The FUD Decade
Now that year is almost over and the decade is at an end, the natural tendency is to label the decade with some short slogan.
A sound bite that seems to encompass the general “feel” of the previous 10 years.
The 1970’s were the “Me Decade”. The 1980’s… perhaps the “Decadent Decade”.
Well, I have the perfect name for the last decade. Call it the “FUD Decade”
FUD…Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt
Supposedly a tactic that was used by IBM, the idea was to instill a uncertainty about the competitors equipment so that the customer would always choose the “safe” choice of IBM.
This implicit coercion was traditionally accomplished by promising that good things would happen to people who stuck with IBM, but uncertainty and yet undefined problems loomed over the future of competitors’ equipment or software.
It was a tactic that worked well for the company. In fact, it worked so well that it was eventually turned around and used against them in the famous SCO vs IBM struggle. But that’s a different story.
Fear, uncertainty, and doubt. It has shaped the country for the past 10 years.
Just fear alone of another country having “weapons of mass destruction” was enough to convince this country of the validity of a pre-emptive war.
Just to prevent the “Fear”, with no hard evidence, we struck first. Hell, the majority of the US population were for it. Congress voted for it.
But by it’s very definition, we are the war aggressors. Now in a country with over a million dead, it is little comfort that the aggressor’s just made a mistake.
Uncertainty and fear has given the government permission to torture and imprison without any repercussions whatsoever.
In fact, putting that decision in writing seems to have helped in selling books as shown by George W. Bush and his success with the “Decision Points” book tour, thumbing his nose at the rest of world opinion and treaty.
Uncertainty and fear has allowed unprecedented amount of eavesdropping and wiretapping. At one time, this would have created quite the controversy. Now, it seems to be just part of being safe.
Terrorist has become the Carte Blanche catch phrase that can justify making people disappear without so much as a whimper.
Our fear has allowed the Kafka-like atmosphere of just giving legal advice to someone suspected of terrorism makes you a terrorist.
Websites that distribute music files are shut down by Homeland security. FBI officers raid the homes of activists for voicing an opinion and confiscate computers.
Flying in an airplane has become such an intrusion on privacy and dignity that it’s comical. The slogan of “Don’t touch my Junk” seems to have it’s 15 minutes of fame only to quickly disappear.
But the person saying it had a point. If it wasn’t the government doing it, the person patting down your “junk” in any other situation would get arrested.
The x-ray specs that were advertised in the back of comic books are now a reality, with people expected to get virtual stripped down nude with a little zap of radiation.But any protest? Not going to happen, no way.
The pollsters state that the majority of the population are for it, somewhere around 80 percent for it. Personally, I think we are one terrorist act away from mandatory barium enemas and cavity searches. Anything for that feeling of safety, right?
Privacy has become just another causality of many in the war against fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
Parts of the national media are now seemingly devoted entirely to the concept of FUD. Fox News spouts gibberish phrases of socialism and ideas of government takeover and the population absorbs it with zeal.
Large parts of the population, feeling impotent with this constant implanted fear, become angry and start Tea Party movements with nonsensical phrases such as “Take the Country back”. Meanwhile the country is being stolen right beneath their noses with Wall Street shenanigans and shipped out jobs.
Their featured “Talking Heads” like Glen Beck continuously rally around conspiracies and hate with complete fabrications, instilling fear and doubt about the future of the country. Then they turn around and sell gold for your “safety and well being” with these uncertain times ahead. Rush Limbaugh has built an empire on the same concept.
With FUD, anything is possible. Every law can be temporarily overruled, every individual right overlooked.
Yes… The FUD decade….I think it fits, don’t you?
Great one man. And I think we all have our “FUD” point too, even the most world-weary among us have a point where we want someone to protect us, at least to protect our children.
I guess we can all manipulated, as long as the powers that be press the right button?
AND remedies? I’ve made suggestions before on this venue for remedy actions to take. So, I’ll refer to them?
Good Post! Krell. FUD. It’s very accurate. And it does threaten to move into longer term.
“Personally, I think we are one terrorist act away from mandatory barium enemas and cavity searches.” Where does it stop?
The decade when a country lost its mind, for sure.
CH, I got this post idea when we were talking on your “Universe of Meditative Serenity and Existentialist Thought / Cigar and Scotch” lounge area.
Now there is this other idea…Our solar system is a molecule, man….ya….and each molecule is just part of another person, man…wow…and it just keeps on going and going…a molecule on my thumb could be a entire universe, man……whoooh…
Yeah, maaaaaaan. I dig what you are saying. Totally solar.
Well if they did coffee enemas that would be better and some people would not have to spend extortionate amounts of money to have them done, I’m just saying is all. Those get you cleaned out in no time at all, I imagine, if you don’t eat fiber regularly.
Staring at Juan Valdez at the security gate is not going to make the flight any more enjoyable.
I know how to make it enjoyable for everyone. You get to choose who will be touching the junk and they MUST be made available to you. I don’t think I need tell anyone who my toucher would be. Plus wouldn’t Juan Valdez be staring at our body’s security gates, yep I think he would.
Senor Depp, Junk Toucher Extraordinaire… has a certain ring to it.
*ahem* I thought we (meaning greedy me) cleared this up in the JD posting about Tonto. You must be way back in the line as far as he goes or choose someone else altogether. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter 😉
One half of the line goes to Angelina Jolie and the other goes to Johnny “Tonto” Depp?
Naomi Klein said it so well in her Shock Doctrine book did she not?
She did that quite well, going into using disaster and a “shock” event to push an agenda like IMF restrictions on a country like Haiti.
I was trying to say that the general “mood” of fear and concern for safety has defined the entire decade for the population as open for anything. The agenda may not even be defined yet.
For the sake of safety, the country has become like sheep willing to be taken in any direction, allowing any oversight or justification. Bit by bit, piece by piece.
Me personally, this was the decade from hell. Lost both ‘rental units, got to living with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma for life. I don’t scare easily, but commander cuckoo bananas has everyone scared for the future of our beautiful country and that gets me pissed off, not fearful or doubtful. I won’t give those bastards in charge of the country the satisfaction of being afraid, because then those extremists have won.
Jess, I only know you from the back and forth comment banter.
But just from that, I can tell that you are a fighter. A fighter for your own health and well being and also for the ones you love.
And a fighter for what is right in this country. If there were more people like that in this country, it wouldn’t be in the shape it is today and this post would be a moot point. But here we are..
Nah, you know me, just a different version of me. In your life you have people just like me with a different face is all. Just like I have people like you guys around me. We misfits tend to stick together.
Ya, we’re all sitting around the campfire together on the isle of misfit toys.
‘nother misfit here. Just older.
“Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt?” I bet you really wanted to use the “F**ked-up decade” as your title. Because it certainly was.
No, F**ked-up decade implies just a series of bad accidents.
FUD is a deliberate policy for social manipulation.