Pattern Languages
Liberating Voices (English)
Liberating Voices (other languages)
Liberating Voices (Arabic)
Liberating Voices (Chinese)
Liberating Voices (French)
Liberating Voices (German)
Liberating Voices (Greek)
Liberating Voices (Hebrew)
Liberating Voices (Italian)
Liberating Voices (Korean)
Liberating Voices (Portuguese)
Liberating Voices (Russian)
Liberating Voices (Serbian)
Liberating Voices (Spanish)
Liberating Voices (Swahili)
LIBERATING VOICES (VIETNAMESE)
Civic Ignorance / Anti-Patterns (English)
Civic Ignorance / Anti-patterns (Spanish)
Public Thinking and Public Health patterns
e-Liberate
Liberating Voices
Patterns (several languages)
Pattern Annotations
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Liberating Voices patterns (book order)
Civic Intelligence
CIRAL
New Community Networks
Distorting History
Pattern number within this pattern set:
Verbiage for pattern card:
The historical record can be altered by teaching events that did not happen, altering events that did happen, or omitting events altogether. Over time, knowledge of the truth will die with those who witnessed it, and the alternate version will be universally accepted as true.
Dumbing Down
The general population cannot understand complex issues and may even be confused into conflict by certain controversial topics. This can be avoided if topics are dumbed down into easily understood emotionally charged debates that cannot be easily argued with.
Forbidden Knowledge
This is the industrial strength version of Compartmentalization of Knowledge anti-pattern. This occurs when knowing or pursuing some knowledge is actually denied to a certain group of people under the threat of penalty, as when the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) being told they can't study guns as a "Public health issue."
Sometimes information is kept secret from citizens. This is useful when hiding corruption, money laundering, vote buying, tax evasion, etc. With opacity in place, over the years elite business and governments can distance themselves further and further away from any controls on them.
Society expects its leaders to keep their agendas transparent and in line with the agenda of the groups they represent, however, this is rarely the case. Those in power often have agendas that aren't in line with the public's expectations of them, and for this reason they may choose to keep these agendas hidden.
Corruption and Fraud
Corruption and fraud are, in this context, when an entity in power does things that are dishonest or contrary to commonly accepted ethics and laws. This generally involves bribes or intimidation behind the scene. Profit and power are usually the driving force behind such actions. Go figure.
Social Darwinism
Some people are just weaker than others and have less power or opportunity to take power. The idea of Social Darwinism is that it is natural that these people fail, and that society shouldn't feel responsible for taking care of these people. Basically, it's a dog eat dog world.
This is the adherence to certain beliefs proven to be untrue -- or refusing to accept as truth something that has been proven to be true. Denialism can be motivated by religious beliefs, self-interest, or as a defense mechanism out of fear or discomfort. Inculcating knee-jerk distrust for particular people or groups is often a useful part of denialism.
Eye for an Eye — Retribution
Equivalent exchange by way of exact behavior. This is the idea that, "doing unto others the same as has been done unto you," is the true balance of justice. This approach, diligently adhered to, motivates a perpetual cycle of violence. An eye for an eye doesn't leave the whole world blind, just people who go around poking out other people's eyes!
Cultural Imperialism
This is the way in which powerful cultures present their culture as the most acceptable lifestyle, and condemn the cultural practices of others. Some cultural nuances are acceptable, but if it contradicts the values of the dominant culture, those ideals must be eliminated.