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Bush,
Kerry to Spend Almost Half-Billion
By
SHARON THEIMER, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON
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President Bush and Democratic nominee-to-be John Kerry are on track to
spend nearly a half-billion dollars vying for the White House this year,
making it the most expensive presidential race in history.
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When I first read the news item above
I was astounded. What could possibly be the Good purpose for this
extreme amount of advertising? And what kind of opinion of the
American people do our politicians have that would warrant them spending
a half-billion dollars? Is the White House becoming the residence
for only the very rich? What happens in a democracy when these
amounts of money are spent to send 30 and 60-second messages over and
over again to voters? Do our political parties and candidates
think the American people are so obtuse that they know so little about
them that we must be bombarded with this amount of political
advertising? I think there is more to this than just mere
advertising.
Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, the Father of the New
Thought Movement, realized in the late 1800s that we could change
people's minds about just about anything through mesmerism.
"As a man begins to reason from a different starting point,
different results are accomplished," wrote Quimby. The mind
can be convinced of almost anything whether or not it is the truth.
We know in metaphysics that we have allowed our minds to accept
many un-truths ... and we have believed firmly in them. The world
reflects more of the un-truth than it does the Truth ... because the
world reflects our collective beliefs ... and our collective beliefs
create our conditions and experiences.
There is a vast amount of information available
to all of us regarding the presidential candidates, both John Kerry and
George Bush. The Internet alone has more information than most of
us will ever have time to read. As for George Bush, we have his
record as President ... most of us have been awake these past three
years and pretty much know what kind of President he is and what we can
expect of him. So why does he need to spend millions of dollars on
advertising? John Kerry, has a record too, as a Senator ..
and his record is public information ... most of which can be
found easily on the Internet. So, why does John Kerry need to
spend millions of dollars on advertising? Many will say it is
because George Bush set records fundraising for his re-election
campaign, and therefore he has no other choice. This may or may
not be true.
In effect, this half-billion dollars in
political advertising is not to tell us anything about the candidates,
it is to convince us to vote for them. I believe this amount of
advertising can "mesmerize" us into believing whatever they
tell us ... whether true or not. As we all know that
"facts" can be manipulated in many, many ways. We have
seen this done deliberately by Mel Gibson in his graphically
violent film, "The Passion of the Christ." Many people
were so mesmerized by the film that they did not realize that Mel had
changed events in the Bible and had made it so very credible ... in
other words he "convinced" them into accepting the
"un-truth." And many, many religious leaders encouraged
their congregants to see the movie ... even going with them!
Many people have "mesmerized" their
followers, both politicians and religious figures. "Do you
not have eyes to see and ears to hear?" the Master Mind Jesus
exclaimed! We must put our "consciousness on
surveillance" during this political process ... we must be
"alert" to the truth and not allow ourselves to be
"convinced" of half-truths and outright lies. These
politicians and political parties are spending so much money to
"feed" our mind with what they want us to believe. As an
illustration of how the mind works ... think about how many people
actually believed that Iraq was responsible for the September 11th
bombings in the United States ... through subtle manipulation of truth
and facts ... many people were "convinced" that it was true.
We
must keep ourselves aligned with the Truth ... read and study what is
necessary to make the right voting decision ... but always keep
uppermost in our mind that we can rely on Divine Guidance ... we can
turn to God in prayer and meditation to separate the Truth from the
un-truth. As we maintain our spiritual practices we will be able
to discern the difference between "political advertising and
mesmerism."
And
So It Is!
Maximum Love,
Rev.
Hank Bates
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