Atlas Shrugged and Orwell's 1984 become indicators of need to shift

A C-Span interview with Professor Turley re avenues of thought that lead to erosion of our privacy rights follows:

http://www.doleful.com/194697/c-span-washington-journal-jonathan-turley-issues-of-surveillance-and-privacy

My  response: interesting use of terms "shrugged and yawned" Turley used(16:40) after  our last night's viewing of  Atlas Shrugged (April 2011 release) 

... mass public apathy is a dangerous thing, a slippery slope, and has a progressive momentum (oxymoron) known as mental inertia (represented in politically correct social stands of characters in George Orwell's 1984) 

... I appreciate Turley's recognition of and refererence to the current Orwellian political scene.  Atlas Shrugged  also is replete with thought-forms, decisions, and the local/national results thereof 

... levels of impact on the general public's future capacity to recover a balance of power

... events in the plot mimic how far too many of our current government officials operate outside the perimeters imposed upon ordinary citizens AND beyond the reach of necessary checks and balances (note: congressmen/women writing and revising laws in order to benefit financially through their insider trading and arranging "land deals" ... read Peter Schwiezer's Throw Them All Out)  

It behooves us to look into the hidden agendas of politicians, political party-lines, media interpretations and use of "the news" to influence viewer interpretation and distract from underlying issues, etc.

At the end of the day, it's up to each individual to consider the source of what "leaders" (currently another oxymoron) may want us to hear, may want us to think about their  purported intentions, and then lift the veils around each source of media/speeches/propaganda. Best not to believe anything others tell us until we actually experience it ourselves ...it behooves human beings to begin learning early in life to tolerate ambiguity, emotional discomfort and mental uncertainty.  

Otherwise, we tend to too readily take on "tribal" viewpoints and fall prey to joining in mass delusions (e.g. recent Wall Street "protest" camps), give over individual responsibility to think for ourselves (gullibly take in bylines and party lines hook, line, and sinker), forget that unless we exercise our own muscles we remain weak. 

There's a human tendency to avoid cognitive dissonance, and other thoughts that disturb our too fragile peace of mind (from lack of exercise).  There's also the overwhelming tendency to "project" our personal reality/beliefs onto others around us ...including those we want to trust because we elected them (and revising our past beliefs, decisions, and behaviors can feel VERY uncomfortable ...a la the blind spots that can results from "cognitive dissonance"). The common-denominator  politician changes his/her "position" so often to get and then keep votes. They poli-speak to the many different projected realities of their constituents (re The Projection Principle by Weinberg and Rowe).

Bottomline: keep an open mind, stay on my individual path, study-discuss-dialogue, vote VERY carefully, ... and carry a big stick because we live in a wildly diverse animal kingdom.  Think about it...