Crack the BS Code...with the Right Lenses
Masters of Illusion- Book Two in Trilogy is Launching April 19th
When I started writing Masters of Illusion: The Rise of Corporate Social Control, I focused on ONE thing only.
The following “glasses” were thrown to the curb.
Geopolitics
History as seen through the so-called “great political men”
History as organized by social or cultural factors
The traditional mythologies that are presented as “history”
I used ONE quote to guide my thinking.
Popular election, it is said, may work fairly well as long as those questions are not raised which cause the holders of wealth and industrial power to make full use of their opportunities. But if the rich people in any modern state thought it worth their while, in order to secure a tariff, or legalize a trust, or oppose a confiscatory tax, to subscribe a third of their income to a political fund, no Corrupt Practices Act yet invented would prevent them from spending it.
If they did so, there is so much skill to be bought, and the art of using skill for the production of emotion and opinion has so advanced, that the whole condition of political contests would be changed for the future. No existing party, unless it enormously increased its own fund or discovered some other new source of political strength, would have any chance of permanent success.
- Graham Wallas Human Nature in Politics (1908)
When Wallas states, “there is so much skill to be bought, and the art of using skill for the production of emotion and opinion,” he means propaganda, seduction, opinion control or manipulating the masses and he’s talking about the origins of Madison Avenue. Note the date— 1908.
So I opted to look at history by isolating and tracking the selling arts, who was using them and what effects they were achieving.
I jettisoned traditional verbiage like propaganda, disinformation, misinformation and substituted publicity and press agentry to look deep into the 19th century sales and marketing archives to find the roots of this alchemy.
SO WHAT! I can almost hear you scream. What about now! What about an imminent WWIII. What about…. and so on. How can I see through the thick maze of BS pouring forth from every media outlet, you ask?
The demand or desire to understand the world by watching a news show, or finding some channel of truth that one can trust is completely reasonable. And yet…
It is a dangerous and misguided way to look at things.
Here’s how I want you to understand it instead, and how I learned to visualize the framework in the process of writing Masters of Illusion. Read each section carefully.
If you are missing any particular lense, you are at a decided disadvantage. I constantly meet and interact with very smart people—who aren’t in fact very smart at all when it comes to seeing clearly. Most people are so focused on NOW, and parsing the tea leaves of daily media, they lose critical perspective on the whole.
My goal is synthesis not soundbites. I’m not trying to add to your daily distractions.
Being conversant with the five lenses is what enables you to see through the massive smokescreen hiding truth. Most authors focus on only one or, at most, two of the frames—the Relational and/or Communication—a serious mistake.
Masters of Illusion: The Rise of Corporate Social Control will improve your vision as it forces you to grow in all five lenses simultaneously.
There is a kindle eBook available for pre-order now which then goes live on Friday.
The paperback launches on Amazon on April 19th. You can order it now on SmartSheepe.com but since I can’t order author’s copies until after the launch, be prepared for a delay of 2-4 weeks before I can ship.
As an incentive to purchase on my site, I will be offering signed copies, a special deal on a five book bundle and bundle of the first and second books together.
I appreciate all your prayers. Book Three is already germinating.
Here’s to God’s provision and the success of Masters of Illusion. Godspeed little seed of truth. Out, out you go now to open eyes and strengthen hearts. The headwinds are getting stronger, book three rides behind you shortly. Find the ones with ears to hear.