My book – 2

I don’t normally amend a post, but it appears that this time I must.

Many of you have known me for a very long time and have encouraged me to write more than my blog. In my younger years, I wrote and sold both a play and a screenplay, with high hopes of seeing them come to light. Neither ever did.

It is said that a writer must write, and all creative endeavors should be done for the doing, and not the recognition garnered.   Alas, although I’ve started a couple of writing projects over the years, I eventually put them on hold; I am not so enlightened as to be able to write without hoping for a positive result.

Thus, my blog.  This has given me the opportunity to write short pieces which I enjoy writing and which, I have heard, some of you have enjoyed.

The small book (50 pages) that I just published was kind of a next step to get my voice heard. It’s timely, as it deals with the current efforts for some to take over the country, and it did not require the commitment of a longer book. I sent it out to you with the hope that you might read it, rate it, and even recommend it.  Every high rating pushes an ebook up the list on Amazon, and I’m hoping, perhaps in vain, that it might reach a larger audience than my loyal blog readers.  I have no social media presence, nor would I know how to begin with one.

This is not a financial venture, since any payments will be meager, and I was hardly trolling for dollars. It is a valiant attempt to see if something I write might ultimately reach the attention of someone who might want to put it out there on a grander scale. That would encourage me to complete the books I gave up on a while ago.

Do what thou wilt.

Below is the prologue:

HOW TO TAKE OVER A COUNTRY IN 10 STEPS

SAFETY FIRST

For every species that has managed to evolve, there are two basic needs: to survive and to reproduce. These needs are ingrained in us and express themselves in primal urges, e.g., to eat (hunger for food needed to survive) and to mate (need to reproduce).  Our DNA tells us that we must stay alive, have offspring, protect those offspring until they reach adulthood, and then depend on them when we are no longer capable of protecting ourselves.

There is another critical need, however, and that is the need for safety.  When we feel safe, we can focus on what we need to do in order to survive and reproduce. When our safety is threatened by natural disasters, wars, or health crises, our minds and bodies switch into defensive mode so we can focus every thought and action toward resolving the crisis and reestablishing a sense of order. Once the danger is over, we feel safe enough to go back to living our lives.

The need for safety is evolutionary. Fear of danger makes us protect ourselves and loved ones. Suspicion of people unlike ourselves makes us cautious so that we can effectively assess them for any potential threat and decide quickly if we should we fight or flee.

When we are in fight-or-flight mode, certain processes shut down while others sharpen. When in battle, soldiers don’t analyze the enemy’s reasons for fighting; they simply shoot to stop or kill. When firefighters are pulling people out of a burning building, they don’t consider the attitudes of the people they are carrying; and when saving someone from drowning, a lifeguard doesn’t focus on the victim’s values.  While in this mode, direct action overtakes thoughtfulness: people follow orders or stay on task, since contemplation could have disastrous consequences.

In recent years, we have had much to fear, from new technologies taking over our jobs and lives, to the pandemic, during which we lived in the unnatural state of wondering if we were, at any given moment, infecting or being infected with a potentially fatal disease. Racial unrest, international conflict and environmental collapse, politically induced chaos, and the accompanying breathless commentary, have kept us in a constant state of anxiety from which we have no reprieve; nor have we all sought out the mental health care which could bring us back to stability.

Constant fear and unresolved anxiety, fueled by inescapable and contradictory media warnings of violence and even apocalypse, have made us technically, if subtly, insane[1].  On edge and vulnerable, we yearn for solutions and for someone capable of enacting them. It’s a perfect opportunity for a potential strongman to step up and save us all.

[1] ”in a state of mind which prevents normal perception, behavior, or social interaction”

To purchase book, click here.