The Secret to Becoming a Magician
My side hustle as a kid from ages 8 to 18 was to be a magician. Right from the start I was giving full magic shows which came about through an obsession with conjuring. They say that Houdini was once interviewed and asked, “What does it take to be a prestidigitator?” to which he is said to have replied “Three things: practice, practice and practice.”
Knowing the Difference from Truth and Fiction
I took my hero’s advice and did just that. Standing in front of a mirror like a dancer might, doing something I had a passion for. Eventually finger flinging became a decent part time job, for years I did the birthday party circuit. For a young person, it was better than most other jobs available to kids, Therefore, right from the start I had to differentiate what was real (so called “reality”) and what was a magic trick..
Fast Forward
Now, about 50 years later, I am astonished by what has happened in the USA when it comes to perception. There appears to be a subliminally mandatory call-to-action, in which you are choosing sides.
“Pick a Reality, any Reality.”
As an American, which have you picked? Door number 1 or door number 2? Have you decided on the reality where you have to commit to believing that the election was “rigged” and that news is “fake,? Or, the alternate trance which involves people striving to “make good on past wrongs,” but are led by a guy, who quite frankly has body language and speech patterns (especially when you see him in unedited video clips) that when viewed can be troubling.
Channel Surfing for Magicians
As my immediate family knows I flip between the two primary news channels, each which is seen as the trendsetter, depending on the reality you have opted to follow. There is another channel that has news that seems a little less titled one way or another, but even that has its failings.
Different but the Same
Over a period of an hour or so I literately go back and forth between the two, and sometimes the third. It is both amusing and terrifying that each “side” has its own requirements and opt ins. Both appearing to have the same strategy: “Say bad things about the other side, then spell out a belief system’s required elements.
Forced or Choice?
Needless to say, the individuals who we are pretty much forced (a conjuring term, inside joke) to vote for, really comes down to who has the best marketing and ultimately skill as a wielder of “reality.”
Pick a [Insert Name Here]
You cannot change someone’s mind. You can only appeal to what they already believe. Their belief system is based on what they feel has served them best throughout the years.
Grand Finale?
So the request is made for you to pick a “card” ( “card” being a slang term which Urban Dictionary defines as “…an amusing or eccentric person”).
Have you chosen yet your reality yet?