Long, long talk with Phil last night--

We got deeply into the belief systems of the many headed, noting that they have no actual standard of truth as such; and that they believe, rather, whatever they think they ought to believe (say, Creationism).  That is, they believe (or profess to believe) what they have somehow (probably by the example of those whom they deem credible persons) come to think to be the opinions of persons of such worth and credibility as themselves.  Something like that.  And as to disbelief, quite simply, they   disbelieve whatever it causes them too much pain to believe.  And that is how, though they know what controlled demolition is, and have seen many other instances of it on television, they can look at the images of the controlled demolition of the three skyscrapers on 9/11/2001 and disbelieve that what they are seeing is controlled demolition: prima facie evidence of the government's willingness to slaughter its own citizens.

Phil then brought up Edward Louis Bernays, of whom I had never heard--but whom, as I now Google him and read the Wikipedia entry on, I, with horror and aversion, recognize to be (along with his uncle Sigmund) the very Father of Lies and the Cold War and the CIA, him being particularly, personally responsible for what I have always thought the two greatest Abominations of U.S. foreign policy, our entry into World War I, and our overthrow of the government of Guatemala in 1954.  Jesus fucking Christ.