A tsunami of B.S. by Robert Ringer

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

A tsunami of B.S.

by Robert Ringer

WorldNetDaily

November 14, 2006

I get Robert Ringer's e-zine and he always makes some interesting observations. (He is more self-help oriented than philosophical or political.) Sometimes he comes up with a real charming article and I completely identified with this one.

He was discussing the tidal wave of BS this past election and then mentioned Harry Frankfurt's book, On Bullshit. Ringer quoted the book:

Professor Frankfurt's book is not meant to be a spoof. Though it contains some humor, he is deadly serious about his viewpoint on the subject. Frankfurt explains that the person who engages in this national pastime "does not reject the authority of the truth, as the liar does, and oppose himself to it. He pays no attention to it at all. By virtue of this, bulls--t is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are."

Paying no attention to the truth is what Rand called "blank-out." I believe the evaluation that ignoring a truth is a greater enemy of it than a lie is.

I wonder what makes humans do this all the time. This is definitely part of our nature. This only solution is "choose to think." Making a choice to think when your inclination (or urge or whatever you want to call it) pushes you to ignore something is the context I always use for that command.

I like Ringer's works. I always have.

Michael

[Mikee]

Michael,

I like Robert Ringer too! Damn, I've got to go in my attic and dig around for "Million dollar habits" and "Looking out for #1". I think he's great. Thanks for the link. I'd forgotten all about him. God, I have a terrible memory.

Mike Erickson

[Judith]

I wonder what makes humans do this all the time.

"Ignore it and it will go away." Probably because the consequences aren't always immediate and people think it works. And, in some cases, if you ignore a problem, eventually it does go away, so to speak; ignore a phone long enough and it stops ringing; ignore a headache long enough and it stops; etc. And if you never find out about the long term consequences, or if there aren't any (i.e., it wasn't your most important client on the phone with crucial information; the headache wasn't a symptom of a brain tumor; etc.), it's no big deal.

The reinforcement for paying attention and being conscious is selective. Sometimes you "get away with it" and sometimes you don't. I actually know a person -- as Dave Barry would say, I am not making this up -- who prides herself on her ability to ignore unpleasant realities, blank out on frightening or painful subjects, or use distractions to stop herself from thinking about certain things. For her, it's a "survival mechanism".

Judith

[Chris Grieb]

Robert Ringer does bring back memories. I heard him at the LP convention in LA that nominated Ed Clark. His speech was controversial. I heard several people walked out. As he stopped writing? He must be in his seventies.

[Robert Campbell]

Michael,

Thank you for the pointer.

I also hadn't read anything by Robert Ringer for years. It's good to see that he is still going.

The first time I ever saw Bill Clinton on TV, I had him pegged as an outrageous bullshitter--a veritable geyser of pishposh, as H. L. Mencken would have said. And at the time I didn't know anything about Clinton's past, or his purported ideology. (I wish I could say that all of my judgments of character were so on target...)

Robert Campbell