How to be a Thought Leader

“Bernays' thesis is that “invisible” people who create knowledge and propaganda rule over the masses, with a monopoly on the power to shape thoughts, values, and citizen response.” - Wikipedia

In the current age of the internet, there is no longer a monopoly on the power to shape thoughts, values, and citizen response. Where there was once a monopoly there is now an oligarchy of thought leaders where each person in that oligarchy is a gatekeeper. When I do my outreach efforts I am attempting to connect with thought leaders and acquire the power to shape thoughts, values, and citizen response.

The thought leaders of today are able to select evidence and tell a story about our reality so that many different people are believing different stories. I want to see the thought leaders become more solutions oriented and be willing to form coalitions with people of different beliefs based on a shared interest in a solution. I want to see the thought leaders identifying low hanging fruit and putting in the effort to pick that low hanging fruit.

One example of a low hanging fruit is the MORE Act. I think antifa, BLM, Proud Boys, most Republicans, most Democrats, all Libertarians, and most law enforcers will agree that decriminalizing cannabis at the federal level will help solve some of the problems related to the different stories they believe.