I use that term a lot.

There are three great forces at work in this country.

The Government. They are the ones that are chosen by us to have power. When you think of someone trying to manipulate you, you think of them.

Private Industry

Society (The People)

Not Finished

As you read some of this you will begin to wonder about me. `Does he think the CIA is reading his mail?’ `Is he watching for the `Black Helicopters?’’ `Is he worried about conserving his `Precious Bodily Fluids?’

No to all of that. I do not wear a hat lined with aluminum foil, and I am happy to drink floridated water.

I grew up during the cold war. In my four years as a cop in the military, I had to deal with a lot of sensitive information. I have also spent about twenty-five years in commercial security as everything from Security Guard to Investigator To Manager. Currently, I manage an alarm central station.

I don’t hate the government, nor do I believe they are particularly interested in me.

Here in the US, We live in a Democracy. That means that, in theory. if we don’t like the laws or the actions of our government, we have an opportunity to throw them out.

The only way for them to get around this is by changing our opinions of them. They are supposed to do this by pleasing us; by taking actions that we approve of. Our founders very carefully built that into the system. As bright as they were however, they could not predict the advances made in mass media, data collection and marketing.

This is what I am afraid of. Most people think they are immune to this sort of thing. It’s what I call the `Can’t Fool Me` factor. It’s true that bright people are harder to manipulate than people of average or lower abilities. However it is not impossible. Not by a long shot.