Published: June 15, 2006 05:14 pm         

Flashpoint: For country’s sake, fight through your outrage fatigue

Just checking in on you folks to see how you’re faring during this … well, what would you call this odd period of time in our country? I guess how you personally define it would determine how well you’re actually doing, or vice versa.

If you’re extremely wealthy you probably think everything is just dandy.

And if you’re reverently just sitting there waiting to be snatched up in a twinkling of an eye, it must be difficult for you to contain your gleeful elation as we spiral downward toward those glorious “end times.”

But if neither of these two categories fit, you just might be one of those getting a little frustrated and confused right now, and feeling a bit overwhelmed.

If so, I want to caution you about something called “outrage fatigue,” or “OF Syndrome”.

OF Syndrome is caused by an overloading of the outrage senses to the point of fatigue and subsequent shutdown.

Outbreaks of this malady have occurred throughout human history, a result of a variety of varying circumstances, but it’s only been relatively recently that it’s usefulness in controlling the masses was discovered by those seeking that control.

It was in fact OF Syndrome that ultimately allowed 1930’s Germany to decay into that nationalistic dark void. The German people were intentionally and systematically subjected to an ever-increasing series of outrages, all rationalized by the “Big Lie” technique, until they could no longer maintain any sense of indignation or moral clarity, and numbly succumbed.

And though you may wince at the comparison, the infliction of OF Syndrome on the people of the United States is part of the Bush Cabal plan right now. They are, and have been, attempting to overwhelm the average citizen to the point of shutdown.

For example: much of the nuclear sabre rattling about Iran, skyrocketing oil and gas prices, the entire Iraq fiasco, Katrina, the decimation of environmental rules and regulations, the torture of detainees, electronic voting scandals, an out-of-control (and soon-to-be-devastating) national debt, illegal wiretapping and spying, and the sneeringly dismissive “so what do you mere peons think you’re going to do about it anyway” attitude of this administration and its operatives … all of it is designed to generate a certain amount of OF Syndrome, inducing the majority of us to simply give up and accept whatever the Cabal is determined to do.

Can’t you feel it gnawing at you, that sense of mental exhaustion creeping in? The desire to focus what energy you have elsewhere and block it all out? I know I do. I fight it every single day, sometimes several times a day.

But we can’t succumb and zone out simply because it would be more expedient to do so. That would be exactly what they want you to do. Staying somewhat focused is the “price of admission” we all must pay to participate in this democratic drama.

So don’t allow yourself to suppress the outrage, or even any minor irritation you might experience. Howl, scream, stomp about in a huff; go outside and tear through the woods like a banshee; break something you don’t need anymore; take turns ranting to a friend or spouse — do whatever you can to exercise/exorcise that resentment and frustration, and to recoup your psychological and emotional balance.

Then calmly return to doing what a responsible citizen is supposed to do — paying attention to what they’re really up to (as best you can) and demanding accountability (when and where you can).

Trust me, you’ll feel much better in the long run if you do.

— Kerry Tomasi

Montezuma