BEWARE: DANGEROUS COCKTAILS

DECISIONS, decisions…

This is about people. And perhaps our public life, too.

To make the best choices, it’s useful to be in a healthy frame of mind.

Not under the influence. Especially not mind-altering toxins that do just that: alter our minds.

The most dangerous ingredients, together, make up a lethal cocktail guaranteed to leave a person, or a nation, paralytic. Down and out. Or, worse: poisoned or dead.

Such as:

Toxic inebriator 1: Denial Toxic inebriator 2: Cognitive dissonance

Toxic inebriator 3: Stockholm Syndrome

Wikipedia explains:

Denial, in ordinary English usage, is asserting that a statement or allegation is not true. The same word, and also abnegation (German: verneinung), is used for a psychological defence mechanism postulated by psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence.

The subject may use: simple denial: deny the reality of the unpleasant fact altogether; minimisation: admit the fact but deny its seriousness; projection: admit both the fact and seriousness but deny responsibility by blaming somebody or something else.

Toxic ingredient 2: In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort (psychological stress) experienced by a person who simultaneously holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values. This discomfort is triggered by a situation in which a person’s belief clashes with new evidence perceived by that person (like caring deeply about one’s health, but still smoking – despite knowing you’ll die sooner).

Toxic ingredient 3: Stockholm syndrome is a condition that causes hostages to develop a psychological alliance with their captors as a survival strategy during captivity. These alliances, resulting from a bond formed between captor and captives during intimate time spent together, are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims.

This term was first used by foreign media in 1973 when four hostages were taken during a bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden. The hostages defended their captors after being released and would not agree to testify in court against them.

There are many more dangerous toxic inebriators to avoid at all costs, guaranteed to sicken one: like racial solidarity – loyalty to people your own skin colour, for no other reason; ignorance – taking crucial decisions without making sure of the facts; and supporting people who refuse point blank to be accountable.

Think carefully. Take sober decisions, with a clear mind. Don’t be captured by dangerous dependencies.

And remember the French philosopher Joseph le Maistre’s warning: “Every nation gets the government it deserves.”

Think carefully. Take sober decisions, with a clear mind. Don’t be captured by dangerous dependencies. And remember a French philosopher’s warning: “Every nation get the government it deserves.”