I’m trying to learn more about ideological subversion, specifically the KGB-backed, bring-down-the-USA kind. Last week I linked to this NYT Op-Ed that serves as a kind of broad introduction to the concept. This week I read a post on Paul Orlando’s blog Unintended Consequences that gets into some more details. (The post is concise and illuminating, please click through and read.) Orlando summarizes the four stages of ideological subversion as outlined by ex-KGB agent Yuri Bezmenov:

  1. Demoralization. For this step in the process, 15 – 20 years are needed. That is the amount of time required to educate a generation. Helping along the way are media and teachers who have become sympathetic (consciously or unconsciously) to the theoretical causes of the subverting nation. Bezmenov claims that the USSR was surprised at how easy this phase was in the US.
  2. Destabilization. Following the earlier phase, this is a two to five year period to change the target country’s foreign relations, defense, and economy.
  3. Crisis. Perhaps six weeks of chaos as a climatic turning point.
  4. Normalization. This stage changes the appreciation of what the status quo looks like. Bezmenov’s description of this phase also includes military take over.

I think it’s safe to say that our nation is in a demoralized state (as is possibly the whole planet, with the combined horrors of the pandemic and climate change happening before our eyes). The January 6th assault on the Capitol might indicate we’re already in stage 2, or possibly even stage 3. We might still might emerge from this mess as a stronger nation. But the present is certainly grim, with a still-powerful, completely unscrupulous despot lurking in Florida.

I have no idea what kind of policies or counter-intelligence strategy might be effective against this long-term subversion effort initiated by the USSR and carried on by Russia. But here are a few scattershot observations:

  • We shouldn’t think of misinformation as a thing, but rather as misinformers as actors. Russian intelligence, domestic terrorist organizations, and Facebook all profit from the spread of lies, either ideologically or monetarily.
  • We’ve all been fooled many times, even those of us who are reasonably good at thinking critically. Maybe Trump supporters have been snookered the most, but there are highly trained pros working full time to spread these lies. None of us are immune.
  • What’s the best remedy or defense against misinformation? Deplatforming the biggest liars appears to work (and doesn’t violate the governmental right to free speech).

This Week

Some quick personal updates, and what I’m hoping to accomplish this week and in the coming weeks:

  • I’m currently revising my new science fiction novel Saint Arcology. As I recently tweeted, I’m enjoying this read-through immensely. Once my first readers give me feedback and point out the major problems, I’ll go through a period of feeling deflated and defeated (even though my first readers are super nice). But then I’ll pick myself up again and try to fix the problems. I’ve been through the cycle enough times that I can more or less see what’s coming.
  • I received my author copies of The Last Crucible (Book 3 of Reclaimed Earth). If you’d like to review it (in either a publication or on amazon or Goodreads), let me know and I’ll have Flame Tree send you copy, or I’ll send you one myself. Serious inquiries only, please.
  • I’m experimenting with a more plant-based diet. I have some health reasons for doing this, but it also feels more in alignment morally and ethically. I don’t have any problem with eating animals or being eaten by animals, but I do have a problem with animal cruelty, and it’s hard to completely avoid if you eat animal products. For many years I ate a paleo-ish diet; that addressed several health issues I had (like asthma). But most of the benefits of that diet were most likely from eating less wheat and sugar and milk, and more vitamin D and magnesium and omega-3, all of which I continue to do.
  • I’ve been retooling my freelance skill set, learning Salesforce config. It’s going well and I currently have plenty of work. But still enough time for my creative pursuits.
  • I still suck at chess, but I’m learning some openings for both white and black (the London and the Pirc, respectively) that I enjoy and that don’t require vast amounts of memorization. But my main weakness is still board awareness, and the hard truths expressed in this video definitely apply to me.
  • On the subject of getting better at things, I’ve blocked some time to do some copy-practice with some of my favorite authors. The exercise is basically to read a paragraph, then try to write the paragraph from memory, then compare what you wrote the original, and see what different choices the author you admire made. I think I’ll start with Martha Wells and David Mitchell.