Fear and Isolation - Tearing Up the Fabric of Society
Laura Dodsworth and Dr. Viðar Halldórsson speak at a conference in Reykjavik on Saturday April 15th.
A new Icelandic study shows in a striking way how the mental health and well-being of children has deteriorated over the past three years, after society was turned upside down by a fearmongering campaign where the main goal was to isolate people. At the same time, due to the advent of electronic communication technology, normal human interaction is on the wane.
What effect does this have on our societies and our relationships, which are ultimately based largely on physical expression? Is the social fabric being torn up? What will be the consequences, what is driving this trend and how can we react to it? These questions will be addressed at a meeting hosted by the Icelandic Free Speech Society on April 15th. The meeting will take place at the National Museum in Reykjavik and starts at 2 PM.
In her best-selling book, "A State of Fear" Laura Dodsworth discusses the unprecedented fearmongering that erupted in early 2020 and how psychological methods were used to intimidate people into obedience and cut off human relations. Laura will discuss this unprecedented propaganda campaign and its consequences, and provide an insight into recent revelations about government decision-making during the pandemic. She will also talk about her next book "Free your Mind: The new world of manipulation and how to resist it", intended as a guide on how to protect yourself from the propaganda by which we are constantly bombarded.
Dr. Viðar Halldórsson, Professor of sociology at the University of Iceland, recently came forward and warned of the impact electronic communication technology is having on society. Viðar will discuss his research, but currently he is working on a book about this dangerous development. "Technology has taken over society and in my mind there is a misunderstanding that it is an addition to what was before. It transforms everything that was before," Viðar said in a recent interview in Icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið. Technology and consumerism are undermining the magic of social interaction and driving anxiety, polarisation and inequality - to mention some of the effects. We cannot stop this evolution, he says, but it must not control our lives. "Especially not as it is driven by international tech giants."
Broadly speaking we can distinguish between three layers of freedom. The outermost layer is the freedom to work, to make money and to keep the proceeds of your work. This is what political debate is mostly about in a free democratic society; how high should taxes be, to what extent should business be regulated and so forth.
The next layer is the freedom of expression and freedom to influence society through political participation. This layer of freedom is generally not debated in free democracies.
But within this layer there is another one; the freedom to live as a human being. The freedom to go to a restaurant or go shopping, to go for a walk, the freedom meet your friends in the park, the freedom to recognize facial expressions, the freedom to smile and be smiled at, the freedom of a child to develop into a normal human being. And of course the freedom to decide for yourself whether or not to be medicated.
This layer of freedom is so fundamental that it isn't even a part of the definition of freedom. It isn’t discussed in any declarations of human rights. It isn’t on the agenda of any political party. Yet it is the core of our nature as human beings.
It is this layer of freedom that is being attacked now, by the authorities, by the media, by the tech giants. The most important question facing us now is how we can defend the innermost layer of our freedom; how can we defend the very fabric of our societies?
In Chicago. What is with so many Americans wearing masks? Surely they know, they do not work.
Good quote! Oh, I missed the part about the live stream. Thank you!