I was once asked by journalist Lee Smith to stand back, look at the total landscape, give my honest evaluation of the state of things, while defining the largest problem. My answer was immediate and deliberate….
We are living in an era of “Great Pretending.” That’s it. That’s the #1 issue that creates the angst, anxiety and suffering we all encounter. Perhaps a self-defense mechanism, but certainly, a psychological need to pretend things are something other than what they truly are. It’s everywhere, all around us, and it is almost painful to be one of the people amid the chaos who refuses to pretend.
Long after we are gone there will be people, perhaps not yet born, who will look upon this era and define it as this mysterious time when billions of people found it easier to pretend than face the reality of the precipice. It has been said that “ignorance is bliss,” but this is not that. This state of pretending is something far more insidious, far more dangerous, and yet acceptance of this pretending reality provides the stable non-pretending psyche with enhanced predictive insight for what comes next.
You might say those paragraphs sound awfully esoteric in value, somewhat difficult to fully contextualize without a solid frame of reference or example. Well, here’s an example of intentional pretending via CBS today. Catherine Herridge (EoS) knows the truth of the thing, yet she cannot share the truth of the thing; so, she pretends not to know the truth of the thing while softly bumping up against the acceptable pretending of the thing. Just watch the first 2 minutes and you will see it. WATCH:
As the pretending outline existed before, David Weiss could go anywhere he wanted to investigate and prosecute the Biden issue. A least that was the story from the Dept of Justice and even Weiss himself. Yet, for some rather mysterious reason, Weiss needed to ask for special counsel status. It’s all just an exhibition in parseltongue and pretending.
The DOJ is trying to protect the Biden family while simultaneously prosecuting their political opposition, Donald Trump. Toward that end, the special prosecutor against Trump asked for, and received, a secret court order for data from the Twitter account of Trump; their justification, Trump was a flight risk. Now think about that.
A secret, under seal, court order authorized under the justification of President Trump being a flight risk. The most famous man in the world, a man known by everyone on the entire planet earth, a walking human GPS system who literally has armed guards of the U.S. government following him around every day and documenting his every move, is considered a “flight risk”?
What level of pretending is needed to make that judicial justification seem rational? I digress.
As long as the era of great pretending remains the easiest psychological condition to survive the abuse, there will be no shift for people to look at their core beliefs and the fabricated world around them.
The challenge is getting those who understand the big picture dynamics to stop being comfortable and sticking their heads in the sand about “motive”. Most people are still clinging to beliefs around a principle of ‘rule of law’ that applies to national leadership writ large. We need to change that thinking quickly – or we will be left explaining ‘what happened’ far too late.
There is also a major issue with conservative “ushers” guiding the audience into a state of tactical numbness. A willful blindness within part of the American electorate, a chosen refusal to acknowledge the implications of the unAmerican and unconstititional actions we are seeing on a daily basis.
It can no longer be presumed to be a matter of, “I can’t see what’s happening”, because a whole lot of normal Americans really are clean and articulate. “I can’t see it”, just doesn’t cut it.
It’s more along the lines of, “I see what’s happening, but it’s scary and complicated and confusing, and if I admit that I see it, I will become responsible in a way that I am not if I keep pretending; I can’t see it or hear it, or maybe I don’t understand it.”
Why don’t we dare say what is so? Are we a bit afraid that if we give up the willful blindness we will perhaps start screaming and not be able to stop? Do we think we have so little courage? Do we really believe that we have no resources to bring to the battle – or nothing more to contribute to the turning of the battle?
If we stop pretending, we unite as a country, because we all start to accept the same baselines. The fraud, that has been purposefully deployed as a tool for fundamental change, can only exist if people pretend that fraud and corruption does not exist. Stop pretending, and the sunlight of commonality begins to unite our nation.
Believe me, and think about this with great serious reflection, the systems that are destroying us rely upon our continued pretending.
If you want to be a person of great influence in this current era, stop pretending. Start living, speaking, challenging and being direct and brutally honest when you encounter the need for pretending. Stop participating in the pretense, and you will see the natural outcome of a loving God elevate you.
We have the tools, resources and opportunity to speak with great resonance and clarity.
Speak truth!
Speak it loudly!
Speak it with resonance, clarity and great deliberateness.
This is what they fear.
Truth is a weapon against pretending.
Use it!
Watch what happens!
“it is almost painful to be one of the people amid the chaos who refuses to pretend”
Only at first. But when the pretenders start demanding you pretend too, it hardens your resolve. There’s something about standing on the rock of truth that is both calming and clarifying of purpose. Like a lighthouse far out on a jetty during a fierce storm — unshakable, unmovable — shining its light for anyone that wants to see it.
If I may paraphrase the words of Bob Segar.
We must be,
Like a rock standing strong as We can be.
Stand Like a rock nothin ever Discourages me.
Like a rock ,when you do that ,you really are Something Special to Be.
Like A Rock
We must stand firm and strong .
Like a rock.
I listen to that song when I am down . I find ,it as well as the stix song your fooling yourself(The Angry Young Man)encouraging .
Especially the rendition with the High School band.
Funny all I see is a sea of sheep who allow drag queens in kindergartens; liberians who promote filth; colleges that prevent the Constitution and promote perversion; churches who have never read the Bible; politicians that never met a bribe they couldn’t refuse; corporations bereft of any conscious toward their workers, communities they serve or the ideals of their founders; a government that promotes only the interests of its own and disdains the people; bankers for whom no risk is too great as long as they are assured they will be protected by corrupt bureaucrats; bureaucrats who work from home and produce nothing but misery; a pharmaceutical industry that puts profits above healthcare; a military more concerned with pronouns rather than the warrior’s code; lawyers who strive to confirm the merit in Shakespeare’s demand that “first we kill all the lawyers.
Tell me about standing like a rock again.
^^^THIS^^^
When the election was stolen, I stopped pretending.
When the covid lockdowns started, I became resolute.
When they jailed innocent people from J6 I became furious. I began to hate the government. The scales fell from my eyes.
And yet they continue with their persecutions, willfully pretending themselves that tens of millions of people are not Fed up.
I do speak truth, but I’m mostly preparing for further persecution from our government because I cannot see how they will do anything in our best interest.
Kingdoms come and kingdoms go. Blessed be the name of the Lord for He reigneth forever. Amen.
Accepting persecution is neither honorable nor justifiable. Just told his followers that all who did not own a sword to buy one. Men musty not accept nor tolerate evil. If you do you nurture it.
I’ll say it again. Watch Al Pacino in “And Justice for All” opening statement on youtube.
I just watched it……WOW powerful. Speak the truth no matter the consequences and speak it loudly.
“We are living in an era of “Great Pretending.”
Humanity have been here many times before since antiquity.
We are now living through the time of the great lies.
It will be followed by the time of great truths
As sure as night follows day.
The time of truth will be exponentially more painful to all.
“Expodentially” more painful too according to Potato Joe.
Pretending is such a kind word. These are liars, plain and simple. They know they are liars, and we know they are liars.
While they are lying, they are facilitating the death of our nation………
I like your reply to Best. Why call it pretending when we know they are liars.
The media liars know that millions of us Trump America First, MAGA supporters know they are liars. They also know we give them no credence or respect. We refuse to pretend that they have any influence over us. That irks but at the same time scares the hell out of them.
What really bothers them is they are very afraid that more and more people who are affected by the lies are also waking up to their CBA (Cover Biden’s A*8) propaganda.
Pretending is a creative word.
“Everything is the opposite of what it should be.”
You don’t have to call out the lies, if you can project the truths. I don’t need more truths, I have truth fatigue. Italians have a saying… the truth, after the fact, won’t help you much. My opinion only.
Orange Man Landslide
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/110884926996480559
We are not valuable to the war effort. There are no jobs and homes waiting for us in the East. Our luggage and personal belongings will not be returned. That is not a bar of soap.
Was it the Platters that had the song “oh yes I’m the Great Pretender “? This should be today’s theme song.
Herb Reed. Pretending to feel no heartache from a failed romance.
The last legitimate “pretender”.
It was not pretending. There was no recognizing a painful fact and then deluding yourself. It was trust. You trusted your superiors to do what was best for the mission. Anything that fell short or did not fit was simply an aberration or the explanation was known, but, not by you because you were busy or whatever. It was not pretending. It was trust.
Trust allows one to explain an aberration in reference of ideals that you thought that your ‘betters’ – how laugh bitterly at that – held just like you.
I would argue you on that one. I pride myself for as long as I can remember in confronting the truth no matter how painful or pleasant for that matter. I pushed myself to look at a thing squarely. My assumptions rested on the trust of the political system was mostly honest and not at all corrupted.
It may have been trust at one time, but now, if someone can’t/won’t see the truth, it’s pretending.
This is a very important point about trust.
So many acted in the way they did based on trust. They thought, “how could all these people in the news, in DC, in govt, in the medical industry, in Hollywood all be lying or pretending?”
Once these people awaken, look out! They will be very angry. Our strongest resisters will become our strongest allies in this war. It is a war, make no mistake about that.
In the meantime, enjoy the pretenders in the media and govt hugging the lie harder and harder to attempt to remain relavant.
To call it “pretending” seems euphemistic, in a way that coincides with the language obfuscation at the core of the evil cabal’s vicious semantic destruction of our civilization.
I can’t pretend anymore, I just can’t!
And I won’t!
But I wonder what I can do, when the GOP does nothing?
Great words, Sundance 🙂
I, a grassroots “what the heck happened Republican, have spent the last 3 years, almost 4 years now, learning about the Election Fraud Cabal and it’s been terrifying to see the extent of that corruption. Whose involved and how far up it goes? Which includes the Republican Party membership, unfortunately. I was present when a long time Republican told everyone to ignore anyone who said the election was rigged, that the machines are indeed safe. Unbelievable!! The Party continues at the local level to purposely remain elitist and cloistered and is not transparent when seeking accountability concerning lost/misplaced thousands of dollars? What is the leadership doing? Why is it so hard to reach out to all Registered Republicans especially the PCPs??? As Republicans, we must seek accountability not only from the Republican Party but from our elected/selected government officials (including the Colorado County Clerks Association) at both the local and state levels. I trusted too much. I will not trust any longer!! How can we stop the Election Fraud Cabal? Start sharing the info we’ve learned, even to those who continue to pretend. In Colorado our evidence that proves the machines are corrupt has not been allowed to be presented in our courts!! The judges, who appear liberal or afraid, have stated that we don’t have “Standing”. The judges are part of the Election Fraud Cabal. Find out who they are and no longer vote for their retention!! It’s a long road and will take time. Until then, write the name of your candidate on the ballot, don’t just fill in the circle!! Your ballot will go to adjudication for signature verification. That’s a start as well. We will never be able to out vote the machines!!! While machines are required in Colorado, Dominion is not (YET), and why not use manual tabulators in camera view, paper ballots, hand counted, one day election, voter ID, no mail in ballots except for the disabled & military, just like we used to. For the sake of convenience, we gave away our election system, our vote, our voice.
Elf on a Shelf is how Sundance labeled Catherine Herridge
I used to like her too. It’s shocking how many people have sold their souls to the devil, who, after all, is the great pretender.
Wholeheartedly agree. This is not the Catherine Herridge of a dozen years ago. She left FOXnews well before we quit watching that network. When she departed I wondered how she was going to make the leap over to the lyin’ side of town. Little did the Mister and I imagine the direction in which FOX would be steered.
Back then, in her FOXnews years, there was no Stepford Wives smile plastered like glue across her face, in contrast with what is on display in this interview. Her entire presentation has changed in both style and substance. I hadn’t seen her on screen in years because we don’t watch this network either. But Catherine! She comes across like a dumbed-down, robotic clone of her former “tear down the walls!” investigative reporter self. SAD.
It’s going to get pretty gritty once the Kool-Aid finally evaporates in the pool.
Interesting that the Maui donation fund Jason Mamoa posted is run on off the Act Blue platform. Is that part of the Great Pretending? That every last thing is politicized?
ActBlue acts as a catch-all donation processor for all leftist causes, just as Brandon at Walkaway uses Winred. I asked him why, and he said that he turned/canceled everyone else.
I’ll email Anedot and Revv, and see if they will take their acct, because NOBODY with a lick of sense uses WR.
I’ll email him again soon, and let him know what I found out. The guy has been so mercilessly persecuted by the Left, and stood his ground through it all.
ActBlue also acted as a money-launderer in 2020, as Biden had NO MONEY in his presidential fund in mid-2020, but his account was bulging with many millions during the BLM riots. So it doesn’t surprise me that Momoa is using AB.
Try Franklin Graham’s outfit if you want the money to actually get there without grifting.
Isn’t it illegal for a Special Prosecutor to be named from within the DOJ?
“Beloved, be quick to repent of your pride and relinquish the need to be in control.
Why make Me wait and delay My Divine Deliverance and wonder-working Power to perform Miracles in the midst of you, because you have chosen to rather explore and exhaust all other man-made ideas and quick fix solutions?”
“When will you let go of human intellect and understanding, and Look to Me alone?”
Graven Images I beiieve align with
the great pretending. Imagening in
ones thoughts and actions contrary
to what striving should be towards
being a Christian. Avoiding directly
and indirectly to fail within the ten
commandments.
cross posted at https://freedomaustralia.freeforums.net/thread/3852/truth-weapon-pretending
Conservatives are always right – but they always lose.
The opposition is relentless, and conservatives are running out of institutional options fast. If the 2024 election is as rigged as the previous one – and as of today that is the greatest probability by far – then what?
What is the plan?
Well, my plan is to follow Christ no matter what. That’s really the bottom line. If I become a martyr, so be it.
If I’m still alive, I hope that I can be steadfast to the end.
It has been observed that:
****
Postmodernism holds that there is no objective truth, and no moral base.
America’s “liberal arts” colleges have been steeped in Postmodernism and Marxism for decades.
Therefore masses are now thoroughly indoctrinated in false narratives spun by “progressive liberals” serving as apparatchiks of powerful amoral entities.
Reinforced by Operation Mockingbird effectively controlling the preponderance of all media.
At the same time, there are signs of mass media manipulations designed to muddy truth with falsehood and character defamations, creating confusion and discrediting those who speak truth. This also illuminates an Operation Mockingbird MO.
“Speak truth”? In this society, different masses believe starkly different “truths” and will absolutely reject anything that does not agree with “their truth”.
Black pill: There is no way to break this mass formation psychosis. The deluded are absolutely set in their thinking, reinforced by their social circles and continued propaganda and censorship. Speaking truth is met with absolute rejection, ridicule, ostracization, and mob attack, this can be an existential threat so most self-censor. This is the mechanism for the rise of totalitarianism.
Look at the falsehood-based machinations sinking the US hegemony as the new briCs+ hegemony rises, all reinforced by the US propaganda and censorship. This offers a clue to what is really happening.
****
The above are the observations some suggest.
Lying is only lying when the liar knows it is not true.
Same goes for pretending.
We are in a world of both pretending and delusion.
In my Substack blog I continue to point out the “Bear In The Back Room”. Anyone with any sense of reality knows it’s there, but far to many of us on the right refuse to admit it. What does it look like? Another phony “insurrection”, justifying the implementation of Martial Law, and forced gun confiscation, leaving us with no means to defend ourselves. Pretending that isn’t the agenda of the Democrats is irrational and dangerous.
A long, long, train of abuses.
There are the liars, the decepticons, and then there are the pretenders. Those that choose not to see a thing for what it is.
The Enablers. The worst of the lot. Nothing could be possible without the enablers.\
“But I need my job…”… “But I don’t have time to research…”… “But Maddow says…”… “Well, I”M doing okay, so who cares about…”…”You’d let Granny DIE!”…”So you think you know better than the experts?”… “Oh, I don’t pay attention to any of that” …”It’s no worse than it’s always been”…” “But all my friends would laugh at me”…””I can’t move –all my friends and family are here”…”I watch the news, so I’m informed”…”I don’t have time to keep up”…
And on and on…
It has been said that “ignorance is bliss,” but this is not that.
It is for my otherwise informed and intelligent relatives. They simply no longer need or want to know anything more about a completely corrupt system they know they can do nothing about.
I contend, sadly, that my otherwise thinking relatives are so enamoured with creature comforts that they will do anything to keep them. To the point of being complicit with a corrupt government. Materialism and Relativism combined =
Extremely self-centered.
IMHO
I agree with both you and Winston. For my children (very conservative) and grandchildren (some conservative, one ruined intellectually by Catholic schooling — I grieve to say this) it is a combination of reasons to avoid the whole topic. Out time together is too scarce to waste it on things we know and don’t know how to change; the rest is to try to live life as they expected and earned (well-educated and hardworking and generous) for as long as possible.
There is a lot of that going around, Winston.
And they think they can live with it if things STAY THE SAME.
What they don’t realize that this addiction to power is an uncontrollable, ravenous hunger that knows no satisfaction. It NEVER STAYS THE SAME.
Leftists hide behind social politeness. The worst thing in their eyes is to offend or to say something untoward or aggressive. Nevermind the real-world crimes, poverty and atrocities that occur in the wake of their Utopian social vision – as long as no confronts them and bursts their bubble, they can remain immune to cause and effect. Be polite, display tolerance, smile, don’t rock the boat!
Conservatives do too. That is part of our problem. We were raised to be nice, to help others, etc. These civilized qualities are being used against us very effectively.
“Pretending”? They are evil, who have planned this for decades. Liars, deceivers, murderers. Criminals against humanity.
We are pretending that the stolen election was not an actual coup d’état. Since for most people day to day life goes on as it always has, they don’t give much thought to politics or the goings on in Washington. That will only change when something big happens which affects them directly. Anyway, even if they understood, what can they really do about it.
John 7:7
“The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.”
Humans have always used pretending as a defense mechanism against great and unspeakable evil.
Many Germans saw the smoke from the concentration camps a few miles away…and refused to believe what was happening. They pretended nothing bad was actually happening when they knew the Truth.
And that’s exactly what is happening in America. The Nazis would go into a Jewish maternity ward, grab the babies, and fling them out the window to their deaths, and even Jews could not believe it. We are the same.
Within months of taking power, the Nazis had imprisoned their opponents in places like Dachau. That had a remarkably chilling effect on what people were willing to see and speak about.
Have you gone to DC to protest about January 6 prisoners? Have you asked yourself why not?
The talking heads must be gentle and pretend because we are one spark away from setting off an inferno in this country from a people fed up with the lies and corruption.
Victor Davis Hanson isn’t pretending: he nails it.
https://amgreatness.com/2023/08/14/joe-bidens-race-against-the-truth/
I disagree. It is far better to live a truthful life regardless of the consequences than to live a life of pretense which is no life at all. I find that once I shed the confusion that pretense creates things became sharper and clearer. Yes there is danger for yourself and loved ones to swim against the tide of pretense but it is our path and we should bear it with a positive attitude with love and caring for those we touch.
“And I refused to be a fool dancing on the strings held by all those big shots. I don’t apologize, that’s my life.” Don Corleone
I have become very concerned about President Trump. These arrests and charges are not just happening here in America but everywhere. Something is changing in the WORLD.
https://www.axios.com/2022/08/26/countries-where-former-leaders-jailed-charged
I’m fighting this pretending in my own immediate family. Despite growing up in a traditional family, with a Catholic upbringing they have fallen into the idealogies of the day.
They’ve bought into the trans and gender idealogies. We are still close. But we have had some battles, and there, unfortunately, is no charity in going along with someone’s pretending. I try to be compassionate in my speech, but it’s not an easy conversation. It’s been extremely difficult and disheartening. I will not yield the truth I know and understand.
I’m leaning on God heavily and trying to go deeper into my faith and prayer.
Thank you, Sundance, for this great “wake up and start shouting from the rooftops” call to us! I see what is happening, I have been seeing this slide down toward immorality and lawlessness for many years. But, I confess, these days, I am afraid I will be fired from my job if I speak up. that’s where they have many of us cornered. Well, it’s time to be fearless and lose my job if necessary. I can get another job in my field, at least I think I can, if I’m not blackballed. God knows!
If they fire you tell them you’re going to sue them for violating your 1A rights and watch them back down.
In short, he needs special counsel status because too many people were being asked to play along (with the immunity deal, etc.) and they needed to close the circle and have direct to report to garland.
My wife asked me last night if I could go back to my younger self, what would I say to him. So this post, “Sunday Talks, Soft Nudges Against The Great Pretending” is timely for me.
I answered her saying, “I would say to tell the truth to the fullest extent possible”. That very act would waylay so much suffering that I would later experience (most of it self generated). It would have stopped me from doing so many things that the transparency of truth would have given.
In truth, as I was suicidal in my mid teens, I found the way out was speaking the truth as if my very life depended on it, and it did. This one thing brought me to see the structure of God in the world and in my life. To be clear, it didn’t make my life easy but the amount of personal wealth, growth, strengthening and …, well this list is too vast to try to reduce to this moment.
I write this because Sundance’s daily thoughts have brought much truth and light to my life. Speaking the truth, as best I can, is more important to me than the air I breathe. It was and is one of the now myriad ways I get to experience my connection with something far greater than the spangles of this earthly existence.
And all I had to do was stop “pretending”.
For at least 3 1/2 years, the extremely (did I mention EXTREMELY?) odd passivity of the MAGA electorate in response to the rise of globalist-totalitarian EVIL has been my #1 concern. Something about it makes no sense. A tinfoil hat nutjob might claim we’ve been somehow drugged with Soma, or hypnotized with CCP psy-ops, or chemtrails, or AI-infused Behavior Control…
Something is OFF… ….. …
Sounds like the situation face during the Weimar Republic when faced with moderates or the choices offered by the Communists or the National Socialist Worker’s Party. Too many pretended and hoped things would return to normal. And thus sealed the fate of generations of Germans.
Are Americans any different? I think not. Name one institution that does not worship at the altar of Satan.
BOMBSHELL EXCLUSIVE: NATIONWIDE CELLULAR NETWORK CONNECTS ELECTION EQUIPMENT AND GIVES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ACCESS TO ELECTION SYSTEMS AT THE PRECINCT LEVEL | Joe Hoft
As it relates to seeing the truth, there are at least three types of ignorant people: the blindly ignorant, the willfully ignorant, and the duplicitously ignorant. The blindly ignorant are either incapable or distracted by pursuing the highest of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs to see the truth. The willfully ignorant, see the truth, but the fear of serious personal loss, harm or calamity – ignore it. And the duplicitously ignorant know the truth, but pretend ignorance (i.e., well crafted plausible deniability) to distort or pervert the truth for great fortune, power, and/or more deviant self-interests.
Imagine the thousands of American families that are being torn apart by the desperate attempts of the Democrats to keep hold of their most precious possession – power.
I don’t have to try very hard to imagine it.
There are many not afraid of the truth or of speaking the truth but we are censored, silenced and called conspiracy theorists.