I have written a lot about hypnosis.
But I haven’t written much about MKULTRA, the (partly) declassified mind control research program run by the CIA during the Cold War.
It’s one of those songs that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
There aren’t many good things you can say about it. Even taking a generous point of view, you still find yourself scratching your head.
Sure, war, even the threat of it, makes us do terrible things. We built huge nuclear arsenals capable of wiping out civilization with one glitch.
And if mind control were possible, better us than the Reds cracking the code first, right?
Even if you believe that and take the broader “all’s fair in love and war” interpretation, MKULTRA still doesn’t make sense.
He explored a number of methods, from drugs to hypnosis and, well, anything, to test what was possible with mind control.
Could you take an American soldier and brainwash him into thinking he’s a communist, making him the latest infiltrator?
Could you take an enemy combatant and switch their allegiance to you?
What could you do with ordinary citizens? Could you turn one into a sleeper killer?
All valid questions, albeit horrible.
And if they just asked that, maybe they could have hidden behind the “that’s the war for you!” excuse.
But it turned into a farce involving dangerous and senseless experiments, illegally performed on US and Canadian citizens. Many of the experiments could be summed up as “what happens when we torture people a lot?”
It is a dark and sad story.
I won’t go into details, mainly because I don’t like to think about them. Remember the lesson but forget the horror, or something like that. Also, a fraction of the files are available if you search for them.
Instead, I like to think about the big picture.
What does this mean?
It stands for ‘mind control’ as most people think it probably isn’t a thing. Sure, using hypnosis or other tools you can drastically change some people, but for large-scale changes in society, propaganda seems to be the best tool.
Don’t get me wrong, propaganda can do incredible damage.
Less than literal mind control though.
But how would I know I’m being mind controlled? Maybe it wouldn’t, but the world seems too polarized for that.
Certain countries, corporations, and organizations would be willing to use mind control. However, none of them can act without opposition. No one has conquered the world… not even their region, really.
Who knows, maybe I’m wrong.
It doesn’t matter either way, because this is my point:
If someone tried to create mind control once, someone will try again.
And they don’t have to succeed to hurt you.
Don’t be afraid that the government will turn you into a mind controlled super killer. That probably won’t happen.
But fear anyone who thinks it’s a good idea.