I once read a book by a guy called Anton LaVey from out of California. I have been a collector of bibles, and though I practice no organized religion I have made a habit of reading up on them and studying them. Anton LaVey founded the Church or Satan and wrote the "Satanic Bible". I read it. "Sugar coating something that tastes bad" was my description.
So why did I have that description? The first introductory essay/pseudo-chapters were things that most people can likely get behind and support. They were not really so much about religion, or even any kind of spiritualism. As I read further thanks to my studies I recognized some of the places his ideas were coming from. Remember, this is not an ancient tome. It is a carefully crafted book that beguiled many a Hollywood star and starlet.
Those first sections were compelling, and after observing human nature I've realized that this is all it usually takes for most people. If you can convince them that your words are candy, or that you are wise then they tend to eat up whatever else you feed them after that. It sadly is a rare thing for people to question those they have already accepted as worthy to follow. This is a weakness, and it is so often exploited.
The book itself. It was a mess and not very good when you got past those initial candy coating bits. It also is not likely what people would suspect. It is mostly a book about self interest being paramount. We all have self interest to a certain degree and it is a necessary survival trait. It then was wrapped up with some Enochian magic type work be Dee and Kelley long before LaVey was alive. It was basically sugar coating something that tastes bad.
So why did I write this? Looking around I had a sudden realization and it is one I've internally had for a long time I just never put the candy coating concept and it together. So much of our life is about candy coating things that are bad, and we would not remotely consider doing them if it were not for the candy coating that sucks us in. It turns us all into suckers.
Likely most wars, and police actions can be described as this.
Most bills these days candy coat the bill with some title that only a JERK would vote against even though the bill itself is very often actually the opposite of what the title says.
The Patriot Act
No Child Left Behind
Really, if you go to a place like votesmart.org and pick a politician and go look at the things they've voted on and you pay attention to the names of the bills, you will see this candy coating trick being used over and over.
You'll also see people on the campaign trail bashing Ron Paul or some other decent guy/gal with a brain because he didn't vote on the "Save innocent puppies from harm act" and most people will go for the bashing. All they care about is the candy coating. Ron Paul was a guy that actually read the bills. While he was in congress he had the nickname "Dr. No" because of how often he would vote no. He is a guy of great integrity and for me is a personal hero. I've been brought to tears before when I watched him speak at a rally in 2008. The tears came unbidden because he was saying things I never thought I'd hear someone say that was running for office. I'd done my research and he didn't flip flop. He kept telling people the truth regardless of how he was bashed. I looked back into the 80s and realized he is a rare man of integrity and honesty. He opened my mind to so many thoughts. These were things that I initially had the "that is nuts" reaction to, but fortunately I am one of those that does research and I quickly realized they were far from nuts, they simply were not what we'd been taught, and they were conditioned reflexes to consider them nuts. It challenged the perceived norm. His wife would instead call him "Dr. Know" and I think she hit the nail on the head.
Ron Paul doesn't sugar coat things. What it tastes like is the truth. It seems that lies tend to be the thing people most often prefer to eat.
So now that I've mentioned candy coating things that taste bad. Perhaps like me you'll look around and start to see it soon.
