GROUP THINK AND SOCIAL MASKING ... THE HIVE MIND

by Chautauqua 

                                                                           

Long before humans ever had a need to begin using psychological masks as individuals we were already operating under the larger auspices of social masking known as the hive mentality.  I pretty much conjure that it all started when humans began forming social collectives and living together for protection...think cave men.  Prehistoric Earth was a much harder place to get by in than today, so that protection became a very high priority.  If you wished to have the protection and companionship of the group, you most likely went along with whatever the head honcho decreed, which come to think of it is still working real well these days.  Being "blackballed" from the tribe might not be so bad nowadays but back then I'm pretty certain it was a time-release death penalty.

 The patterns were formed and the programming became 'hardwired'- Safety in numbers, and we have pretty much been communal creatures ever since.  Back in the 60's, some communes of free thinkers began sprouting up as those tired of the hive mind left the cities to create hives of their own, allowing in only like minded thinkers.  Kinda like trading one hive mind for another one...think upgrades.  The hippies were the first in modern times to recognize the true potential of the hive mind, if focused on spirit rather than greed.  You see, we really are hardwired to work as a collective, it's known as the collective consciousness, and the collective unconscious.  These are the avenues of unity consciousness, which is what we are striving for in this consciousness driven revolution.  

Unfortunately for us today; this capacity for unity consciousness has been long ago hijacked, and deformed into something more conducive to breeding compliant slaves to serve the hijackers.   By deliberately exploiting a natural human tendency toward collective thinking, the 'elitists' down thru history have always sought to manipulate and even program our thinking to their liking.  Maybe that's why today all of the worlds newspapers, radio & TV stations are owned by just three corporations; and why "clear channel" and Homeland Insecurity are seeking to control all of it.

 I well remember the swarm of psychological self-analysis books that appeared around 1970, such as Future Shock by Alvin Toffler, and The Primal Scream, by Arthur Janov. Self-help was all the rage that year as so many folks tried to find some middle ground between the communes and the corporations, some fertile mental realm where sanity still prevailed.  It was 18 months later when another groundbreaking writer, & social psychologist Irving Janis appeared on the scene, with his early research on the hive mind, "Victims of Groupthink." Ten years later came his seminal work on the subject: "Groupthink; Psychological studies of policy decisions and fiascos," wherein he pioneered research into the existence and dynamics of the hive mentality in modern culture.   

Janis described groupthink as a kind of rationalized conformity wherein individuals waived critical thinking in favor of majority rule, often with undesired results.  Janis described groupthink this way;  "The more amiability & esprit de corps there is among a policy making ingroup, the greater the danger that independent critical thinking will be replaced by groupthink which is likely to result in irrational & dehumanizing actions directed against outgroups." 

 

 The terms groupthink, ingroup & outgroup stem from and are derivative of George Orwell's classic "1984" which gave us such terms as doublethink, and newspeak used as to identify with authority.  Certainly Janis is not the only one to have drawn inspiration from Orwell's work, but was the first one to see and understand the phenomenon of groupthink well established in society.    Janis' book remains the quintessential research on the hive mind, and has established the eight symptoms of groupthink, as follows:
1.~ Illusion of invulnerability; where excessive optimism encourages extreme risk.
2.~ Collective Rationalization, the ignoring of warnings & failure to consider alternatives.
3.~ Belief in inherent morality; where the members of the group believe that being right    exempts them from ethical and moral consequences of their decision.
4.~ Stereotyped views of outgroups; creates & sustains a negative view of the "enemy".
5. ~ Direct pressure on Dissenters; constant peer pressure not to argue with or question the groups or leaders views.
6.~ Self-Censorship; members decline to express their own doubts or misgivings.
7.~ Illusion of Unanimity; where the majority view is assumed to be unanimous.
8. ~ Self-appointed 'Mindguards' -  where the members protect the leader & group from problematic information, new views etc. etc.

If you are looking for examples of the groupthink fiasco dynamic you have but to review some American political/military history.  Pearl Harbor, Bay of Pigs, escalation of Vietnam war, Iran hostage rescue, ramp-up to wars in Iraq & Afghanistan, weapons of mass destruction debacle, U.S. involvement in the Islamic revolution in Egypt, Libya and Syria...and that's just the short list.  On the civilian side there is the IRS, CPS, DMV, & PTA, JDL, ADA and many other groups who want to tell us how to think, and just who the "real enemy" really is...and we march to the beat of their drums at the expense of all our futures, and the futures of our grandchildren.  We are currently marching lockstep into the oblivion of the trans-human agenda being perpetrated by global elitist groupthink which never deviates from its goal of control. 

When I was just a little whippersnapper as gramps used to call me, Television was just beginning it's assault on the human mind, as the status of groupthink demanded everyone should have one...and now nearly everyone in America does.  Currently 96.7 % of American homes have at least one TV set.  The revolution will be televised.  The rational mind might well ask "when is enough, enough?" Trouble is that rational minds are not welcome in groupthink, so it becomes a moot point. 

Television became the greatest facilitator of groupthink since the invention of radio as it allowed the elites easy access to the mind of the American consumer sheep...

 and this is how it looks!

Nothing from outside is allowed inside the Bubble

If you aren't controlling your thoughts someone will do it for you.

  

"Reason is the greatest enemy faith has ever had"

 

"A man is but the product of his thoughts~what he thinks, he becomes."

                                                                    ~Mahatma Gandhi~

To those who never have enough, there is no such thing as enough control over the population and so they have come to exploit every single human instinct, tendency & weakness they can identify, starting with the brain.  They have mapped our genomes and our brains, discovering just what makes us tick; and how we are most likely to react given any specific stimulus.   

They invented neuro-lingustic programming to perfect the science of syntax, suggestion and programming, then set it loose in academia to wreck its havoc and strengthen groupthink.  The so called education system is in reality nothing more than boot camp for groupthink.  Look at all the clubs, teams, & groups which exist as part of the structure, then add in the social cliques and "ingroups" and hell, I am amazed any of us escaped with our wits intact.  Seriously folks, these guys aren't gonna be satisfied until they've turned us all into the Borg!

To our unconscious minds groupthink must seem a safe and reassuring place, kinda like the caves our ancestors once lived in, there is safety in numbers.  There is also anonymity within groupthink, the kind that can result in much trauma to the soul when faced with the frequently horrific outcomes of groupthink.  If you taped an American flag on your car and yelled "bring it on" as you pounded your chest right after 9-11 then you also bear some of the responsibility for every death resulting from groupthink allowing us to be lied into two un-necessary wars.   

If you haven't screamed bloody murder over these and numerous other outrages every day of these long 12 years, then some of that blood is on your hands for allowing it to happen in silence.  No apologies, that's just how I see it.  Every closed mind and silent mouth only enables our overseers more, and strengthens the stranglehold of groupthink and the hive mind. 

 When one considers the impact of groupthink upon the men we sent to fight in those wars for loot & plunder, and the psyche-fracturing resulting from participating in atrocities, is it any wonder we have such record numbers of desertions and suicides?  Maybe something worth thinking about on this anniversary of the My-Lai massacre in Vietnam 45 years ago.  

Groupthink was wrong on every reason for sending those men over there and when they return groupthink just dumps them back into society without any time or therapy to help de-fuse, de-program or re-sensitize them.  Whats one more injustice?  Whats one more atrocity? Whats one more Vet who kills himself because he fears hurting his loved ones?  That IS why they do it - not because they can't hack it; just so you know.

READ MORE HERE :  http://augureye.blogspot.dk/2013/03/group-think-social-masking.html