Perhaps the greatest obstacle that believers / unbelievers have in accepting the mind-boggling horrors perpetrated by conspiracies and secret combinations1 is the incomprehensibility of humans living without conscience. Yet, it is now estimated that there are 4 in every 100 (1 in 25) who do so—many of whom are in positions of power and leadership.
For a flavor of what it means to live without conscience, you can read The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout, Ph.D.; or begin with this audio introduction:
at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFVrvoYTGu0 .
But the great tragedy is that there are 96 out of 100 who do have conscience, and yet our world is in desperate straits:
» toxic medicines, foods, air, and water;BUT, why do those of conscience tolerate the machinations of those without conscience?
» pervasive business, government, and science frauds and scams;
» state-sponsored or contracted torture and murder;
» violations of human and legal rights;
» perpetual wars;
» police brutality;
» genocides;
» oppression;
» and on and on.
Here are some possible reasons why:
▪ failure to recognize psychopathic / sociopathic traits and behaviors;And so, 4% of the population (along with a sizable portion of conned or corrupted PWC) have managed, with the above and other strategies, to exercise enough power, control, and deception to bring the entire world to the brink of disaster. (Most of us can’t even fathom how close!) So what can the remaining percentile of people with conscience do? Perhaps we can begin immediately and aggressively to act by:
▪ inability to accept that there are people without conscience (PWOC) despite the evidence;
▪ too much participation and pleasure in the “trickle-down” perks of money, power, fame, immunity, etc. with which PWOC often surround themselves;
▪ fear of exposure after violating one’s conscience or moral code at the persuasion / instigation of PWOC;
▪ threats, intimidation, blackmail;
▪ fear of what PWOC might resort to if they perceive themselves as “betrayed” or offended;
▪ difficulty in standing up to “authority” figures2 for many people with conscience (PWC);
▪ impressive favors and rewards accruing to PWOC by way of competitive capitalism;
▪ acceptance of aggressive self-interest in cultures that promote extreme individuality and bottom-line;
▪ “pity-me” (victim) ploys invoked by many PWOC to keep their game going;
▪ tendency of PWC to be trusting, courteous, forgiving, hopeful, etc.
▪ shaming, denigration, mockery, etc. of PWC;
▪ believing mind-boggling, massive lies and deceptions concocted and perpetrated by PWOC because, as Hitler, a classic person without conscience, wrote:
... the broad masses … more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying. —Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, vol. I, ch. X (See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_lie ).
▪ refusing any and all association or support of PWOC, including faux-persons (being many corporations);Albert Einstein said:
▪ daring to question things and to speak up;
▪ continually demanding accountability, consequence, and responsibility for harms done;
▪ recognizing how immersed we are in the ways of Babylon (the archetypical fraternity of PWOC);
▪ supporting local small business for all needs;
▪ sourcing small business products as locally as possible;
▪ banking with local credit unions;
▪ sharing more and making do with less;
▪ living the gift-economy as much as possible;
▪ participating in reputable income-generating programs for suffering peoples;
▪ recommitting to personal moral values and integrity (no matter the cost);
▪ repenting of our failures and paying the consequences (no matter the cost) in order to be free of PWOC and their disciples.
The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.3So, let us do whatever we can. If enough PWC can reject the ways of Babylon and of PWOC, perhaps we can, even in the midst of chaos, look confidently to the promise:
[L]et us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed. (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 123:17)------------------/
1. See http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2014/12/unbelievers.html
2. See the Stanley Milgram experiment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment . Despite some controversy, his findings have been replicated showing that as many as 63 % of people will act against conscience at the instigation of an authority figure.
3. As quoted in The Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless Versus the Rest of Us by Martha Stout, p. 106.
Other relevant quotes from Stout’s book:
» ...life without conscience is deception and illusion (p. 91).
» What sociopaths want, what motivates them, is completely outside our experience (p. 96).
» The most reliable sign, the most universal behavior of unscrupulous people is not directed, as we might imagine, at our fearfulness. It is, perversely, an appeal to our sympathy (p. 107).
» ... American society seems to allow and even encourage me-first attitudes elevated to the pursuit of domination (p. 136).
» ... our culture, which informs them resoundingly that their ability to act guiltlessly on their own behalf is the ultimate advantage (p. 137).
