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In 1944, CS Lewis warned the graduating class at Kings College, University of London about the human desire to be part of an “inner circle,” an elite, an exclusive group of those “in the know.” His lecture, titled “The Inner Ring” explained the dangers of becoming obsessed by the desire to gain social status through connection with perceived elites.  This dynamic is absolutely central to understanding the weaponization of loneliness . C. S. Lewis The craving to be part of an inner ring is virtually universal because of the natural human need to belong and to feel accepted.  But the dynamic of the inner ring is often a distortion and perversion of that natural desire.  It ends up as a form of snobbery in which gratification comes from excluding others. Worse, it causes behaviors that are destructive of others, as well as of self. This dynamic of taking delight in exclusion is obvious in “clubs” like the World Economic Forum, the European Union, Hollywood insiders, academia, and other elitist oligarchies.  But it can also happen in seemingly more squalid settings, such as the inner rings of gangs and cults.  One example might be the desire among misguided youth looking for acceptance in the violent but organized mobs of street “protestors” like Antifa.   In such cases, the fear of ostracism reaches a whole new level whereby those caught up in it no longer look for acceptance in the form of family and friends, but in a social pecking order that offers no warmth or true sense of belonging. In this condition you are condemned to forever walk on eggshells as you must be ever vigilant of not saying anything that could result in social rejection from your reference group. For a “popular” high school mean girl, the threat would be censure by her clique. For a celebrity, it could come from being potentially cancelled by the Hollywood blob. For a communist who misspeaks, the threat could come from party elites who sense a traitor in their midst. The list goes on. In every disparate case when people seek to be part of an inner ring, the goal is to be feel a part of some sort of secret club. But it’s a dead end. The result is a state of misery and even paranoia that results in being “triggered” when exposed to any other point of view.  The only solution is true friendship.

I recently sat down with two delightful and lovely young ladies for an interview about my book and thesis, the weaponization of loneliness. It was part of a new podcast of the Clare Boothe Luce Center called "GenZ Unplugged." I specifically focused on how the young women of Generation Z are especially affected by the uses of isolation as a social and political weapon. Check out my interview here: I covered a lot of ground in our 40 minute conversation with Hannah and Catherine, but we could have gone on for hours more. We talked about the effects of social media, of the sexual revolution, and how deeply embedded the fear of social isolation is, especially among young women. As I noted in my book, they will often shut up about what they believe -- or even lie about what they believe -- in order to feel accepted. If you'd just like to get a one minute gist, here's the short:

Do you keep your opinions to yourself because you’re afraid people will reject you? Do you sign on to a cause just because everyone around you acts like it’s the right thing to do? About The Weaponization of Loneliness “Terror can rule absolutely only over men who are isolated against each other. . . . Therefore, one of the primary concerns of all tyrannical government is to bring this isolation about.” – Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism Do you keep your opinions to yourself because you’re afraid people will reject you? Do you sign on to a cause just because everyone around you acts like it’s the right thing to do? Welcome to The Weaponization of Loneliness. Tyrants of all stripes want to tell you what to believe and how to live your life. They get away with it by using the most potent weapon at their disposal: your fear of ostracism. This book explains how dictators—from the French Revolution to the Communist Party of China to today’s globalists—aim to atomize us in order to control us. We fall for it because our need to connect with others and our fear of social rejection are so hardwired that they trigger our conformity impulse. These dynamics can even cause us to comply with evil orders. We all need a better understanding of how the merchants of loneliness—power elites in Big Tech, Big Media, Big Government, academia, Hollywood, and the corporate world— exploit our terror of social isolation. Their divide-and-conquer tactics include identity politics, political correctness, and mob agitation. Their media monopoly spawns the propaganda essential to demonization campaigns, censorship, cancel culture, snitch culture, struggle sessions, the criminalization of comedy, and the subversion of society’s most fundamental institutions. It all adds up to a machinery of loneliness. Ironically, people tend to comply with this machinery to avoid loneliness, but such compliance only isolates us further. The Weaponization of Loneliness also offers a message of hope. We can resist this psychological warfare if we have strong bonds in our families, faith communities, and friendships. Let’s resolve to talk to one another openly and often, especially about the consequences of giving in to social pressures and media hype. Indeed, totalitarians always seek to destroy private life because it is the very fount of freedom. Buy Now Sharyl Attkisson, Emmy Award winning investigative reporter "Stella Morabito cracks the code of one of today's most powerful political weapons: isolation. The Weaponization of Loneliness is an eye-opening and chilling look at how propagandists use the tool to enforce compliance and smear dissenters."

We delve into captivating discussions on modern American literature, societal dynamics like the weaponization of loneliness, and thought-provoking analyses of human behavior. Blog Featured Posts The Weaponization of Loneliness Against Women Americans Should Condemn the Practice of Publicly Betraying Family Members Check out Brandon Showalter’s Exploration of How Some Saw Transmania on the Horizon Years Ago No Matter What Happens, Don't Let Anyone Shut You Up! Free Speech is the Foundation of Every Other Freedom Learn to Detect the Weaponization of Loneliness in Every Movie You Watch C-SPAN Book TV has Aired My Speech about The Weaponization of Loneliness Blogs By Categories All Posts (277) 277 posts Blog Post (210) 210 posts Featured Blog Post (9) 9 posts Video Interviews (29) 29 posts Featured Video Interviews (7) 7 posts Audio Interviews (23) 23 posts Featured Audio Interview (7) 7 posts Biology (19) 19 posts Books (26) 26 posts Community (42) 42 posts Conformity (17) 17 posts Culture (140) 140 posts Family (70) 70 posts Freedom of Association (56) 56 posts Free Speech (63) 63 posts Friendship (15) 15 posts Gender (27) 27 posts Identity Politics (12) 12 posts Isolation (33) 33 posts Language (43) 43 posts Loneliness (52) 52 posts Marriage (19) 19 posts Media (15) 15 posts Mobs (7) 7 posts Political Correctness (105) 105 posts Politics (90) 90 posts Propaganda (113) 113 posts Society (199) 199 posts Stella's Book Club (9) 9 posts Transgender (35) 35 posts Weaponization of Loneliness (36) 36 posts Censorship (6) 6 posts Cults (2) 2 posts Blog By Date July 2025 (1) 1 post February 2025 (2) 2 posts November 2024 (2) 2 posts September 2024 (2) 2 posts August 2024 (1) 1 post July 2024 (1) 1 post June 2024 (1) 1 post May 2024 (4) 4 posts April 2024 (3) 3 posts March 2024 (2) 2 posts February 2024 (1) 1 post January 2024 (1) 1 post December 2023 (2) 2 posts November 2023 (1) 1 post October 2023 (1) 1 post September 2023 (5) 5 posts August 2023 (3) 3 posts July 2023 (2) 2 posts June 2023 (2) 2 posts May 2023 (5) 5 posts April 2023 (2) 2 posts March 2023 (4) 4 posts February 2023 (8) 8 posts January 2023 (12) 12 posts December 2022 (10) 10 posts November 2022 (8) 8 posts October 2022 (6) 6 posts August 2022 (1) 1 post April 2022 (1) 1 post October 2021 (1) 1 post June 2021 (1) 1 post March 2021 (1) 1 post December 2020 (2) 2 posts November 2020 (2) 2 posts October 2020 (1) 1 post September 2020 (2) 2 posts August 2020 (1) 1 post June 2020 (4) 4 posts December 2019 (1) 1 post July 2018 (5) 5 posts May 2018 (1) 1 post February 2018 (2) 2 posts August 2017 (1) 1 post June 2017 (2) 2 posts May 2017 (4) 4 posts April 2017 (2) 2 posts March 2017 (4) 4 posts February 2017 (6) 6 posts November 2016 (1) 1 post October 2016 (2) 2 posts The Weaponization of Loneliness Against Women This past Valentine’s Day I had the honor of speaking to the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women on a topic that is... - Feb 28 Americans Should Condemn the Practice of Publicly Betraying Family Members Consider a tragic case of family betrayal during Mao Zedong's cultural revolution in China when a teenager named Zhang Hongbing turned... - Feb 12 Check out Brandon Showalter’s Exploration of How Some Saw Transmania on the Horizon Years Ago If you are interested in how a mind virus can take over whole societies, the insanity of transgenderism is a perfect case study for... - Nov 19, 2024 No Matter What Happens, Don't Let Anyone Shut You Up! Free Speech is the Foundation of Every Other Freedom I’m writing this on Election Day, November 5, 2024. The polls close in just a couple of hours. But no matter what happens, I firmly... - Nov 5, 2024 Learn to Detect the Weaponization of Loneliness in Every Movie You Watch Just about every work of fiction that deals with human relationships (are there any that don't!?) deals with the theme of the... - Sep 13, 2024 Some New Orwellian Slogans are "Misery is joy" and "Hate is Love" First, consider this clip of Bill Maher explaining how certain people have decided to hate him because he “won’t hate someone else”: ... - Sep 2, 2024 Communism is Slavery -- Let's say it loudly and often I’ve been puzzled that we don’t hear more about the sameness of communism and slavery. As America races towards communism, few understand... - Jul 5, 2024 C-SPAN Book TV has Aired My Speech about The Weaponization of Loneliness I was honored to speak about my thesis of the weaponization of loneliness to the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute. It was a great... - Jun 24, 2024 1 2 3 4 5

I compiled the select bibliography below to reflect themes in my book, The Weaponization of Loneliness.  It is by no means exhaustive.  Several of the entries are classics that seem to have been lost until recent years. Select Bibliography I compiled the select bibliography below to reflect themes in my book, The Weaponization of Loneliness . It is by no means exhaustive. Several of the entries are classics that seem to have been lost until recent years. After the first sessions discussing The Weaponization of Loneliness , Stella's Book Club will draw from many of the titles below. The syllabus for that first book consists of four sessions because there is so much material to cover within it. Your club may decide to condense the sessions for the first book into three or two or even pack it into one session before proceeding to other works. If so, please allow time to absorb the material. The longer books in the bibliography below can be overwhelming, so I will generally offer selections from the most critical chapters or pages of those books to discuss. More details to follow. Attkisson, Sharyl. The Smear: How Shady Political Operatives and Fake News Control What You See, What you Think, and How you Vote . New York: Harper, 2017. Emmy-awarding winning journalist Sharyl Attkisson describes how elites silence people through harassment and smears. Bernays, Edward. Propaganda , 1928. This is the book that gives away the game of power elites. Written by "the father of public relations" and nephew of psycho-analyst Sigmund Freud. Cacioppo, John T., and Patrick, William. Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection . New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008. An overview of why we’re so hard-wired to connect. Cialdini, Robert. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion . New York: Harper Business, 2006 (first published 1986) Cialdini has been a professor of marketing as well as psychology, and has been described as “godfather of persuasion.” Ellul, Jacques . Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes . This is the premier classic on how propaganda works and why it is ever more dangerous in an increasingly technological society. Havel, Vaclav. “The Power of the Powerless ” (1978) in Open Letters: Selected Writings 1965-1990 . New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991. An extraordinary essay that explains that the private sphere of life (the "hidden sphere") is of critical importance for preserving freedom. Hoffer, Eric. The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements . New York: HarperCollins, originally published in 1951. This book is key to understanding how mobs form and how the mob mindset works. Jung, Carl. The Undiscovered Self (1957) is a very slim volume—basically a long essay—packed with insights about how manipulating the human psyche ends up empowering the mass state and destroying individual freedom. Lessing, Doris. Prisons We Choose to Live Inside , New York: Harper and Row, 1987. Lessing (1919-2013) was a famous icon of feminism, a Nobel laureate in literature, and became a strong opponent of totalitarianism in later life. Resisting group think is key to freedom. Meerloo, Joost M. M. The Rape of the Mind: the Psychology of Thought Control, Menticide, and Brainwashing . New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1956. This book cracks the code on groupthink. This is the book that prompted Stella to write her Federalist article “How to Escape the Age of Mass Delusion ” which Rush Limbaugh read verbatim and discussed at length on his show (June 15, 2015.) Morabito, Stella. The Weaponization of Loneliness: How Tyrants Stoke Our Fear of Isolation to Silence, Divide, and Conquer . New York/Nashville: Bombardier Books, 2022. Nisbet, Robert. The Quest for Community . Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2010. (First published 1953.) In this classic, renowned sociologist Robert Nisbet recognizes that tyrants always seek to destroy the private sphere of life. Noelle-Neumann, Elisabeth. The Spiral of Silence: Public Opinion – Our Social Skin . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984. Noelle-Neumann developed a model called “the spiral of silence” whereby our fear of expressing our opinions allows opposing opinions to dominate even if they are not majority opinions. Packard, Vance . The Hidden Persuaders , first published 1957. Vance Packard was the first to illustrate how advertisers used “depth psychology” to profit off of the innermost desires and fears of the public. Schouten, Ronald, MD, JD and Silver, James, JD. Almost a Psychopath . Hazelton Publishing, Harvard Health Publications, Harvard Medical School, 2012. This book clarifies what it means to be an “almost-psychopath” – a high functioning and persuasive tyrant who (unlike a full-blown psychopath)--can reach the highest levels of power in government, business, and education by preying on others. Singer, Margaret Thaler. Cults in Our Midst: the Hidden Menace in our Everyday Lives , San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1995. Singer (1921-2005) explains how coercive persuasion causes people to do things they would have never dreamt of doing had they not fallen under its influence. Wilcox, Laird (ed.) Propaganda, Persuasion and Deception: Over 1,120 Selected Quotations for the Ideological Skeptic . A fantastic reference work compiled by expert on propaganda, the late Laird Wilcox (d. November 2023) known for founding and maintaining The Wilcox Collection on Political Extremism at the University of Kansas. Winn, Denise. The Manipulated Mind: Brainwashing, Conditioning, Indoctrination . Malor Books, first published 1983. This book serves as an excellent primer to understanding how easily people can be psychologically manipulated. A FEW SELECTIONS OF FICTION THAT SHOW THE CONNECTION BETWEEN CONFORMITY AND DYSTOPIA: We , Yevgeniy Zamyatin (1920’s) In this novel, the earth’s remaining inhabitants in “The One State” have developed a mechanical, predictable society and are now ready to travel through space to absorb all other life forms to become part of their Borg-like hive mind. And yet there are some who resist. I wrote an article about We which you can access at this link: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2013/09/the_dynamics_of_tyranny.html You can read George Orwell’s 1946 review of We in the London Tribune: https://orwell.ru/library/reviews/zamyatin/english/e_zamy Brave New World , Aldous Huxley . Humans have bioengineered and conditioned themselves into castes. Sex has become entirely recreational, and people soothe away their uneasy feelings with the drug “soma.” Nineteen-Eighty-Four , George Orwell . In this surveillance society, no one can develop bonds of trust or loyalty. Events are sent down the “memory hole.” People dutifully perform their “two minutes hate.” The Giver , Lois Lowry , 1993. A society devotes itself to “sameness” so that suffering will disappear from life. But there is no emotional depth, no cultural memory, nothing that truly binds people together. “The Grand Inquisitor” chapter in The Brothers Karamazov , Fedor Dostoyevsky. Do people at root reject freedom? This question lies at the heart of the story told by Ivan Karamazov to his brother, the monk Alyosha in Dostoyevsky’s classic novel. "Harrison Bergeron," 1961 short story by Kurt Vonnegut – Everyone is made to be equal by the office of the “Handicapper General” who disables any special talent or attractiveness one person might have over another. "The New Utopia," by Jerome K. Jerome (1891) In one of the first modern dystopian stories, there is an attempt to make everyone equal by “leveling down” everyone, rather than allowing for any real diversity of human beings. https://archive.org/details/the-new-utopia SELECTION OF RELATED ARTICLES AND ESSAYS: American Psychological Association. The APA-suppressed DIMPAC report . DIMPAC stands for “Deceptive and Indirect Methods of Persuasion and Control.” In the aftermath of much cult activity in the twentieth century—which culminated in the 1978 Jonestown massacre—the American Psychological Association asked cult expert Margaret Thaler Singer (author of the book Cults in Our Midst) to head up a task force to provide recommendations to the APA, but then decided not to publish it. The DIMPAC report is extremely difficult to locate on the Internet. Here I link to one (incomplete) copy of it: https://www.culteducation.com/report-of-the-apa-task-force-on-deceptive-and-indirect-techniques-of-persuasion-and-control.html Asch, Solomon. “Opinions and Social Pressure,” Scientific American, Vol. 193, 1955 https://archive.org/details/solomon-asch_confirmaty/mode/2up Professor Asch is known for his famous "line experiment" in social conformity. Commission on Children at Risk. “Hardwired to Connect: A Report to the Nation.” In Authoritative Communities: The Scientific Case for Nurturing the Whole Child, edited by Kathleen Kovner Kline, _pages_. _City_: Springer Science-Business Media, LLC, 2008. The findings of this study, first published in 2003, found that mental health is largely dependent upon two primary connections among human beings: with family and with the transcendent (religion.) Deneen, Patrick. “How a Generation Lost its Common Culture.” Minding the Campus, February 2, 2016. https://www.mindingthecampus.org/2016/02/02/how-a-generation-lost-its-common-culture/ . The tragedy of the loss of our common culture through an education establishment that no longer imparts real knowledge. Fromm-Reichmann, Frieda. “Loneliness.” Psychiatry , 22:1-15, 1959. https://psptraining.com/wp-content/uploads/Fromm-ReichmannF.-CPS_Loneliness.pdf The famed psychotherapist Frieda Fromm-Reichmann offers her thesis on the connection between a deep feeling of social isolation and psychosis. “How to Recognize a Mind Hacker .” https://njsafeandsound.org/NJSS_Mind_Hacking_Alert_Guide.pdf This is a very useful pamphlet put out by anti-cult organization, NJ Safe and Sound . It’s intended to guard against family separation by building awareness of a cult technique called “predatory alienation ,” which turns the recruit against his loved ones. Jones, Ron. “The Third Wave.” Co-Evolution Quarterly, 1976. https://www.thewavehome.com/ This website explores a famous 1967 experiment in social conformity at a Palo Alto high school. Orwell, George. “Politics and the English Language.” Horizon, April 1946. https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/politics-and-the-english-language/ In this famous essay, Orwell makes the connection between the manipulation of our language and the manipulation of our minds. Sunstein, Cass. “Breaking Up the Echo,” New York Times, 2011. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/opinion/balanced-news-reports-may-only-inflame.html In this brief article, left-wing intellectual Cass Sunstein explains how “surprise validators” can persuade people to change their views. The surprise validator is someone you can identify with, but whose views are unexpected. (For example, the black conservative or the radical feminist who challenges gender theory.) Wilcox, Laird. “The Practice of Ritual Defamation: How Values, Opinions, and Beliefs are Controlled in Democratic Societies.” 1990. http://lairdwilcox.com/news/defame.html This very brief essay is a must-read for understanding how cancel culture works. SOME MOVIES RELATED TO THE THEME OF IMPOSED ISOLATION AS A PERSONAL AND POLITICAL WEAPON: The Children’s Story , by James Clavell, 25 minute TV movie, 1980. From the intro by Peter Ustinov: “What's brainwashing? And what's the difference between "education" and "re-education"? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1AL3WFzsv0 Experimenter: The Stanley Milgram Story , 2015. This film traces the development of the famous and controversial “shock” experiments by Yale professor Stanley Milgram in the 1960s. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1VOZhwRvWo The Lives of Others , 2006, German with English subtitles. This film shows life in the surveillance society of 1980’s East Germany before the Berlin Wall came down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3_iLOp6IhM&t=2s One of the most chilling scenes is “The Honnecker Joke” It’s worthy of an entire discussion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8vDQaAYaQg Angi Vera, Hungarian film with English subtitles, by Pal Gabor, 1978. (The DVD is not easy to obtain, but is worth the search: Currently available with English subtitles online here: https://rarefilmm.com/2019/07/angi-vera-1979/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Xt3f2Mg48 After the communist takeover of Hungary in 1948, the Stalinist regime worked to re-construct the entire human infrastructure of the nation so that only those who conform to the new order are in positions of authority. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xCz7TfgOjM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l72xXYmkbi0 Marty (Ernest Borginine) 1955 – A middle aged bachelor finds love but is about to throw it away because his buddies refer to Marty’s new girlfriend as a “dog” and pressure him to break up with her. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6e1M2d4BJ0&t=66s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , 1939. In this movie we can see the anatomy of a demonization campaign. Mr. Smith committed the ultimate crime in elitist Washington: trying to expose corruption. Cancel culture ensues. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPv0S1-ETdI Gaslight (Ingrid Bergman) 1944 – “Gaslight” is the story that coined the term “gaslighting” as a form of psychological abuse and manipulation through imposed isolation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp5iPmpZiNE The Giver , 2014. A dystopian community is founded on the premise that sameness will save us. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvp6FnYWRZU The Wave . Based on real life story by high school teacher Ron Jones – dramatization of social experiment at a Palo Alto High School, 1968. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cWxLNENgMc Mean Girls , 2004 – Quintessential teen high school movie. However, it provides a microcosm of the weaponry of loneliness in action. The queen bees try to control everybody’s relationships and reputations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDU84nmSDZY A few other videos that provide studies in isolation and psychological manipulation include: Twilight Zone episodes “The Obsolete Man” and “It’s a Good Life” The Devil Wears Prada (on the tyranny of the toxic boss); The Hunger Games series (on divide-and-conquer dynamics); Imitation of Life (on the tyranny of social conformity); Mr. Jones (on the tyranny of a totalitarian system in place.) Very dark SELECT DOCUMENTARIES related to the theme: The Abilene Paradox , Second Edition, This management training film, based on Jerry Harvey’s book of the same name, is excellent for understanding how easily we all conform publicly -- and unanimously – when we disagree with an idea. This eye-opener is an extremely difficult film to procure. It cannot be downloaded and one 25-minute DVD costs $950, possibly only for industry use. But everyone can profit from watching the full 25-minute film, currently available on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icJK89nnf-Y Here's The Abilene Paradox trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_iGdiYO7gI The Singing Revolution , documentary on the liberation of Estonia from Soviet rule. Another antidote to isolation film. It shows the ripple effect of speaking freely. And liberation through love, true unity, and song, 2006, produced by Michael Tusty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA9PmZo-2jo https://singingrevolution.com/ Margaret Thaler Singer lecture: “What is a Cult and How Does it Work?” The 20th century’s preeminent expert on cults explains the methods and techniques of dangerous cults and how they prey on the lonely. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bRBFhMEQFk NBC News Archive footage of Jonestown , including the speech Congressman Leo Ryan gave at the Jonestown compound the night before the mass killing in November 1978 and Ryan's assassination the next day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm7k2Eq-vD0 Jonestown, “American Experience” , 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuxdb1pSVe8 Patty Hearst’s Interview with Larry King on Larry King Live . CNN, January 22, 2002. When newspaper heiress Patty Hearst was kidnapped in 1974 by a violent group of terrorists, they subjected her to six weeks of intense Maoist propaganda while isolating her in a closet. “I had no free will.” https://thefederalist.com/2014/04/15/cults-in-our-midst-patty-hearst-and-the-brainwashing-of-america/ Part I: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p05xGAvTjIg&t=153s Part II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV9AGvfN13M http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0201/22/lkl.00.html