there are many unfortunate circumstances and deadlocks that have led to the current situation. That they do not necessarily belong together, but are the debris and residue of an increasingly conservative, inhibited and backward society.