The poison in praise

If you want to kill anyone, offer them an overdose of praise. The landscape of human relationships is strewn with tombstones of people killed not by stabs of pains but songs of praise.

Praise is a stimulant, soothing, and balmy. Therefore, praise is good. However, the potentials of praise render it a powerful manipulative weapon of influence; and compliance hunters inject their targets with the virus of praise to strip them of resistance and bring them under subservient control.

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The strongest of us may not survive the manipulative effect of eulogies and flatteries. An overdose of panegyrics throws the senses into cognitive dissonance doing to a Solomon what narcotic does to a junkie. If you doubt me, imagine this scenario.

A brilliant virtuous woman on a bright career path is spontaneously weaned from chastity and discretion, falls for the wrong man and nestles her seething future in his freezing bosom. The man has neither cash nor brain, neither love nor faith.

But he has a feline tongue and a nimble pen to spin and spew epics of praise. Fed with praise, a man’s rational sensibility soon gives way to sheepish conformity. A young girl told me on her death-bed how she surrendered her honor to petting. If you’re hooked on praise and applause, you’re an easy catch for the crooks on a treasure hunt.

Traditional crooners know the frightening power of praise and leverage it to fleece their audience. They massage their ego with the balm of glowing epithets; which nestles them on a dream-land escalator and sends them to the fairy lands of candy mountains. By the time the schizophrenics return, their cash wallets will have been emptied. If you want to fleece anyone with ease first numb them with praise.

Only God can handle praise in any dose. The rest of us humans had better beware. Take praise in little shots and with a pinch of salt.

By Soji Ajayi-Albert

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