It used to be that most people tilled the ground to provide their own vegetables. Wild animals weren’t as endearing as they are today since survival depended on producing stores for the winter. Now our stores are commercialized and we pursue careers as a means of survival. In order to scare away birds and other wild animals, scarecrows were displayed in vegetable gardens. They were made to be as realistic as possible but really weren’t humans that could cause any harm. The purpose was to invoke fear, but the fear was unfounded since there was no substance, just clothes stuffed with straw.

Concepts and causes can also be presented in a way that invokes emotions in people such as fear or loyalty. But once investigated and logic is applied, they are found to be mere scarecrows, concepts that lack  substance. Our rational mind exists as a defense to keep us out of deception but it can be thwarted by sensational media and drama in our social settings.

There are many scarecrow builders out there. We are surrounded by people who want to pull us into their dramas. This doesn’t mean we should quit caring and become Spock like with no emotions, but we just need to be wise and examine what is presented to us. That way our responses can be based in reality.

On a large scale there are politicians, religious, and educational groups that manufacture crisis in order to gain an audience and dependents. Entertainment and help are good things in moderation. We need to take care that pursuits for others don’t make us miss the enjoyment and victories that belong to us personally.

I think the next post will be about proper authority; those who want to throw off the fetters of government and those who think it can bring social justice. The rules of blogging confine me to keep this short because people don’t have time for lengthy articles. For those of us who are over thinkers, it is a challenge. Leading into the next article is also not a good practice. I admit that my attention span is short too, I hate lengthy articles and it can be annoying to be left hanging. So call me a hypocrite and meet me at the next blog.