We live in a time one might understatedly describe as “disconcerting.” We pursue policies similar to those that presaged the fall of great civilizations of the past. We impose rules and restrictions straight out of dystopian fiction. We defame facts and reasoning while elevating emotion to a place of decision-making honor.
I frequently wonder how the hell we got here. We literally selected an obviously worse present and future from a set of choices that included options we already know yield great results. It certainly isn’t rational, and it doesn’t seem to make sense.
So… how DID we get here? The answer is, we had “help.” We constantly listen to and follow people who skillfully manipulate us to act against our own interests for their benefit. The coolest part of their trick? We rarely notice it happening.
We are – in the truest sense of the term – listening to con artists.
A Brief Primer on Con Artistry
Maria Konnikova wrote a fascinating book called The Confidence Game. It’s about the techniques con artists use to manipulate people for their own benefit.
Konnikova explains the persuasive power possessed by stories as compared to the strangely non-compelling nature of facts. Con artists leverage this knowledge by employing narratives and steering clear of facts. Economist Robert Heilbroner puts it succinctly, “When a fact is plausible, we still need to test it. When a story is plausible, we often assume it’s true.”
And guess what? Turns out, the bigger the lie, the more believable it becomes! Konnikova says, “The personal narrative yardstick is much more permissive than any other form of appeal. And if it’s especially emotionally jarring – How amazing/awful! I can’t believe that happened to her! – that somehow seems to ratchet perceived truthfulness up a notch.”
Con artists also use techniques to steer us away from rational thought where we might try to discern the right choice or course of action. Instead, they steer us towards our emotions which lead us to think in a “categorical, personal, concretive, unreflective and action-oriented” fashion.
Try to write a better description of our current political state of affairs. I’ll wait.
Keep in mind, she wrote this book to alert us to the tools used by con artists.
We’re Being Told Some Whoppers
Just like con artists, our politicians blatantly use similar techniques of emotion and storytelling to make us act against our own interests. This works out poorly indeed for we citizens, but quite nicely for politicians and their connected cronies.
Think about it… Republicans tell their voters the Covid vaccine is made of aborted fetuses and Bill Gates’ microchips. They believe it, become more fervent Republican voters and we all spend more time with Covid and Covid lockdowns.
Meanwhile, Democrats tell their voters the new Georgia Voter Law reincarnates Jim Crow, a statement backed by claims so flimsy even the liberal Washington Post felt compelled to give them four Pinocchios. Democrats loyally go into a rage regardless and get the All-Star game pulled from Atlanta. It lands in Denver, a city with far fewer black citizens and black-owned businesses to benefit from the game.
These lies hurt people. They hurt us… and we get conned into supporting them with passion, drive and anger at those who would stand in our way.
So, What Do We Do?
We must wake up to the con! We must stop buying the nonsense. We must heighten our awareness to people in power telling us stories instead of giving us facts. We must look past the adjectives and the emotions. Let any receptive friends and family members in on the joke! We need some numbers.
This problem took decades to create, and it will take decades to fix. Citizens of the US must become honestly informed, discerning consumers of information from politicians and their supporting “experts” and news outlets. We must hold politicians from both parties (that means YOUR party too) accountable at election time for the devasting misrepresentations they make.
People literally using the techniques of con artists hold power in America right now. The policies currently under consideration and recently implemented truly flirt with disaster for America. An alert, skeptical voter base always stands between politicians’ short-term personal goals and the downfall of a society.