Manifest Destiny of Cognition - A Libertarian Perspective

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting -- Sun Tzu

Men willingly believe what they wish -- Julius Caesar

He who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived -- Niccolò Machiavelli

Example, whether it be good or bad, has a powerful influence -- George Washington

Truth is the first casualty in war -- Thomas Jefferson

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking -- George S. Patton

Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past -- George Orwell

The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next -- Abraham Lincoln

With the first quarter of the 21st century coming to a close it is clear that the Cognitive Domain will be the battleground where the next generation of wars will be waged. Whilst winning hearts and minds has been a primary goal of warfare since the dawn of mankind: the manipulation of this frontier, by not only human actors but also Artificial Intelligences, may indeed be nearly the only goal of warfare as we move into the next quarter of the century.

As our understanding of how to manipulate information dissemination to shape populations' perception of reality advances the value of "truth" becomes less relevant and more fractured. There are more than just two sides to the information war that has engulfed humanity, each with their own perception of fact versus fiction. In my view, the aggressors that embrace differences in thought and inspire competition among the masses will be the most successful in this everchanging frontier of the mind. We are subjected to a multitude of practitioners of Cognitive Warfare including nation-states, corporations and artificial intelligence - the number of which is growing rapidly, if not exponentially.

Navigating through the early decades of the 21st century, it becomes evident that the future of warfare and influence lies not in the physical realm but in the minds and perceptions of the global populace. The Cognitive Domain, with its complex interplay of information, disinformation, and psychological operations, represents the new frontier of conflict. To emerge victorious in this domain requires not only technological superiority but a deep understanding of the human psyche and the ever-evolving dynamics of global society.

In our world where perceptions are diverging from each other and their shared reality becoming fractured the participants of warfare can shape realities beyond traditional borders. Technology is exponentially growing in reach and improving in access - we are quickly approaching a watershed moment in human history where an Information Singularity will occur: AI supplanting Human Command & Control. A world where mainstream news is written, distributed and presented by pure algorithms is at hand; that this AI information presenters will have biases evolved beyond their creators' is almost a certainty.

Our destiny is not in a single vision or reality: each citizen must define their own path to seize and in turn manifest their future. "Truth" is an ever-transforming multi-dimensional spectrum; successful perpetrators of Cognitive Warfare target across that spectrum to shift perceptions of reality into reality itself. Facts and Laws of Nature that are immutable are rare to come by as are black swan singularities that cause seismic changes in global perception of reality and the basis for a common, shared, universal perspective is ever splintering.

The assertion by Thomas Jefferson that truth is the first casualty in war has never been more relevant. In the Cognitive Domain, the casualty is not just the truth but the very concept of it. What is considered true can vary widely across different factions, making objective truth a rare commodity. The ability to control narratives and, by extension, perceptions of truth, grants immense power.

For Freedom and Democracy to survive we must embrace this spectrum of truth by manifesting a reality supporting the very foundation of our union: "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" - which in my mind is a game theoretically sound concept that all people of all nations can embrace. In a world that has been compressing in time and space due to exponential technological achievement we must not only defend our perspective of reality but advance it.

For far too long Libertarianism has been synonymous with Isolationism with the expansionism creed of Thomas Jefferson being ignored. Believers of Liberty in this cannot sit idly by while Totalitarian Regimes attack the thoughts of not only their own populaces but ours as well. Libertarians need to shape the message both here and abroad to achieve a Global Society in-which all men and women have the rights we enjoy here in the United States. No longer can we simply withdraw our military to our borders and keep our collective heads in the sand - the ever-more-connected world we enjoy requires that we as a people, not just our government, imbuing the founding values of The United States into the populace at large.

Fundamentally, government exists to protect the rights and welfare of the both the many and the few - not to provide services.