WORD PAINTINGS # 147 (How I came to New Mexico and learned about Art and Life) - FEAR, UNCERTAINTY AND DOUBT
Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) is a manipulative propaganda tactic used in sales, marketing, public relations, politics, polling, and cults. FUD is generally a strategy to influence perception by disseminating negative and dubious or false information, and is a manifestation of the appeal to fear - Wikipedia
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November 2024 - Even though cable newscasters tell us we have never been here
before - it is the Fear stoked by politicians and cable news that
immobilizes us! Yesterday was Veteran's day and I remembered my uncles
Alvin Hermesdorf who fought bravely in the Battle of the Bulge; Uncle Roy Knoll who
fought alongside the British in Burma and Calcutta. Hitler invaded the port of Gdansk,
Poland, on September 1st 1939 - I was born two days later. Am certain
that the months, perhaps years before the conflict began my family sat around the kitchen
table, elbows on much worn flowered tablecloths, and discussed all the "What-ifs"
leading up to the invasion. There were still relatives in Gdansk and inland Poland.
Their worst fears grew and came to fruition as ordinary worlds
exploded.
No one would ever be the same! Battles, invasions, Omaha Beach, family separations, losses of life, relocations in Europe, food shortages, prison camps, concentration camps - immense suffering and unbelievable atrocities!!! These were the stories of the first six years of my life. What I remember most is the FEAR! Adult fears were magnified a thousand times in my child's mind. We all gathered around the radio to listen to President Roosevelt's Fireside chats. Letters from Uncle Roy telling me that there were huge snakes under the hammock where he slept and his best British buddy had been killed in battle the day before. I sent him letters and drawings and my child mind could only imagine what "being in danger" meant, but I was seriously afraid of losing him.Let us not forget the atomic bomb! Hiroshima and Nagasaki!!! As young children we had "bomb drills" and hid under our desks to protect us from an enemy attack! There were city wide sirens blaring - warnings to find a safe place to hide. Not much comfort after seeing the rubble of the two cities in Japan! Today our "babies" wear bullet-proof backpacks to school and are terrified by regular "active shooter" drills. They and their Moms and Dads live in constant fear.
The Japanese surrendered on Sept. 2 1945 Then came the announcement that the Big War was over!!! I was six years old and vividly remember how we celebrated VJ Day at our house on Whipple Street in Chicago! My uncles returned searching for their places among families and friends. They were strangers - their old lives were happy memories. Everything had changed, they were forever changed. No longer young and beautiful they had returned from the pits of hell only to begin again at the beginning, while dealing with nightmares and unimaginable memories of bombs and bullets.
And then came Vietnam!!! The same horrific consequences of fighting a war in a land no one even knew existed until they were drafted! More losses and atrocities - years of FEAR! Anti-war demonstrations tore this country apart - are you old enough to remember Kent State? Henry Kissinger regularly on TV outlining all the reasons why we are in another "necessary" war! "Remember the secret invasion of Cambodia? Young soldiers taken to prison camps and tortured, Agent Orange, Mai Lai massacre - Remember? Our veterans returned to be ignored and ostracized - some of whom are still struggling or died by suicide!Can the modern newscasters even imagine the state of our world at war? I sincerely doubt that they have any idea of what it was like to live in those times. Instead they help to scare the bejeezus out of little old ladies who believe they will suffer at the hands of mad Haitians! Modern day media is a money-making proposition and our once and future king is the centerpiece for most of our fear and confusion. Truth-telling is a total stranger to many politicians and some media pundits. Where is Walter Cronkite when you need him?
Sadly our lives are governed by our fears! For some eerily strange reason, this new administration is too ambitious and terribly messy. Instead I believe it will fail under the weight of lofty goals to change the world order into their bleached and entitled image of themselves. No doubt there will be severe consequences as a result of the passionate advocacy for their 2025 Project. Enacting their policies will affect everyone in this country, including their own constituents - much to the shock and surprise of many voters - you know who they are! The disruptions will be broad and severe and the economic policies will cause great hardship. They have caught the car.
The results of this election changed our country Forever!! What the agents of change have forgotten is the strength and power of the American people. WE ARE SURVIVORS!!!! The Great Depression, WWII, Korea, Vietnam - we have met each challenge with fierce bravery and have emerged from the darkness of then and we will emerge from the darkness of now!!!
Time to slow down. Most of what we fear today might never happen and our energy and time would be wasted. They only win if we give into our Fears!! Believe in the goodness of "US"....
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound...
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