What do you mean our minds have been compromised?!
It's okay calm down nobody is reading your thoughts. But someone is trying to dictate your thought patterns. In the United States since September 11, 2001 it seems the general public has become more complacent when it comes to our liberties and rights. A Faustian exchange is exemplified as a deal with the devil except that in our case we are not gaining wealth, youth, knowledge, or beauty. Instead we are giving up rights to privacy and other freedoms if we do not realize what is occurring.
September 11th 2001 came as a frantic shock to many Americans and highlighted how potentially vulnerable our once thought impenetrable really is. I want to clearly state that I believe measures had to be taken to insure the security of our nation but it must also be noted that just because a solution is being applied does not mean it is the best solution.
Typically wars are committed to restore the degree of safety and security to ones country due to an outside threat. I have felt though for quite sometime this war is not only making us more vulnerable to outside threats it is increasing the number of outside threats. For instance how do you expect to minimize the amount of enemies our country has when the decisions that have been made (specifically drone warfare in this case) are creating more enemies than they are eliminating? Not to mention the suggestion of killing American citizens without any trial to prove their guilt!
It is this level of irrationality that United States citizens must deal with on a daily basis. Stress has many effects on the body and mind. It would be quite useful to quantify this amount of stress that is caused by the decisions that are made that effect a broader population by a comparatively minute population of our country. But for now we must identify with our own stress levels to imagine the total value of stress across the country. This stress level will be different from person to person but consider the total population of about 314 million citizens when thinking of the impact of this stress on yourself at the same time.
It seems that everyday there is something else that comes out on the news (the accurate not mainstream news.) As we think about where we used to be and where we are now take into effect how everything has effected you in the past 15 years. How much of an effect will differ by individual but the amount of change and the rapid pace of that change has effected all of us in some way. Many people have lost jobs, income, family members, time, and other invaluable assets that we hold dear. For some the quality of life has improved but others are just trying to keep their heads above water.
But when making decisions that effect whether or not this type of behavior is propagated or negated most times we fail to factor in how much all of this nonsense has really effected our mindsets. Many have become off balanced or even completely toppled over. My final point is to find that rational balance. It is important not just for yourself but others around you. Do not underestimate the effects of these changes that have occurred. Try to benefit from them if you can but remember to always maintain the rational balance because it is irrationality that causes the boom and bust cycles that are seemingly inevitable. Don't be apart of the problem be apart of the solution by embracing an understanding of your irrationality and a way of at least balancing it out with rationality.
