Pine Tree State Mind Control started in the middle of 1996 with the following flyers. These are presented in roughly the order in which they were created. Some may seem out of date, but that’s how they were made.
The focus of this effort, which only later became known as the Community Programming Initiative, was to provide a very different viewpoint to cause the reader to question his or her own way of seeing the world. In these flyers, Orwell’s character of Winston Smith is a dangerous miscreant causing disorder in a harmonious society. Anthony Burgess’ Alex is a criminal who is made into a productive citizen. Watching television becomes a public service.
We in the Western world tend to look at freedom with a microscope. Philosophers have pondered freedom of action, freedom of thought, and even freedom of meaning for a very long time. Most people, when asked, are willing to fight for their freedom. You would think freedom was something we all wanted. However, we continue to write cumbersome laws, build constrictive religions, and entrap ourselves with dogma and social mores. Our actions don't match our words.
Ultimately, we are scared of freedom. Free will terrifies us. And it’s not only the free will of others that makes us want bounds. We’re scared of ourselves. We don’t want chocolate in the house when we’re dieting. We don’t want guns in the house because we think we’ll shoot someone. We don’t want access to pornography because we think we might like it. We pass the laws by telling ourselves that we must protect ourselves from other people, and that makes us feel even better about it.
What do you really think about freedom? For most of us, Pine Tree State Mind Control looks like a panacea. Read the flyers that follow. Does it really sound that outrageous to talk of eliminating free will? Some of what you read will make you laugh. Some of it will make you think. Instead of dismissing it all by questioning the sanity of the authors, ask yourself if anything you’ve read makes sense. How much freedom are you willing to give up in exchange for happiness and comfort? How much of your neighbors’ freedom are you willing to give up? What if we promised that you wouldn’t miss it?
Hypnosis, subliminal programming, and neurolinguistic programming are demons to us because they represent the theft of freedom. Huh? Is that right? If these are demons, why are there clinical hypnotists, subliminal weight-loss tapes, and power sales skills seminars? Would we pay someone to take away our freedom of choice? Of course! That’s why the time is ripe for Pine Tree State Mind Control.
The flyers were distributed throughout New England. No attempt was made to explain them. People found them in rest rooms, nightclubs, laundromats, and tacked up on walls. Some flyers have appeared in magazines. They’ve been sent to radio stations and record labels along with audio tapes. Many have been posted on the internet by people unconnected to PTSMC. Of course, in this "collection" format, some may appear repetitive. Remember that most people have not read them all in one sitting, but instead saw one them in different places at different times. What is the impact of these flyers on the public? We can’t say for sure because there is no feedback mechanism. In such a vacuum, it is up to you to decide for yourself.
You may reprint these as you wish. If you'd like original copies to duplicate or print, please contact Pine Tree State Mind Control at ptsmc@ptsmc.org. The only requirement for reprinting is that the name and logo of Pine Tree State Mind Control appear on the reproduced work.