The Anti-Christ. The Ultimate 5GW?
4The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. John 2:4
18Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. John 2:18-19
26I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. John 2:26
Source.
The anti-Christ was popularized by both the "Left Behind" novels and movies as a charismatic man (in this fictional case the UN Secretary General) that effectively leads most of the planet astray as he promises global peace while maintaining the designs of the ultimate anti-Christ and realizes Armageddon.
The ultimate 5GW?
4 comments:
I have often thought that Jesus/Paul or Socrates/Plato could also be called Ultimate 5GWarriors. They lived thousands of years ago, but their ideas took hold and altered those thousands of years, and are still altering them.
But to your point: Are we getting at the heart of the matter? 1) The real conflict -- whereas pre-5GW conflicts were merely dim reflections of it, perhaps the distractions and "conspiracy" theories keeping eyes off the Real Deal for thousands of years? -- or else, 2) Might there be two kinds of 5GW, at least, the Kinder, Gentler, Christlike, and the Kinder, Gentler, Anti-Christlike? (Noting that the outcome of the two would be different, but they might appear or play out very much alike until the outcome...?)
Or Aristotle and the effect of this 5GWarrior collective not only in terms of historical footprint but the more direct "conventional" effects: I.e. Alexanders 0GW conquest... Deep.
Certainly propaganda and conspiracy seem reflective of 5GW and in light of the incredibly long range approach I think it's probably a precursor to the most effective (likely) form of 5GW.
This is not to say that I'd relegate any religion to a 5GW effort. I've merely used it as a possible example.
The most cogent form of 5GW might follow along the lines of Al Qaeda in terms of strategic outlook. The 4GW element of Al Qaeda thinks and strategizes in terms of decades as opposed to the more immediate tactical view of 3GW planning (the here and now with contingencies.)
Accordingly a 5GW strategy could entail a very long term vision. Decades or even centuries. Given the principles of 5GW the longer range the vision and the more general it's apparent initiative (akin to the Christ vs anti-Christ example) the more likely it is to succeed.
It plays directly into human intellectual adaption. Look at television in the last thirty years. Imagine if after MASH an episode of The Shield was aired? Imagine the outrage!
Now look at the evolution of television over the thirty years separating MASH from The Shield. The American intellect was allowed enough time as television gradually evolved (or devolved depending on where one stands) to the point where the overt violence and sexuality entailed are socially acceptable.
Accordingly, a 5GW effort that entails decades (even centuries) rather than the short term (Coble, Russian online disinformatsia, even Howard Sterns anti-American Idol initiative) has a better chance at succeeding as it can cater to the gradual evolution of social acceptance and is allowed an extreme window for it's own counter-adaption.
Speaking of that (sorry to keep getting sidetracked on literature) Isaac Asimov's sci-fi series "The Foundation" could be an example of 5GW century-long planning.
The hero of the story is able to predict that the Galactic Empire will fall soon and be replaced by barbarism for the next 15,000 years. So he takes all of the human race's best knowledge and scientists and pools them into a series of secure bases where they focus on developing that knowledge, gradually seeding it throughout the universe during the barbaric period.
Asimov was inspired by the real-life Catholic Church, which preserved Greco-Roman culture and literature after the fall and laid the groundwork for the flowering of thought of the Renaissance.
I think the spooky animal guardians, pointy goatee, red skin, pitchfork and the sinister gregorian chants that will surround him everywhere he goes will negate the secretiveness. haha
Although, if a person wanted to take advantage of such religious thought they certainly could take the
moral highground .Perhaps their catchcry would be something along the lines of Lucifer as lightbearer again? It'd be the ultimate in religious deconstruction. Going from a Satan (root of the word coming from adversary) to an ally and friend.
I wrote about the ties between deception, war and the supernatural a while back e.g. The ancient greek general Pericles used a man of enormous stature with purple robes and flowing hair with a chariot drawn by white horses to create the image of the greek god Pluto to frighten his enemies. Although I wonder where the limits of exploiting such belief lay in a modern age i.e. Is it possible to make an educated set of society believe you are the second coming? Or will they intellectually rip you to shreds thus undermining the movement?
There was a discussion over at Crooked Timber a few days ago where somebody posted this comment. Two gems from the post. One on the anarchists as a long term surreptitious movement: Another U.S. President was assasinated by an international terrorist movement, that in the same decade murdered a French President, the King of Italy, and the Queen of Hungary, and started a bloody riot in Chicago.
The other quote covering the point of intelligence services function of penetrating secretive movements: The point is that conspiracies exist all the time, and have a major impact on world events (if not, why is so much money being spent on intelligence services?). The absurdity of conspiriacy theories is the notion that a few cranks, who by definition have no official connections, can unravel them.
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