The Doors Of Perception: Why Americans Will Believe Almost Anything

                        by Dr. Tim O'Shea (www.thedoctorwithin.com)

                       We are the most conditioned, programmed beings the world has ever known. Not only are our thoughts and
                        attitudes continually being shaped and molded; our very awareness of the whole design seems like it is being
                        subtly and inexorably erased. 

                        The doors of our perception are carefully and precisely regulated. Who cares, right? 

                        It is an exhausting and endless task to keep explaining to people how most issues of conventional wisdom are
                        scientifically implanted in the public consciousness by a thousand media clips per day. In an effort to save time, I
                        would like to provide just a little background on the handling of information in this country. 

                        Once the basic principles are illustrated about how our current system of media control arose historically, the
                        reader might be more apt to question any given story in today's news.

                        If everybody believes something, it's probably wrong. We call that Conventional Wisdom. 

                        In America, conventional wisdom that has mass acceptance is usually contrived: somebody paid for it. Examples:

                            Pharmaceuticals restore health 
                            Vaccination brings immunity 
                            The cure for cancer is just around the corner 
                            When a child is sick, he needs immediate antibiotics 
                            When a child has a fever he needs Tylenol 
                            Hospitals are safe and clean. 
                            America has the best health care in the world. 
                            And many many more 

                        This is a list of illusions, that have cost billions and billions to conjure up. Did you ever wonder why you never see
                        the President speaking publicly unless he is reading? Or why most people in this country think generally the
                        same about most of the above issues?

                        How This Set-Up Got Started

                        In Trust Us We're Experts, Stauber and Rampton pull together some compelling data describing the science of
                        creating public opinion in America. 

                        They trace modern public influence back to the early part of the last century, highlighting the work of guys like
                        Edward L. Bernays, the Father of Spin. From his own amazing chronicle Propaganda, we learn how Edward L.
                        Bernays took the ideas of his famous uncle Sigmund Freud himself, and applied them to the emerging science of
                        mass persuasion. 

                        The only difference was that instead of using these principles to uncover hidden themes in the human
                        unconscious, the way Freudian psychology does, Bernays used these same ideas to mask agendas and to
                        create illusions that deceive and misrepresent, for marketing purposes.

                        The Father Of Spin

                        Bernays dominated the PR industry until the 1940s, and was a significant force for another 40 years after
                        that. (Tye) During all that time, Bernays took on hundreds of diverse assignments to create a public
                        perception about some idea or product. A few examples:

                        As a neophyte with the Committee on Public Information, one of Bernays' first assignments was to help sell the
                        First World War to the American public with the idea to "Make the World Safe for Democracy." (Ewen) 

                        A few years later, Bernays set up a stunt to popularize the notion of women smoking cigarettes. In organizing the
                        1929 Easter Parade in New York City, Bernays showed himself as a force to be reckoned with. 

                        He organized the Torches of Liberty Brigade in which suffragettes marched in the parade smoking cigarettes as
                        a mark of women's liberation. Such publicity followed from that one event that from then on women have felt
                        secure about destroying their own lungs in public, the same way that men have always done.

                        Bernays popularized the idea of bacon for breakfast. 

                        Not one to turn down a challenge, he set up the advertising format along with the AMA that lasted for nearly 50
                        years proving that cigarettes are beneficial to health. Just look at ads in issues of Life or Time from the 40s and
                        50s. 

                        Smoke And Mirrors

                        Bernay's job was to reframe an issue; to create a desired image that would put a particular product or
                        concept in a desirable light. Bernays described the public as a 'herd that needed to be led.' And this herdlike
                        thinking makes people "susceptible to leadership."

                        Bernays never deviated from his fundamental axiom to "control the masses without their knowing it." The best PR
                        happens with the people unaware that they are being manipulated. 

                        Stauber describes Bernays' rationale like this:

                            "the scientific manipulation of public opinion was necessary to overcome chaos and conflict in a
                            democratic society." Trust Us p 42

                        These early mass persuaders postured themselves as performing a moral service for humanity in general -
                        democracy was too good for people; they needed to be told what to think, because they were incapable
                        of rational thought by themselves. Here's a paragraph from Bernays' Propaganda:

                        "Those who manipulate the unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true
                        ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested largely
                        by men we have never heard of. 

                        This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings
                        must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society. 

                        In almost every act of our lives whether in the sphere of politics or business in our social conduct or our ethical
                        thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons who understand the mental processes and
                        social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires that control the public mind."

                        Here Comes The Money

                        Once the possibilities of applying Freudian psychology to mass media were glimpsed, Bernays soon had more
                        corporate clients than he could handle. Global corporations fell all over themselves courting the new Image
                        Makers. There were dozens of goods and services and ideas to be sold to a susceptible public. Over
                        the years, these players have had the money to make their images happen. A few examples:

                              Philip Morris                                               Pfizer                                                    Union Carbide
                              Allstate                                                         Monsanto                                            Eli Lilly
                              tobacco industry                                       Ciba Geigy                                          lead industry
                              Coors                                                           DuPont                                                Chlorox
                              Shell Oil                                                       Standard Oil                                        Procter & Gamble
                              Boeing                                                         General Motors                                  Dow Chemical 
                              General Mills                                              Goodyear
 

                        The Players

                        Though world-famous within the PR industry, the companies have names we don't know, and for good reason.

                        The best PR goes unnoticed.

                        For decades they have created the opinions that most of us were raised with, on virtually any issue which has
                        the remotest commercial value, including:

                              pharmaceutical drugs                                                           vaccines
                              medicine as a profession                                                     alternative medicine
                              fluoridation of city water                                                       chlorine
                              household cleaning products                                             tobacco
                              dioxin                                                                                         global warming
                              leaded gasoline                                                                       cancer research and treatment
                              pollution of the oceans                                                          forests and lumber
                              images of celebrities, including damage control            crisis and disaster management
                              genetically modified foods                                                    aspartame
                              food additives; processed foods                                        dental amalgams
 

                        Lesson #1

                        Bernays learned early on that the most effective way to create credibility for a product or an image was by
                        "independent third-party" endorsement. 

                        For example, if General Motors were to come out and say that global warming is a hoax thought up by some
                        liberal tree-huggers, people would suspect GM's motives, since GM's fortune is made by selling automobiles. 

                        If however some independent research institute with a very credible sounding name like the Global Climate
                        Coalition comes out with a scientific report that says global warming is really a fiction, people begin to get
                        confused and to have doubts about the original issue. 

                        So that's exactly what Bernays did. With a policy inspired by genius, he set up "more institutes and foundations
                        than Rockefeller and Carnegie combined." (Stauber p 45) 

                        Quietly financed by the industries whose products were being evaluated, these "independent" research agencies
                        would churn out "scientific" studies and press materials that could create any image their handlers
                        wanted. Such front groups are given high-sounding names like:

                              Temperature Research Foundation                                        Manhattan Institute 
                              International Food Information Council                                 Center for Produce Quality
                              Consumer Alert                                                                            Tobacco Institute Research Council
                              The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition                   Cato Institute
                              Air Hygiene Foundation                                                             American Council on Science and Health
                              Industrial Health Federation                                                      Global Climate Coalition
                              International Food Information Council                                 Alliance for Better Foods
 

                        Sound pretty legit don't they? 

                        Canned News Releases

                        As Stauber explains, these organizations and hundreds of others like them are front groups whose sole mission
                        is to advance the image of the global corporations who fund them, like those listed on page 2 above. 

                        This is accomplished in part by an endless stream of 'press releases' announcing "breakthrough" research to
                        every radio station and newspaper in the country. (Robbins) Many of these canned reports read like straight
                        news, and indeed are purposely molded in the news format. 

                        This saves journalists the trouble of researching the subjects on their own, especially on topics about which they
                        know very little. Entire sections of the release or in the case of video news releases, the whole thing can be just
                        lifted intact, with no editing, given the byline of the reporter or newspaper or TV station - and voilá! Instant news
                        - copy and paste. Written by corporate PR firms.

                        Does this really happen? Every single day, since the 1920s when the idea of the News Release was first
                        invented by Ivy Lee. (Stauber, p 22) Sometimes as many as half the stories appearing in an issue of the Wall St.
                        Journal are based solely on such PR press releases.. (22)

                        These types of stories are mixed right in with legitimately researched stories. Unless you have
                        done the research yourself, you won't be able to tell the difference.

                        The Language Of Spin

                        As 1920s spin pioneers like Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays gained more experience, they began to formulate
                        rules and guidelines for creating public opinion. They learned quickly that mob psychology must
                        focus on emotion, not facts. Since the mob is incapable of rational thought, motivation must be based not on
                        logic but on presentation. Here are some of the axioms of the new science of PR: 

                            technology is a religion unto itself
                            if people are incapable of rational thought, real democracy is dangerous
                            important decisions should be left to experts
                            when reframing issues, stay away from substance; create images
                            never state a clearly demonstrable lie 

                        Words are very carefully chosen for their emotional impact. Here's an example. A front group called the
                        International Food Information Council handles the public's natural aversion to genetically modified foods. 

                        Trigger words are repeated all through the text. Now in the case of GM foods, the public is instinctively afraid
                        of these experimental new creations which have suddenly popped up on our grocery shelves which are said to
                        have DNA alterations. The IFIC wants to reassure the public of the safety of GM foods, so it avoids words like:

                              Frankenfoods                                                      Hitler                                                                                       biotech
                              chemical                                                                DNA                                                                                        experiments
                              manipulate                                                            money                                                                                    safety
                              scientists                                                               radiation                                                                                roulette
                              gene-splicing                                                        gene gun                                                                               random
 

                        Instead, good PR for GM foods contains words like: 

                              hybrids                                       natural order                                               beauty
                              choice                                         bounty                                                          cross-breeding
                              diversity                                      earth                                                             farmer
                              organic                                        wholesome
 

                        It's basic Freudian/Tony Robbins word association. The fact that GM foods are not hybrids that have been
                        subjected to the slow and careful scientific methods of real crossbreeding doesn't really matter. This is
                        pseudoscience, not science. Form is everything and substance just a passing myth. (Trevanian)

                        Who do you think funds the International Food Information Council? Take a wild guess. Right - Monsanto,
                        DuPont, Frito-Lay, Coca Cola, Nutrasweet - those in a position to make fortunes from GM foods. (Stauber p 20)

                        Characteristics Of Good Propaganda

                        As the science of mass control evolved, PR firms developed further guidelines for effective copy. Here are some
                        of the gems:

                            dehumanize the attacked party by labeling and name calling
                            speak in glittering generalities using emotionally positive words
                            when covering something up, don't use plain English; stall for time; distract
                            get endorsements from celebrities, churches, sports figures, street people - anyone who has no expertise in
                            the subject at hand
                            the 'plain folks' ruse: us billionaires are just like you
                            when minimizing outrage, don't say anything memorable, point out the benefits of what just happened, and
                            avoid moral issues 

                        Keep this list. Start watching for these techniques. Not hard to find - look at today's paper or tonight's TV news.
                        See what they're doing; these guys are good!

Science For Hire

                        PR firms have become very sophisticated in the preparation of news releases. They have learned how to attach
                        the names of famous scientists to research that those scientists have not even looked at. (Stauber, p 201) 

                        This is a common occurrence. In this way the editors of newspapers and TV news shows are often not even
                        aware that an individual release is a total PR fabrication. Or at least they have "deniability," right?

                        Stauber tells the amazing story of how leaded gas came into the picture. In 1922, General Motors discovered
                        that adding lead to gasoline gave cars more horsepower. 

                        When there was some concern about safety, GM paid the Bureau of Mines to do some fake "testing" and
                        publish spurious research that 'proved' that inhalation of lead was harmless. Enter Charles Kettering.

                        Founder of the world famous Sloan-Kettering Memorial Institute for medical research, Charles Kettering also
                        happened to be an executive with General Motors. 

                        By some strange coincidence, we soon have the Sloan Kettering institute issuing reports stating that lead occurs
                        naturally in the body and that the body has a way of eliminating low level exposure. 

                        Through its association with The Industrial Hygiene Foundation and PR giant Hill & Knowlton, Sloane Kettering
                        opposed all anti-lead research for years. (Stauber p 92). Without organized scientific opposition, for the next 60
                        years more and more gasoline became leaded, until by the 1970s, 90% of our gasoline was leaded.

                        Finally it became too obvious to hide that lead was a major carcinogen, and leaded gas was phased out in
                        the late 1980s. But during those 60 years, it is estimated that some 30 million tons of lead were released in
                        vapor form onto American streets and highways. 30 million tons.

                        That is PR, my friends.

                        Junk Science

                        In 1993 a guy named Peter Huber wrote a new book and coined a new term. The book was Galileo's Revenge
                        and the term was junk science. Huber's shallow thesis was that real science supports technology, industry, and
                        progress. 

                        Anything else was suddenly junk science. Not surprisingly, Stauber explains how Huber's book was supported by
                        the industry-backed Manhattan Institute. 

                        Huber's book was generally dismissed not only because it was so poorly written, but because it failed to realize
                        one fact: true scientific research begins with no conclusions. Real scientists are seeking the truth because they
                        do not yet know what the truth is. 

                        True scientific method goes like this:

                            1. Form a hypothesis
                            2. Make predictions for that hypothesis
                            3. Test the predictions
                            4. Reject or revise the hypothesis based on the research findings

                        Boston University scientist Dr. David Ozonoff explains that ideas in science are themselves like "living organisms,
                        that must be nourished, supported, and cultivated with resources for making them grow and flourish."
                        (Stauber p 205) 

                        Great ideas that don't get this financial support because the commercial angles are not immediately obvious -
                        these ideas wither and die.

                        Another way you can often distinguish real science from phony is that real science points out flaws in its own
                        research. Phony science pretends there were no flaws.

                        The Real Junk Science 

                        Contrast this with modern PR and its constant pretensions to sound science. Corporate sponsored research,
                        whether it's in the area of drugs, GM foods, or chemistry begins with predetermined conclusions. 

                        It is the job of the scientists then to prove that these conclusions are true, because of the economic upside that
                        proof will bring to the industries paying for that research. This invidious approach to science has shifted the entire
                        focus of research in America during the past 50 years, as any true scientist is likely to admit. 

                        Stauber documents the increasing amount of corporate sponsorship of university research. (206) This has
                        nothing to do with the pursuit of knowledge. Scientists lament that research has become just another commodity,
                        something bought and sold. (Crossen)

                        The Two Main Targets Of "Sound Science"

                        It is shocking when Stauber shows how the vast majority of corporate PR today opposes any research that
                        seeks to protect

                            public health
                            the environment 

                        It's a funny thing that most of the time when we see the phrase "junk science," it is in a context of defending
                        something that may threaten either the environment or our health. 

                        This makes sense when one realizes that money changes hands only by selling the illusion of health and the
                        illusion of environmental protection. True public health and real preservation of the earth's
                        environment have very low market value.

                        Stauber thinks it ironic that industry's self-proclaimed debunkers of junk science are usually non-scientists
                        themselves. (255) Here again they can do this because the issue is not science, but the creation of images.

                        The Language Of Attack

                        When PR firms attack legitimate environmental groups and alternative medicine people, they again use special
                        words which will carry an emotional punch:

                        outraged sound science                                 junk science sensible 
                        scaremongering responsible                        phobia hoax 
                        alarmist hysteria
 

                        The next time you are reading a newspaper article about an environmental or health issue, note how the author
                        shows bias by using the above terms. This is the result of very specialized training.

                        Another standard PR tactic is to use the rhetoric of the environmentalists themselves to defend
                        a dangerous and untested product that poses an actual threat to the environment. This we see
                        constantly in the PR smokescreen that surrounds genetically modified foods. 

                        They talk about how GM foods are necessary to grow more food and to end world hunger, when the reality is
                        that GM foods actually have lower yields per acre than natural crops. (Stauber p 173) 

                        The grand design sort of comes into focus once you realize that almost all GM foods have been created by the
                        sellers of herbicides and pesticides so that those plants can withstand greater amounts of herbicides and
                        pesticides. (The Magic Bean)

                        Kill Your TV?

                        Hope this chapter has given you a hint to start reading newspaper and magazine articles a little differently, and
                        perhaps start watching TV news shows with a slightly different attitude than you had before. 

                        Always ask, what are they selling here, and who's selling it? And if you actually follow up on Stauber &
                        Rampton's book and check out some of the other resources below, you might even glimpse the possibility of
                        advancing your life one quantum simply by ceasing to subject your brain to mass media. 

                        That's right - no more newspapers, no more TV news, no more Time magazine or Newsweek. You could actually
                        do that. Just think what you could do with the extra time alone. 

                        Really feel like you need to "relax" or find out "what's going on in the world" for a few hours every day? Think
                        about the news of the past couple of years for a minute. 

                        Do you really suppose the major stories that have dominated headlines and TV news have been "what is going
                        on in the world?" Do you actually think there's been nothing going on besides the contrived tech slump, the
                        contrived power shortages, the re-filtered accounts of foreign violence and disaster, and all the other non-stories
                        that the puppeteers dangle before us every day? 

                        What about when they get a big one, like with OJ or Monica Lewinsky or the Oklahoma city bombing? Do we
                        really need to know all that detail, day after day? Do we have any way of verifying all that detail, even if
                        we wanted to? What is the purpose of news?

                        To inform the public? Hardly. The sole purpose of news is to keep the public in a state of fear and
                        uncertainty so that they'll watch again tomorrow and be subjected to the same advertising. 

                        Oversimplification? Of course. That's the mark of mass media mastery - simplicity. The invisible hand. Like
                        Edward Bernays said, the people must be controlled without them knowing it. 

                        Consider this: what was really going on in the world all that time they were distracting us with all that stupid
                        vexatious daily smokescreen? Fear and uncertainty -- that's what keeps people coming back for more. 

                        If this seems like a radical outlook, let's take it one step further: 

                        What would you lose from your life if you stopped watching TV and stopped reading newspapers altogether? 

                        Would your life really suffer any financial, moral, intellectual or academic loss from such a decision?

                        Do you really need to have your family continually absorbing the illiterate, amoral, phony, uncultivated,
                        desperately brainless values of the people featured in the average nightly TV program? Are these fake,
                        programmed robots "normal"?

                        Do you need to have your life values constantly spoon-fed to you?

                        Are those shows really amusing, or just a necessary distraction to keep you from looking at reality, or trying to
                        figure things out yourself by doing a little independent reading?

                        Name one example of how your life is improved by watching TV news and reading the evening paper.

                        What measurable gain is there for you?

                        Planet of the Apes?

                        There's no question that as a nation, we're getting dumber year by year. Look at the presidents we've
                        been choosing lately. Ever notice the blatant grammar mistakes so ubiquitous in today's advertising and
                        billboards? 

                        Literacy is marginal in most American secondary schools. Three fourths of California high school seniors can't
                        read well enough to pass their exit exams. (SJ Mercury 20 Jul 01) 

                        If you think other parts of the country are smarter, try this one: hand any high school senior a book by Dumas or
                        Jane Austen, and ask them to open to any random page and just read one paragraph out loud. Go ahead, do it.
                        SAT scales are arbitrarily shifted lower and lower to disguise how dumb kids are getting year by year.

                        At least 10% have documented "learning disabilities," which are reinforced and rewarded by special treatment
                        and special drugs. Ever hear of anyone failing a grade any more? 

                        Or observe the intellectual level of the average movie which these days may only last one or two weeks in the
                        theatres, especially if it has insufficient explosions, chase scenes, silicone, fake martial arts, and cretinesque
                        dialogue. 

                        Radio? Consider the low mental qualifications of the falsely animated corporate simians they hire as DJs --
                        they're only allowed to have 50 thoughts, which they just repeat at random.

                        And at what point did popular music cease to require the study of any musical instrument or theory whatsoever,
                        not to mention lyric? Perhaps we just don't understand this emerging art form, right? The Darwinism of MTV -
                        apes descended from man.

                        Ever notice how most articles in any of the glossy magazines sound like they were all written by the same guy?
                        And this guy just graduated from junior college? And yet he has all the correct opinions on social issues, no
                        original ideas, and that shallow, smug, homogenized corporate omniscience, which enables him to assure us that
                        everything is going to be fine... 

                        All this is great news for the PR industry - makes their job that much easier. Not only are very few paying
                        attention to the process of conditioning; fewer are capable of understanding it even if somebody
                        explained it to them.

                        Tea In the Cafeteria

                        Let's say you're in a crowded cafeteria, and you buy a cup of tea. And as you're about to sit down you see your
                        friend way across the room. So you put the tea down and walk across the room and talk to your friend for a few
                        minutes. 

                        Now, coming back to your tea, are you just going to pick it up and drink it? Remember, this is a crowded place
                        and you've just left your tea unattended for several minutes. You've given anybody in that room access to your
                        tea.

                        Why should your mind be any different? Turning on the TV, or uncritically absorbing mass publications every day
                        - these activities allow access to our minds by "just anyone" - anyone who has an agenda, anyone with the
                        resources to create a public image via popular media. 

                        As we've seen above, just because we read something or see something on TV doesn't mean
                        it's true or worth knowing. So the idea here is, like the tea, the mind is also worth guarding, worth limiting
                        access to it. 

                        This is the only life we get. Time is our total capital. Why waste it allowing our potential, our personality, our
                        values to be shaped, crafted, and limited according to the whims of the mass panderers? 

                        There are many important issues that are crucial to our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. If it's an issue
                        where money is involved, objective data won't be so easy to obtain. Remember, if everybody knows something,
                        that image has been bought and paid for. 

                        Real knowledge takes a little effort, a little excavation down at least one level below what "everybody knows."

                        Visit the author's website at: www.thedoctorwithin.com.
 

References 

                        Stauber & Rampton, "Trust Us, We're Experts", Tarcher/Putnam 2001

                        Ewen, Stuart PR!: A Social History of Spin 1996 ISBN: 0-465-06168-0 Published by Basic Books, A Division of Harper
                        Collins

                        Tye, Larry The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays and the Birth of Public Relations Crown Publishers, Inc. 2001

                        King, R Medical journals rarely disclose researchers' ties Wall St. Journal, 2 Feb 99.

                        Engler, R et al. Misrepresentation and Responsibility in Medical Research New England Journal of Medicine v 317 p
                        1383 26 Nov 1987

                        Black, D PhD Health At the Crossroads Tapestry 1988. revanian Shibumi 1983.

                        Crossen, C Tainted Truth: The Manipulation of Fact in America 1996.

                        Robbins, J Reclaiming Our Health Kramer 1996.

                        O'Shea T The Magic Bean 2000 www.thedoctorwithin.com.

                        Inhibitory effect of conjugated dienoic derivatives of linoleic acid and beta-carotene on the in vitro growth of human
                        cancer cells CANCER LETT. (Ireland) , 1992, 63/2 (125-133)

                        Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes by fatty acids and monoglycerides APPL. ENVIRON. MICROBIOL. (USA) , 1992,
                        58/2 (624-629) 
 

                        As I said in February when I posted an earlier piece on Trust Us We're Experts:

                        One of the reasons I write this newsletter is to provide you, the reader, with the truth so you can weed
                        through much of the nonsense that the media throws at you.

                        I know that it is difficult to do and that is one of the main reasons for the newsletter. This book will help
                        explain the details of how the media deceives you through the manipulation of PR by the large
                        corporations who do not have your best interest at heart.

                        My goal is to change the entire system. The