The Devil's Periscope

If I were asked what has been the number one greatest factor that I have seen that has changed America, I would say, unhesitatingly, "television." I was 17 years old before my family got a set. I was the last one in my high school class to get one.

We were given a test at school which asked us to identify people by their photos. I did quite well, identifying the Duke of Edinburough, for instance, which almost no one got. But I did not know a popular tv newscaster. I had been separated out by the lack of a tv set.

There was an experiment on subliminal influence conducted many years ago which I was the subject of. A quick message, below the threshold of conciousness was broadcast. It said, "Your doorbell is ringing." I remember jumping up and opening the front door and finding no one there.

Shortly after this I received a phone call by a survey company that asked, "Did you just answer your door bell to find no one there?" Someone was canvasing the public to see how effective their technique was.

Then I watched a tv show that had a man hiding in a barn under loose hay. The bad guy looking for him began to use a scythe to probe the hay. There was a crude outline of the angel of death, a skeleton with a scythe, superimposed on the searcher. It was a white outline. I supposed it was supposed to heighten the fright of the scene. They were trying!

A British comedy was shown, about this time, showing the invention of tv by the devil. He was observing the effect of his new invention through a periscope thrust up from hell. I remember his joy at seeing the results tv was having on people, causing all kinds of strife and other bad effects. "It's working!" he said.

Let me say that this portrayal was almost the opposite of what the movie showed, though it was funny and getting near the truth. Aldous Huxley was interviewed about the best way to use electronic media to influence people. "It is most effective," he said, "when a preexisting belief is superimposed over the image you want to project."

An example is a politician who wanted to convey his honesty by flashing the image of "honest Abe" Lincoln when the politician was being shown. Imagine how long ago that was. Yet "It's working!"

By putting us into an alpha state, we become susceptible to subconcious messages. The scanning frequency of tv sets was chosen to do this very thing. It puts us into a receiving mode.

We must not trust the motives of those who contrived this hypnosis machine. When I hear people say, "But there are some good programs," I know they have missed the point. It's like sending your young daughter out on a date and saying, "But there are some good boys."