With all of the voting choices that lay before us every four years and in our day-to-day life, we must be resolved to critically analyze our own inspiration, judgment, and desires before we commit to a path that is sometimes best left un-walked by the uninformed and indoctrinated.
Five monkeys are placed in a cage in the intriguing Harry Harlow experiment. Hung above them is an unreachable banana and a ladder is in the middle of the cage. As one of the monkeys begins to climb the ladder to reach the banana, all of the monkeys are sprayed with very cold water. This action is repeated several times until the monkeys are conditioned to attack any monkey who dares to get the banana. One monkey is then removed from the cage and replaced with a new monkey; when the new monkey starts up the ladder toward the banana, the remaining conditioned monkeys attack. The original monkeys are replaced one by one, with similar attack responses happening to each one of them. When all of the original monkeys have been replaced with monkeys that have not been subjected to the original conditioning experience, the attack response still continues.
If you have difficulty understanding how these behavioral conditioning examples relate to your life, you’re in a very serious dilemma. When a puppy is raised in a cage, there will come a time for an adult dog to run to its cage for sanctuary when frightened. Whether your intellectual diet is relegated to bananas or feed corn, your primary caution should be your wariness for gratuitous gifts you do not need or can provide for yourself.
In our arrogance, we consistently fail to comprehend the subtle practical genius of what is commonly referred to as the “rural life people.” A timeless solution is again instituted in a secluded area that is problematic with wild pigs. A fenced-in corral is built with a large wide open door that is positioned fully secured and open, with feed littered on the ground a distance away. As each night falls, the littered ground grows nearer and nearer to the corral gate. Soon the ground around the corral gate is littered with feed, and the wild pigs are now accustomed to the new sights and smell they are encountering. With the gate now half closed, the pigs struggle to get through the opening to their last feed. With the gate now closed, the once wild pigs are slaughtered as they fatefully wait for their next feeding…
Your life “under government rule” is a constantly fluctuating “quid pro quo” of the enticement of giving up something to get something. Next time you are in the market, consider the bananas and the meat counter… Consider wisely when your freedom is on a menu…Consideration, respect, and love can be endlessly given without losing them, while freedom and rights are highly perishable commodities…
Tonight I shall dine on grilled garlic pork chops and bananas foster while I read the book “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells and consider the evolving relationship between the Congressional Morlocks and the Voting Eloi…
*Dr. Robert Rail is the author of “Surviving the International War Zone”