WAR OF THE WORLDS

“We know now that in the early years of the twentieth century this world was being watched closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own. We know now that as human beings busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinized and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinize the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacence men went to and fro over the earth about their little affairs … In the thirty-ninth year of the twentieth century came the great disillusionment. It was near the end of October. Business was better. The war scare was over. More men were back at work. Sales were picking up.” – Opening monologue of  War of the Worlds broadcast – October 30,1938

It was 77 years ago this week that Orson Welles struck terror into the hearts of Americans with his live radio broadcast of the HG Wells classic War of the Worlds. The broadcast began at 8:00 pm on Mischief Night 1938. As I was searching for anything of interest to watch the other night on the 600 cable stations available 24/7, I stumbled across a PBS program about Welles’ famous broadcast. As I watched the program, I was struck by how this episode during the last Fourth Turning and how people react to events is so similar to how people are reacting during the current Fourth Turning. History may not repeat exactly, but it certainly rhymes.

It was the ninth year of the Fourth Turning. The Great Depression was still in progress. After a few years of a faux recovery (stock market up 400% from the 1932 low to its 1937 high) for the few, with the majority still suffering, another violent leg down struck in 1938. GDP collapsed, unemployment spiked  back towards 20%, and the stock market crashed by 50%. The hodgepodge of New Deal make work programs and Federal Reserve machinations failed miserably to lift the country out of its doldrums. Sound familiar? The average American household had not seen their lives improve and now the foreboding threat of war hung over their heads.

The national hysteria over a play about the ridiculously impossible plot of Martians attacking Grover’s Mill, New Jersey seems crazy without the benefit of context. The nation was already on edge. They had just suffered another economic blow to their solar plexus, and now the drumbeats of war in Europe were growing louder. Welles’ biographer Frank Brady described the mindset of the nation:

“For the entire month prior to ‘The War of the Worlds‘, radio had kept the American public alert to the ominous happenings throughout the world. The Munich crisis was at its height. … For the first time in history, the public could tune into their radios every night and hear, boot by boot, accusation by accusation, threat by threat, the rumblings that seemed inevitably leading to a world war.”

Studies discovered that fewer than one-third of frightened listeners understood the invaders to be aliens; most thought they were listening to reports of a German invasion or a natural catastrophe. The public allowed their emotions to overcome their rational mind. Playing upon people’s fears becomes easier when they are emotionally susceptible and beaten down from years of bad news. Even though it was specifically stated the show was a work of fiction, the mental state of the country was so panicked, people believed something bad was on the verge of happening and allowed themselves to believe.

Much of the credit for the realism of the broadcast goes to Welles, a brilliant showman, who went on to create one of the greatest movies ever made just three years later – Citizen Kane. Welles thought the script was dull, just a day or two before the broadcast.  He stressed the importance of inserting news flashes and eyewitness accounts into the script to create a sense of urgency and excitement. The nation had gotten used to breaking news bulletins during the Munich Crisis.

Another important issue was the fact the Mercury Theater on the Air was a radio show without commercial interruptions, adding to the program’s realism. The entire episode lasted 90 minutes and at the end of the play Welles assumed his role as host and told listeners the broadcast was a Halloween concoction: the equivalent, he said, “of dressing up in a sheet, jumping out of a bush and saying, ‘Boo!'” Despite the announcements before and after the show, the outrage and calls for Orson Welles’ head were deafening.

What struck me while watching the PBS retrospective were the similarities between then and now. The gullibility of the masses, the power of fear, the overreaction by the media, busy bodies calling for the government to do something, and the effectiveness of propaganda are all commonalities between that Fourth Turning and today’s Fourth Turning.

Evidently some listeners heard only a portion of the broadcast because they had been tuned into the Edgar Bergen Show and switched to CBS radio after the play had begun. Some of these people were overcome with fear as  the tension and anxiety prior to World War II led them to mistake it for a genuine news broadcast. Thousands of those people rushed to share the false reports with others, or called CBS, newspapers, or the police to ask if the broadcast was real. The telephone switchboards were overcome with volume and policeman overstepped their authority and entered the CBS studios to try and stop the show mid-broadcast. Evidently, the authorities weren’t big fans of the First Amendment or Fourth Amendment in 1938 either.

Retrospective analysis has found the hysteria was not as widespread as purported by the mainstream media. The fact the play was performed in NYC, the media capital of the world, and the fictional attack was occurring in New Jersey provided much more publicity to the event. In reality, most of the dupes who were gullible enough to believe that Martians were actually attacking were old people and women. The timeline of the show should have revealed its falsehood to any critical thinking person, as the military somehow was mobilized and defeated within a 30 minute window.

It seems our society will always have a large swath of people who will believe anything they are told by the media or the government. Our government run public education system now matriculates millions of functionally illiterate zombie like creatures into society, who can be easily manipulated and controlled through the use of  mass media and false propaganda. Those who constitute the invisible government behind the Deep State duly noted the psychological power of fear during this episode in history.

The master of propaganda during that age even noted the impact on the American public. Adolf Hitler referenced the broadcast in a speech in Munich on November 8, 1938. Welles later remarked that Hitler cited the effect of the broadcast on the American public as evidence of “the corrupt condition and decadent state of affairs in democracy”. It likely confirmed his belief the democratic countries of the world would not have the guts to stand up to a man willing to wage all out war. He invaded Poland less than one year later, initiating the bloodiest war in history.

Fear is a potent emotion to manipulate by the ruling class among a populace incapable or unwilling to think for themselves. The men behind the curtain, after decades of perfecting the psychological methods of molding the opinions, tastes, and ideas of the masses, believe they can control society through the use of fear. In 1938 Americans feared Germans, economic hardship, war, and evidently Martian invasions. Today they are taught to fear phantom Muslim terrorists, Russians, Chinese, Iranians, gun owners, anyone who questions government overreach, and anyone who disagrees with the social justice warrior agenda. The father of Propaganda, Edward Bernays, portrayed it succinctly in 1928:

“In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons…who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.”

As I watched the despicable display of yellow journalism by the pathetic excuses for journalists during the CNBC presidential debate the other night, I was reminded of the PBS show and how the press completely blew the War of the Worlds broadcast out of proportion to its actual impact. Within three weeks, newspapers had published at least 12,500 articles about the broadcast and its impact, although the story dropped off the front pages after a few days. It was essentially a tempest in a teapot that has lived on for decades because the press created the outrage and fear.

This is no different than what happens on a daily and weekly basis today. The mainstream media attempts to work the masses into a frenzy over a meaningless debt ceiling “showdown”, the latest hurricane or snowstorm, the latest fake terrorist warning, the collapse of Greece, the imminent acquisition of a nuclear bomb by Iran, the invasion of the Ukraine by Russia, or whatever sensationalist storyline that will get them ratings and strike the necessary fear into the hearts of the masses.

Every looming threat is relegated to the back pages of the legacy media rags a few days later. The degraded faux journalists prefer to distract the willfully ignorant masses with the latest Kardashian/Lamar Odom/Caitlyn Jenner reality TV episode, Oscar fashion shows, professional sports, how to get rich in the stock market infomercials, and how you can have the perfect body segments on one of the dozens of faux news shows.

What I found fascinating in the PBS episode is the never ending calls from busy bodies, control freaks, and lovers of government coercion to do something about everything they don’t like. In the days following the broadcast, there was widespread outrage in the media. The program’s news-bulletin format was described as deceptive by some newspapers and public figures, leading to an outcry against the perpetrators of the broadcast and calls for regulation by the Federal Communications Commission. How dare Orson Welles broadcast a play, described beforehand as a work of fiction, in a creative, exciting, and realistic manner. Do you see any similarities to calls for the FCC to control the internet, where anti-establishment websites dare to speak the truth?

There will always be a sociopathic segment of the population who want control over everything and everyone. They want bigger government, more laws, more regulations, more restrictions, more taxes and more control over your life. The 1930’s marked a huge turning point for this country, with the majority supporting the New Deal and government intervening deeply into our everyday lives. Today, the government, in the control of bankers, crony corporate interests, billionaires, and captured political hacks, has smothered our freedoms, liberties, entrepreneurial spirit, intellectual debate, and ability to change the system from within.

Shortly after the Welles broadcast, the nation came together and endured seven years of shared sacrifice, with the young men of the country fighting and dying on continents and islands far from our shores in a struggle against aggression. Today, I feel the aggression is coming from within. It’s our own government and the men who control it who are the real enemy. The coming struggle during this Fourth Turning is more likely to be American versus American. A prominent figure from the last Fourth Turning saw into the future decades ago, and he was right.

“I am concerned for the security of our great Nation; not so much because of any treat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within.” Douglas MacArthur

 

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nmb
nmb

Declassified documents confirm that superpowers came dangerously close to nuclear war in 1983!

http://bit.ly/20hS2RU

anarchyst
anarchyst

…”that’s no moon…that’s a space station”…

Triple H
Triple H

Greetings Admin,

I really like the article. Seems like I have read it before on this site, which is fine, as some things need repeating.

However this portion of this sentence from the second to last paragraph “Today, the government, in the control of bankers….” I think needs to be at least reversed for future release. I think it has been clarified that the bankers control the government, not the other way around.

Thanks for the great article and site. Read it daily and enjoy the comments.

hardscrabble farmer

Excellent piece, one of your best yet.

Every year as a child my father would play a record of the broadcast on Mischief Night. He was born the day that Germany invaded Poland and grew up with memories of the war playing out as he hid under the kitchen table. His Uncle was killed at Kasserine and his body never made it home, his other uncle disappeared in the fog of war in New Guinea and after 4 years MIA showed up on their doorstep in ’45. He always tried to relate this broadcast to me in context with what was happening in the era- although you are mistaken about the German thing. In 1938 the majority of Americans were heavily in the camp of isolation and America First and this didn’t change until the press went after Lindbergh following his Des Moines speech in 1941.

BEA LEVER
BEA LEVER

“War of the WorldsII” coming in the not to distant future…….only this time it will be visual. Are you scared yet?

Our biggest problem is the fact that the sheep believe the media no matter what tripe is laid out before them, this is how they keep control. Great article Admin.

SYNTHETIC NEWS MUST BE STOPPED

Stucky

“What struck me while watching the PBS retrospective were the similarities between then and now.” ——Admin

Yeah …. but back then we didn’t have the petro-dollar …. or, 10,000 nukes to protect it. That must be a big game changer, no?

Most excellent article!!

Off to the farmers market …….

Westcoaster
Westcoaster

Jeff Lynne of the Moody Blues produced an album called “War of the Worlds” back in 1978, narrated by Sir RIchard Burton. I was amazed that they used part of the opening in the most recent episode of “Fargo” on the teevee. BTW this is a great album; very creative & scary. Here’s a link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlpl-RzsCck

Arizona
Arizona

WELL if you’ve seen the real news today,OBOOZOS proxy military ISIS,just shot down a RUSSIAN airliner,with 217 men women and CHILDREN on board,ARE the RUSSIAN people MAD at america,well I would guess they are calling their leader PUTIN and demanding he NUKE america off the map,AND OUR FATHER,our GOD says they will,so if you have a BUG OUT LOCATION,I’d be headed there NOW,don’t wait till the bombs start falling or you be wishing you had left while you still could……………

Beano
Beano

It was true. Only thing it is not martians but Migrants and Moslems!!

Anonymous
Anonymous

I recall seeing the original movie back ’53 or ’54.

It gave me respect for the power and desirability of biological warfare as a last ditch defense even though it wasn’t used as an intentional weapon in the movie.

SSS

“I am concerned for the security of our great Nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within.” ― Douglas MacArthur
—-quoted by Admin in his article

Flash and Billy probably went batshit when they saw you quoted that “worthless piece of shit” MacArthur, Jim. Good article, btw.

Lysander
Lysander

If we’re making parallels to the 1930’s pertaining to the coming savagery, and also figuring that this Fourth Turning will be more severe then the last, then no matter what you prepped for, how much money you have or where you live, you will not escape the pain.

If it’s going to be worse than WWII in bloodshed within our borders, then, obviously, most of us will not live through it.

I can hardly wait. C,mon…bring it.

Rise Up

Speaking of worlds…where in the “world” did this craft come from? I think it’s advanced military (ours).
Of course, the video could be fake, but there are lots of silent triangular UFOs being sighted.

Also did anyone see the “cities in the clouds” videos recently?–that could be a test of Project Blue Beam.

Stucky

Hey, Admin!

You came in at #5 on Lew Rockwell’s list of most read articles in October.

Congrats!!!

Heh.

Anti-State, Anti-War Truth Tellers

David Ward
David Ward

Jeff Lynne has never been part of the Moody Blues. LOL! He was part of the Traveling Wilburys, Electric Light Orchestra and various associations with other artist, such as Tom Petty, Olivia Newton-John, etc.

David Ward

TE
TE

@Rise Up, do not fear these sightings – only being reported outside our borders, btw.

The dark forces WANT you to fear them, as they are, in my opinion, getting ready to spread the TRUTH.

This truth will sound false, as we have been controlled, lied to and culled for millennia.

Open your heart, mind, thoughts to the fact that what we think we know is the lie.

Those whom want bloodshed, death, Apocalypse, will probably get it. But if you DON’T want it, if you want to live in a world with love and peace and respect for ALL life, you will.

If I would have read these words a mere year ago, I would not have believed them at all. I thank God (not the Catholic/Roman/Jew/Muslim control “god,” but the real one) that he continues to show me, remind me, that we are ALL filled with his divine spark and light. Even the bastards that have, and continue (but are failing more and more) to subjugate, control and limit us.

Peace!

Bea Lever
Bea Lever

Rise Up

I would say that is most likely a test of the Blue Beam display in the sodium layer. Better stock up on beer and popcorn Rise, it’s going to be a really big show complete with a new religion. New BS seems somehow more exciting than the old BS…….can’t wait.

Rise Up

TE says: @Rise Up, do not fear these sightings – only being reported outside our borders, btw.
The dark forces WANT you to fear them, as they are, in my opinion, getting ready to spread the TRUTH.
——————-
TE, first of all, I’m not in fear at all. And in dissecting your comment–I don’t understand who you think is “ready to spread the TRUTH”. Dark forces? And what truth?

@BEA, there was a white paper on the ‘net about how to use chemicals such as sodium (although I believe it was barium and strontium) to project images in the sky. I can’t find it at the moment–I think I have it downloaded on my other computer. Some folks believe the chemtrails have multi-purpose agendas, facilitating of beamed images being one of them (in addition to human infestation by nano-sized particulates). Not sure what you infer about the “sodium layer”.

TE
TE

No Rise Up, the Dark Forces – firmly in control of our governments and religions for thousands of years – want to make us afraid of being invaded by space monsters. All the better to use our fear to get us to agree to our own extermination.

As if a group of beings capable of bridging millions/billions of miles could be defeated by our technology. Lord knows we’ll try though.

It dawned on me a few weeks ago, why – all of a sudden – has our government been putting forth the meme that THEY are the ones creating this technology and sightings? For what end?

So that if/when we do become acquainted with “others” we believe them to be some evil technology of an earth government, maybe?

Do you guys realize that in May of this year there was a HUGE conference in WDC concerning aliens/UFOs? The speakers, which included many former higher ups from governments from around the world, including Canada and the UK, kept asking the same thing, over and over?

“Why are you keeping the TRUTH from your citizens?”

I know most, still, don’t believe. I know that even those that consider themselves atheists, and especially the deeply religious, deep down believe that “others” are nothing but flights of fancy, or beings and myths created by forces on this earth.

And that is ok. I just hope that those here that already show a more openminded/truth seeking mindset, will not allow themselves to trade away what little freedom we have left out of fear of “others” and the false security our government – the remaining vestiges of our thousands of year old enslavement – will offer.

I should probably just move along. Just like after 9/11, I will be a very lonely light sitting back and wondering how we could so easily believe the lies and then agree to our own horror and destruction.

I lost friends after 9/11 because I refused to join in the chorus of demanding we sacrifice liberty for safety. Lost more friends when I because aware of the deadly medical industrial complex and tried to keep friends and family from becoming another one of their statistics and death.

I’m beyond sure I’ll lose friends over the next few years as things are brought to our attention, that will scare the bejesus out of the religious, and scientific, alike.

So it goes. I still wish all here peace and light. And that is all I meant.

Bea Lever
Bea Lever

Rise that is the sodium layer of the ionosphere which is used to project from low orbit sattelites something like a backlit tv screen. I’m sure they can also use holograms to produce this effect and as the “Cities” had a dark, dull appearance that is typical of large hologram display.

Either way, theater is going into overdrive in the not too distant future.

Bea Lever
Bea Lever

TE- There is nothing extraterrestrial in any of this, you get that …right?

Rise Up

@TE, thanks for the clarifications…and I agree that there are certainly dark forces in abundance and their influence on governments and world affairs is a threat. I tend to think the origin of those forces is well described in the Nag Hammadi texts as archons, which feed on the negativity of human emotion. There may well be other demonic influences as well. LA Marzulli has some interesting YouTube videos about the ongoing cosmic war. His investigations in South America of the Nephilim giant skeletons is fantastic.

If some ET race wanted to extinguish us/Earth, it would have happened already, IMHO. But your idea of gov using that as a cover for their activities is well substantiated. How convenient to distract us with UFOs to hide their advanced technology?

Amazing times we live in.

Dutchman
Dutchman

Wish Mars would attack.

Homer
Homer

Most people go thru life seeing the outward manifestation of reality as a true vision of what is, never realizing that their vision is based upon the beliefs that they hold. As I have said before, more than once, it matters not whether a belief is true or in error. We always act in concert with our beliefs, without exception.

Because our beliefs are picked up from our parents, teachers, from what we read and see, and other sources, we come to think that our beliefs are us. We internalize them. We are superficially a composite of our beliefs and reactive to them.

This was most recently the Medieval period in man’s development. It was mostly characterized by a lack of knowledge. In the 1200s, Roger Bacon, a Franciscan friar, did much to increase man’s understanding of the world by developing the ‘scientific method’. People reacted to their beliefs, in which many were wild and fanciful, dutifully. Man suffered much from an ill conceived belief system.

The ‘scientific method’ changed the world as surely as night changes day. The new knowledge gained, changed peoples beliefs. The old way of thinking (believing) fell by the wayside. A Renaissance in thinking and doing began in the 14 century leading to the ‘Age of Enlightenment’. Man’s ‘chains of superstition’ that bound man to the ‘dark ages’ was shattered into a million pieces.

Today, something occurred as powerful and as world changing as the ‘scientific method’. That ‘something’ is the Internet brought to you by the miracle of the computer. Knowledge is at your fingertips and it is going to change the world like never before in the history of mankind.

The current paradigm is bumping up against the increase in man’s knowledge and increased awareness. The outcome is as sure as the Titanic bumping up against an iceberg. Change is coming because beliefs are changing.

What happened in the 30s could never happen today because of our skepticism and increased access to knowledge. It would be subjected to intense scrutiny within seconds.

Remember, challenge your beliefs or reality will challenge them for you.

Homer
Homer

Look God gave you all a brain. It’s time you use it and shift from neutral into forth gear. It’s ok to be open minded about aliens and such, but don’t be so open minded that your brains fall out. If there was ever a time for critical thinking, IT’S NOW.

Back in PA Mike

Sorry Homer, I believe in ET’s. In fact, I believe they have been here. It’s a combination of overwhelming evidence, and how vehemently our government denies it. Me thinks the gubmint protesteth too much.

Homer
Homer

Well, Mike–overwhelming evidence is subjective to say the least. It would be wise to ask questions, such as-

What are those lights that people see in the night sky? What are those crop circles that show up in the morning? How are they formed? etc., etc., etc.,

The trouble with beliefs is that they circumvent the important stage of asking questions. An open mind girdled by questions leads to knowing. There is a difference between believing and knowing and knowing the difference between the two is the first step toward enlightenment.

Homer
Homer

Look! The purpose of propaganda is to mold your beliefs. It has a negative connotation in that the propaganda leads you to believe in something that isn’t true.

The last thing that a government or any authority wants is a critical thinker. Critical thinkers can’t be trusted. They make terrible followers,

Yet, most of mankind’s advances are a consequence of critical thinkers. You can be part of the herd or above the herd. There is safety in the herd. Critical thinkers get bumped off. That’s how fickle common beliefs are.

Tom Cruise

I thought is would be all on war of the world movie by tom cruise, but is on world wars 😀

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