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Defining Your Values
A famous
line in a Country Western song states, "You've got to stand
for something or you'll fall for anything." The song refers
to values and the necessity for every man and woman to define
who and what he/she stands for.
Values
define what you are willing or unwilling to do. In most
instances, values are imparted by the family and faith, and to a
lesser extent by the state. The attacking of core faith values
gives credence to the idea that those in power, though
legislation and shaming, effectively silence voices of dissent
by ridiculing the principles of individuals. Values have been
under attack in the United States, specifically over the last 30
years.
The euphemism is to keep one's statements "Politically
Correct" and in so doing, many people have been ridiculed for
holding onto ideas engendered within their faith. Through
humiliation or public ridicule, those whom uphold the ideas of
their faith and principles are often referred to as
close-minded, anti-something, rightwing, leftwing,
ultra-conservative or ultra-liberal. The mudslinging is equally
appropriated to both sides, liberal or conservative and public
pressure forces the acceptance of ideas a person may consider
fundamentally wrong.
Suddenly as an individual, one feels
threatened simply for upholding his or her principles. We saw
this happen in the United States earlier this year. People
objecting to the invasion of Iraq were targeted physically,
emotionally and mentally. Persons objecting to public
policy found themselves referred to as anti-American and
unpatriotic for doing the one thing most patriotic: objecting to
a pre-emptive strike policy directly against the principles and
values defined in the US Constitution. Watching a country turn
on its own is terrifying; it is also a sure sign the population
is being manipulated making objection imperative.
TOP
Accept public opinion or live as
in exile. This is the perceived price of going against
propaganda. Fit in or move on. Using peer pressure to force
policy is an example of Bandwagon, another key tool of propaganda.
"If everyone jumped off a
cliff, then would you?" Every American's mother has spouted
this statement in one form or another, usually to remind us of
the dangers of giving into peer pressure. Propaganda prefers
each not recall her words or realize the public isn't
necessarily right; the public just makes one feel wrong because
it appears the rest of the world is against you.
Consider slavery, segregation or
apartheid. At one time a person who spoke against slavery
remained ostracized from society. To be an abolitionist in the
19th Century was to be radical. Today, people who speak against
apartheid and ethnic cleansing in the Middle East receive the
same treatment. Speak of the horrors of apartheid and ethnic
cleansing in any other part of the world and the whole world
joins in condemnation. Speak of it in the Middle East, and one
becomes condemned.
Double standards for the same situation; the
values of those condemning come with footnotes and exceptions,
exposing the ideas as false values dependent upon public
acceptance rather than morality. Propaganda produces the
displacement of values through exclusion and acceptance of
contingencies. It takes morality and adds a 'but'. Challenging
that 'but' creates the heroes we aspire to like Dr. Martin
Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Desmond Tutu, Thomas
Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. TOP
The Emotions of
Propaganda
Guilt, shame and fear continue
to be propaganda's most powerful motivators. Guilt takes hold by
consistently reminding of past trespasses and making it a crime
to not hold guilt or to challenge accepted facts based upon
previous propaganda or supposition.
Shame manifests in the targeting
those whom question and making them outcasts.
But fear is its most powerful
tool. Passing legislation limiting society's ability to live
anonymously or to usurp power from the people as The Patriot
Act has done is one example. The government used fear to
convince Americans it is in their best interests to relinquish
their rights, including the values and principles the United
States is founded on. Rather than be protected from terrorists,
Americans now find themselves needing to be protected from their
own government: absolute power corrupts absolutely.
And still people out of fear
defend it and honestly believe the government is a better nanny
than their own common sense. Challenge the idea and you will
be targeted. Don't do what we say and you will lose
everything. Fail to allow us to take care of you and you will
be alone and in danger. Don't buy our line and the boogieman
will bomb your city. Still don't believe us? Then we'll threaten
you, your family, take your money and your career and perhaps
even kill you to shut you up. This is how fear works and these
are the messages journalists, leaders and those objecting to
public policy hear from our government and special interests,
today. Fear works for a while, but never indefinitely.
TOP
To a lesser
extent propaganda uses humor. Humor is used to create an
everyman image of the idea or group and lower defenses. It
often, when used for propaganda, contains humorous
dehumanization or characterizations of those whom disagree or
the group the propagandists decide are a threat. When humor is
used, it generally has a mean-spirited undertone, yet it is
effective because it creates outcasts of those whom object to
this and of those depicted. When directed at the persona of the
propagandists, it also removes anger or fear to a group by
painting them as harmless, loveable and endearing. It is human
nature to empathize with one who can laugh at his fallibility.
Conclusion
The most famous accepted
examples of propaganda are Nazi Germany from 1922-1945 and the
McCarthy hearings of the 1950's. Today it is the US
government's spin on the Invasion of Iraq, the Middle East and
the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Propaganda can be seen
everywhere from the Gay Rights movement to the abortion issue
and the increasing levies for new taxes.
Does this mean propaganda is
never truthful? Propaganda always as a nugget of truth
somewhere, and it is this nugget the distortions are built on.
It is the job of every adult with an IQ over 80 to separate the
fact from fiction once propaganda is recognized. Propaganda
works solely when society refuses to do its homework and define
its values. Without values, society operates on a tightrope
without the benchmarks of measurement necessary to determine
right and wrong. Ultimately, propaganda only works when people
are too afraid, apathetic or distracted to think. It only works
if society allows it. <End part I> BACK
PRINT
Related Articles:
Coming soon:
Propaganda Part II
Examples of
its use today in the media and court of public opinion with
Nine Primary Strategies of Propaganda.
06/12/2004:
This second section
has already reached 100 pages with examples, therefore I've
decided to create a book. Between Iraq and the
Israeli/Palestinian conflict alone, multiple examples of pure
propaganda using the below tactics exist daily in the American
media. Though I'll be pulling in examples showing
propaganda in the undermining of the Unions, global
deforestation, the Dollar/Oil/Euro triad and the homosexual
agenda in the book, the bulk will focus on Iraq and the
Israeli/Palestinian conflict as these two situations are
intertwined and impact all other aspects of the American
experience from economy and employment to civil liberties and
Constitutional Law. The book will be called: Recognizing
Propaganda in the Age of Spin and I hope to publish it as an
e-book first in December 2004.
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Repetition
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Euphemizing
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Transfer
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Bandwagon
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