“When emotion outruns reason, manipulation begins.
If they can keep you outraged, they don’t need to keep you informed.”
We are living in an age of emotional volatility. Passion has replaced principle, and anger often substitutes for awareness. It’s easy to see why—today’s media, political rhetoric, and social algorithms are designed to provoke. Not to enlighten. Not to uplift. But to agitate.
And when agitation becomes the norm, reason quietly exits the room.
The Science of Hijack
This isn’t just a philosophical concern—it’s physiological.
When we’re emotionally triggered, our brains shift control from the prefrontal cortex (where logic, empathy, and reflection live) to the amygdala—the fight-or-flight center. In that moment, we don’t want nuance. We want certainty, enemies, and reaction.
This is not accidental. It’s exploited.
Whether by foreign actors sowing chaos, domestic political campaigns playing to fear, or AI-driven feeds designed to optimize engagement, the strategy is clear:
Keep people angry. Keep them divided. Keep them distracted.
The result?
- Discourse collapses.
- Trust erodes.
- Communities fracture.
- And truth becomes subjective—based not on fact, but on feeling.
A Very Old Playbook
“Divide and conquer” isn’t new. It didn’t begin with social media or even Cold War politics. It’s a timeless strategy that weakens any collective by turning its parts against one another.
But what’s alarming today is how willing we’ve become to participate in it.
Outrage has become a currency.
People rush to be first to condemn, to shame, to react.
In doing so, we abandon the very thing that has made civil society possible: the ability to think critically and communicate constructively.
Reclaiming Reason
If we are to restore the possibility of unity, we must start by reclaiming the inner ground of reason.
That means:
- Pausing before reacting.
- Checking sources before sharing.
- Asking questions before casting judgments.
- And above all, refusing to be manipulated by emotion alone.
This doesn’t mean becoming numb or indifferent. Emotion is part of being human. But emotion must follow truth—not precede or replace it.
The True Cost of Outrage
When outrage becomes a habit, the consequences are immense:
- Relationships wither.
- Communities break down.
- Entire nations become vulnerable—not just to enemies abroad, but to decay from within.
We must remember: The health of a society is reflected in the conversations it can have.
If we can no longer think together, we will eventually find we can no longer live together.
The Choice is Ours
The world doesn’t need more noise.
- It needs clarity.
- It needs calm.
- It needs voices that can speak without shouting—and hearts that can feel without being manipulated.
Let this be your reminder:
If they can keep you outraged, they don’t need to keep you informed.
- Choose to pause.
- Choose to think.
- Choose to reclaim the sovereignty of your own mind.
Because freedom—true freedom—begins not in Washington, or Silicon Valley, or on cable news…
It begins in how you choose to respond.
To your success and thanks for the read,
Eldon Taylor, PhD
NY Time Bestselling Author of Choices and Illusion
Remember to get your free copy of my new book, Sovereign Mind.