Learn, Crtique, Revise, Then Act
So many problems. So many enemies, both internal and external. So little understanding and so much misinformation. Our only hope is to learn how to increase our knowledge and act with determination and compassion.
Pawns Who Think They Are Patriots
The Goal of This Site
Manipulation
There is a great need to educate the members of a democratic country on how to protect themselves from manipulation. This is because manipulating large proportions of the citizenry with words is just as effective a way to control them as a police state. To clarify, such manipulation often involves making people feel threatened by supposed attacks or injustices. Such harm would supposedly come from evil people who are different from themselves. These fear-based tactics can quickly get out of control. Unfortunately, the country’s people almost always lose in the competition for control through manipulation.
Dire Consequences
Such losses are not minor. This damage includes economic loss through low and stolen wages, loss of jobs, and higher prices. Such damage can also be psychological. This results from the stress and fear generated by the ideas of supposed impending doom used to manipulate them. Consequently, the chaos will injure, debilitate, and kill many people. These dire consequences are not imaginary. A brief look at life in the present-day United States of America shows how widespread the harm can be. Yet, life in the U.S.A. can still get much worse for most people as the chaos morphs into ever more profound and cruel insanity.
Evidence-Based Knowledge
The good news is that many citizens resist these trends, and some will always do so. The more evidence-based knowledge of the frailties of human nature and the pitfalls of democracy they have, the more successful the resistors will be. This website will attempt to spread some of this needed information and do so in a readily accessible manner.
Dr. John A. Busch, Ph.D.
Latest Book
(A Selection in The Quick Study Series)
The Unwitting Antichrists:
Understanding How Good People Can Be Misled
Kirkus Review
Busch’s passionate manifesto scores some solid points against conservative Christian hypocrisy and what he sees as its incompatibility with Jesus’ teachings.
Religious Extremism
All religions produce extremists who think they stand for the pure form of their faith but end up profoundly corrupting that religion. For example, witness the Taliban and the Christian Nationalists. The very nature of authoritarianism, cults, and fascism drive many people to these extremes with no awareness that they have left reality behind. Knowing about these pressures can help some people get out of one of these cults and hopefully keep some others from ever joining.
The Unwitting
Dr. Busch has been studying the creation of extremists for over 40 years and is highly concerned about the extent of their recent expansion. He explains how easy it is, especially for authoritarians, to get caught up in a cult unwittingly and how hard it is to get out should one even feel the need. Cults can develop into fascist movements, often as dangerous to their members as to everyone else. And when a cult turns into a fascist movement for Jesus, it is not only a major threat to democracy; it is no longer Christian despite claims to the contrary. Dr. Busch takes the view that such followers are not inherently evil. Instead, most are good people who do not grasp that they have been misled. Even now, many battles exist to control Southern Baptist congregations between pastors and parishioners influenced by extremist media and power-hungry Christian nationalist leaders.
Racial Prejudice Is The Driver
Race was at the heart of the Christian Nationalists’ desire for power after the IRS denied tax exemptions for some colleges’ refusal to desegregate in the 1970s. Yet, Christian Nationalism purposely portrayed itself as the protector of the unborn. This anti-abortion message was adopted to generate more followers than their preferred racist message. To defend their extremist ideology, they have embraced the transparent hypocrisy of picking cafeteria-style those parts of the Bible they want to believe. They combined such selective reading with misinformation about race, abortion, and LGBTQIA people. Dr. Busch uses the biological and social sciences to counter this misinformation and undermine the hate it generates. Cult members and those who care about them can benefit from understanding the power of cults and fascist movements and the science behind their hatred.
Bio: Dr. John A. Busch, Ph.D.
Dr. Busch received his Ph.D. in sociology from Indiana University in 1974 and retired from the University of Louisville in 2018. Using the system’s philosophy, he studies the social construction of reality, political economy, racial and gender inequality, the reciprocal influences of self and society, authoritarian disposition, cults, fascism, and religion. He has published in Cybernetica and other journals, edited two books in sociocybernetics, and wrote Sociocybernetics: A Perspective for Living In Complexity. He has recently turned his attention to authoring some works for the general public to further awareness of how easy it is to misunderstand what is happening to people in the tumultuous times of the early 2000s. He hopes that with greater understanding, more people can protect themselves and those they care about from contributing to their downfall. The first book in this series is The Unwitting Antichrists.
