Avoiding becoming politically possessed is one of the biggest challenges of our day.
We all know people who view every human interaction through the lens of political power.
They have no misgivings whatsoever about inflicting themselves on others due to an inflated sense of self importance and the need for control.
Every person or viewpoint they encounter is screened for political purity to determine who should be treated as a friend or foe.
When simple disagreement is being escalated to an existential threat, you can be certain you’re dealing with a political dynamic.
People who are politically possessed aren’t dumb and they aren’t evil.
Like the rest of us, they have bought into what Caitlin Johnstone calls a manufactured normality and they don’t yet realize it.
They tend to notice only what they’re told to notice rather than scoping things out for themselves.
The danger here is that often things which are vitally important are neglected.
Think of how a celebrity making a snotty remark on social media goes viral, while drone strikes that kill innocent people are rarely acknowledged.
If we wish to avoid the manufactured status quo that comes when we view the world through a political lens, there’s a simple way to do so.
We must be willing to practice seeing the world through new eyes whenever possible.
When we are actively questioning what we’re being told, we’re less likely to be lazy or governed by routine in our thinking.
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