Don’t be a puppet to another’s will
To the Editor:
In a recent editorial a Western North Carolina minister says he doesn’t understand why some North Carolinians, who profess to be Christians, vote for a man who demonstrates again and again, that he respects no Christian principles.
The simple answer is, they are Christians in name only. But a deeper reason is that possibly their minds have been manipulated. Western North Carolinians are basically honest and friendly people. But, why then can they back a politician who is the opposite?
The mind is a wonderful gift for humanity. We can use it to solve problems and invent new things, which we have done for centuries. But it can easily be controlled. The mind is like the breath. We do not usually think about breathing as much as breathing simply takes place. Of course, we can hold our breath but quickly the body begins breathing again. The mind is like that too. We can use our minds to figure out things, but mostly thoughts come and go all day long without our input. Some people even have trouble going to sleep at night; their minds remain active and don’t let them. In other words, we can control our minds, but mostly our minds control us. Or other people can control our minds.
As Evita Echol (and many, many others) have pointed out, “Until you realize how easy it is for you to be manipulated, you remain the puppet of someone else’s game.”
The world produces people who are excellent at controlling other people’s minds. In other words, they are “master manipulators.” One such manipulator was Adolf Hitler, who managed to manipulate an entire society to do things they normally wouldn’t think of doing. Another more recent example is the riots of January 6 at our capitol. People were killed and property destroyed. When interviewed, several of those involved said things like, “I don’t know what made me do that.” “That ain’t who I am.” “I guess I just got carried away by the moment.” An explanation is that their minds were controlled by a master manipulator. The curious, but sad, fact is that it was the manipulated who faced jail time and heavy fines, while the manipulator went free.
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Aren’t you tired of being a robot in someone else’s drama? Then buck up your courage. Stand strong for your principles rather than being a puppet of someone else’s game.
Paul Strop
Waynesville
