Propaganda, like History, repeats itself

a reply to: Kharron

I think we're saturated in propaganda to the point we no longer have the ability to see clearly. People often believe they can see through it without realising how it's all around us. CNN and FOX are obvious examples of this so we see Dem voters being scathing about FOX articles by citing CNN and HuffPo articles. Republicans use FOX articles to dismiss CNN/HuffPo. Same BS whether it's blue or red...

The Onion posted an article years ago that has stayed in my mind and I've probably overused it because it gets straight to the heart of what propaganda (human nature too) is - "White foragers complain about black looters."

It isn't the race aspect. It's the nitty gritty point that 'the other side' is always in the wrong and somehow less than us. I'm guilty of it too sometimes so no high horses over here.

a reply to: Kandinsky

The truest thing the media/advertising/entertainment industries did was to admit they were doing "programming."

I firmly believe that very "advance" in consumer electronics has been twisted to serve the agenda(s) of the powerful for greater control of the people.

"They" always put the truth right in our faces, however. I think that's actually part of the rules of The Game.

We were told everything we needed to know about media in 1976's Network.

originally posted by: Kandinsky

I think we're saturated in propaganda to the point we no longer have the ability to see clearly.

Propaganda is merely the science of mass persuasion and / or diversion.

It could be said propaganda is our nature, as essentially every point of human to human contact involves persuasion and / or diversion.

a reply to: Kandinsky

Thanks for posting the second opinion, so we can move the conversation along.

I agree, we are not just saturated, we are over-saturated. I was trying to point that out in the OP when I said we not only accept being lied to, but we don't even question it any more. In fact, many defend it if it ousts their preferred figure.

But in order to push back on it, we need to start at the top not at the bottom. The White House, and the amount of unsubstantiated information, or propaganda, that's coming out of it these days is setting a new precedent. A new precedent for our country, publicly. It's been going on for a long time, but it's reached a new height.

“We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.”
-William Casey, CIA Director 1981-1987

a reply to: Kharron

We need to change what the President and the White House staff does and says?

Okay, what do you want to change and how do you want to change it?

a reply to: Gryphon66

I don't think we can do anything immediately. I think the forces behind all of this that is going on and behind the White House are too strong.

The best we can do is to attempt to decondition the damage that's already ingrained.

Personally, I used to read articles and even when I knew MSM lied, I read them, they helped shape my opinion and I would just move onto the next one. Slowly, I've gotten to the point where I instinctively open up multiple tabs and verify all sorts of claims in the article, regardless of where it comes from or who wrote it. I'm tearing apart my conditioning to trust blindly.

For many others, pointing out that they're being lied to, or that their favorite politician does it to them, is painful -- I don't doubt that for a second; but it's also painful to watch it go unhindered day after day.

a reply to: Kharron

I agree with you about the forces behind what we see in government and the media particularly. What I've been trying to do for myself is to deprogram what I've seen take hold in all of us ... this bitter, sniping, irrationality between two "sides." I take responsibility for my language and my reactions. Even when I want to snap back ... I try not to. I try to really LISTEN to what the other person is saying, and as I started to do that ... I found out that more often than not, they were saying middle-of-the-road things that we can almost all agree with.

I read and watch everything with a critical eye these days, which also results in a negative attitude.

I don't think it accomplishes that much to say "Look that's not true! Why do you believe that?" because how they got to where they are, and how you did, and how I did are all simliar paths ... a million small moves.

I ask a lot more questions, these days. By the way, thanks for answering.

The op has taken this Nazi thing to an entire new level...

a reply to: Gryphon66

I'll be honest. I've noticed this change in your posting style. I respect that even though we rarely agree.

a reply to: Kharron

History is always going to repeat itself.

If we actually learned from our mistakes there'd have been just one war @ 40,000 years ago. We wouldn't commit murder. There'd be no rape or violence.

But we don't learn. We just change laws and society to justify our bad behaviors.

a reply to: Kharron

So a libtard rag with an unknown advisor and a spurned women with a potential agenda counts as credible? Okey dokey lol. Not sayin', but maybe just sayin'.

My wife says I used to own all 5 keys of solomon, the original translations, and she says I've got pdf copies on all my computers, I guess that makes me a Magus lol

Cheers - Dave

a reply to: Kharron

Only threat to the US is the Democratic party with their liberal lies and trying to hide their misgivings over the years,just because something sounds cool to milleniums adds no truth

a reply to: Kharron

I honestly don't think we can push back. It's too useful and those with the greatest power wouldn't give away their advantages. Not only that, we're in a ricocheting, crossfire of propaganda from our own domestic partisan parties as well as numerous international rivals. If the WH stopped using it, the others would carry on so propaganda has a defensive value too.

Political propaganda has always been ugly. You can imagine the anti-Japanese imagery from WW2 and those posters of bestial Germans from WW1. Further back are the anti-Semitic caricatures and further still are the 18th Century lampoons printed in the popular press. Trump's style of propaganda is as ugly as its every been whereas Obama (Bill Clinton too) used a quieter style that was designed to appeal to the intellect. Both presidencies have still engaged in never-ending drone strikes which makes the question of style or decorum sorta redundant.

@ Gryph - It's human nature for the strongest to exploit resources and seize advantages. The Internet is the best marketing platform for selling fears, dreams and...political propaganda. I worry that Western civilisation is slowly becoming the property of one class of people and they have the technology to perpetuate it indefinitely. Come and get your free apartments in Hotel Panopticon.

@ IgnoranceIsntBliss -

It could be said propaganda is our nature, as essentially every point of human to human contact involves persuasion and / or diversion.

This infuriates me sometimes. It's hard to totally condemn anything because it's all part of our natures. We use trivial propaganda when we paint someone in a bad light so are we any better than world leaders pointing their fingers at others?

a reply to: bobs_uruncle

Right.
Exactly right.

Everybody knows trump doesn't read books or briefings or memos or laws.....

a reply to: Kharron

We've all discussed propaganda on here for years and years, but we've never had a President with such a connection to them. That's worth exploring, I think.

I believe that to be incorrect.


Operation Mockingbird

PRISM

Vault 7

originally posted by: Sillyolme
a reply to: bobs_uruncle

Right.
Exactly right.

Everybody knows trump doesn't read books or briefings or memos or laws.....

Can I get you some more Kool-Aid? Or do you already have CNN and MSNBC as favorites on your widdle fwat scween?

The point is, it's a liberal rag promoting hate and division, an unknown advisor which is potentially completely made up and a spurned ex-wife who may or may not have an agenda. What parts of this fit into an actual reality with proof. I could say an unknown advisor told me Hillary was dancing naked on a bar in Texas and the bar collapsed under her weight and all the occupants were turned to stone when it turned around and they saw its eyes. It's just BS, where's the video and the corroborating evidence, including stone patrons?

Just because the msm says something that immediately fits with your bias, does not mean it contains truth. It's more likely a complete distortion of reality, since any extreme bias is generally based on a distorted view of reality.

Cheers - Dave

lately the more emotional a "news" story or political post/meme on social media,ATS etc etc the more i question it and want to fact check it. time and time again i have gotten emotionally invested in a topic and it turns out to be misleading or outright false. i try my hardest to try and listen to opposing points of view and listen to all facts before i decide how i feel about certain subjects and even then i am still conflicted. a lot of topics are highly complicated and not so cut and dry as to have one solid opinion and also the fact that i am not, nor are many of us, a political, history or economic major so i have to learn when to shut my mouth and listen/learn more.