We are at War

By GS Don Morris, Ph.D.

Ever listened in while you children were playing out on the playground? You can learn a lot about your child's character as well as the characters your child "hangs out with"! There is usually a "pecking order", you know a couple of kids who serve as the captains and "pick their players". These "leaders" learn at an early age to use language as a major weapon against their classmates. Often in a situation when a certain play erupts into arguments, the clever leader steps up and "rips" the leader and players using offensive language, body positioning power stances, ridiculing select other players on the opposing team and basically controlling the verbal exchanges-one team usually "backs down" and gives in to this type of leadership.

Children learn an enhanced lesson-use the power of language embedded with enough half truths to be considered plausible and you have now latched onto one of the most powerful weapon systems in the world-cognitive warfare. You control the narrative and always put your opponents on the defensive.

In order for cognitive warfare to be effective one side in the war must have the following behavioral needs: a desire to never offend anyone, wanting to be looked upon favorably, avoid confrontation at all costs and believing that you are superior to the other party but you must uphold your humanness values through appeasement. I call these conditions of support that unwittingly leads to our downfall as a nation.

Our enemies are very intelligent and clever. They almost seem to know us better than we know ourselves. They learned many years ago that there is more than simply conventional warfare to destroy an enemy; control a country's narrative and over a period of time you defeat them from within.

What is an operational strategy to utilize this powerful cognitive weapon system? First, infiltrate inside your enemy's major institutions, i.e., law enforcement, academia (K-University), government, business to name but a few. Infiltration demands a lengthy time frame and thus you must be incredibly patient and not require immediate gratification. The endgame of the infiltration is to shift the institution's narrative toward one's enemy. Multiple tactics are used.

The following represent a short list of tactics and serve only as examples demonstrating how insidious is their penetration into our Western society and culture. There are many additional tactics; I only want you, in this article, to be introduced to a few.

Second, shift the accepted cultural mores and behaviors over a long period of time. Again, there are multiple tactics currently in play as I write-here are a few: All of the preceding are non-military weapons, the per unit cost is a fraction of any military armament or weapons' systems. Our enemy learned this a long time ago and for literally "a song and a dance" realized the weapons of cognition. They are organized, focused, they veer not off message and realize how vulnerable America and the rest of the West is to this tool.

Of course this cognitive warfare requires a compliant society and culture. As long as we are unwilling to engage in confrontation with our enemy they know we loose. They are counting on this principle alone to defeat us. As long as Westerners believe they are responsible for other peoples' thoughts and feelings, we have no chance of victory. I address this version of cognitive weaponry in a recent article. (Going to the well time and again pays off-why not keep going?)

The West can win this war, we have the truth on our side, and our societal values are as valued today as they were so many generations ago. The question becomes when will we find the resolve to take a stand and defend ourselves? Our enemy is counting on never!