Posts tagged propaganda
Tom Woods articulates the counter-intuitive nature of war and propaganda
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Harvard and Columbia Ph.D. Tom Woods is as clear, concise and conscientious as ever in this brilliant critique.
His LibertyClassroom.com is a marquee source to discover the true roots of economic prosperity and history that strikes fear into the heart of every statist and allows the free spirit of man to create a far better society than any government could dream.
via LewRockwell.com
Twenty years ago, as I was completing my freshman year in college, I was a full-blown neoconservative. Except I didn’t know it. Having concluded that I was not a leftist, I simply decided by process of elimination that I must be a Rush Limbaughian.
Like most people, I was unaware that any alternative to those two choices existed, or that in some ways they were two sides of a common statist coin. In particular, I embraced a neoconservative foreign policy with gusto. The way to show you weren’t a commie was by supporting the U.S. military as it doled out summary justice to bad guys all over the world. And frankly, it was exciting to watch it all unfold on TV.
I never gave the human cost of war a second thought and became impatient with anyone who did. War was like a video game I could enjoy from the comfort of my home. Devastation and human suffering were quite beside the point: the righteous U.S. government was dispensing justice to the wicked, and that was that. What are you, a liberal?
The Persian Gulf War of 1991 was the first U.S. conflict of my college career. During the months-long U.S. military buildup in the Gulf known as Operation Desert Shield I eagerly promoted the mission to anyone foolish enough to listen.
When war came, it was swift and decisive. Very few American casualties were suffered, while the Iraqi forces were destroyed. Some 100,000 were burned alive by a chemical agent or buried alive in the desert while making a retreat.
Believe it or not, that actually bothered me, in spite of how voracious a consumer of war propaganda I was. No one defended Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, which he launched in response to that country’s slant oil drilling, but was the outcome of the Persian Gulf War not a terrible tragedy for the Iraqi people – virtually none of whom had had anything to do with Saddam Hussein’s fateful decision – all the same? A far poorer country than ours suddenly had a lot more widows and orphans, not to mention a great many civilian deaths to grieve over and much destruction to repair.
“Blessed are the peacemakers”
14It’s not “blessed are the war-makers.”
Yes, there are incredibly brave men and women in our military; I admire and respect them immensely. However the level of America-worshipping we see that engages our emotions and base instincts instead of our higher reasoning, logic and hopefully spiritual beliefs is very dangerous.
I don’t think these films should or could be prevented, but—I do think we need a far more critical eye when viewing them.
“Why of course the people don’t want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don’t want war: neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” -Hermann Goering
The below video is from AlJazeera, and I don’t stand by every detail, however it does provide a valuable perspective and hopefully it can be viewed before being judged simply as “anti-American” blah blah blah.
Worship God, not your military or your country.
“I believe fear is being used against us.” -Rick Steves
0The images we hold in our minds determine our opinions. What do we see when we hear the word “Iran”? Who do we think Iranians are?
Travel writer Rick Steves presents a very interesting look into this complex and “remarkably friendly” culture.
“I’ve never been anywhere where people were more willing to talk to me.”
“I’ve never been anywhere where being an American was more of an asset.”
“I was surprised how little energy Americans put into understanding their culture.”
The Role of Propaganda in Politics
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I know we all like to believe that we’re in control of our minds and desires at all times, but sadly that just isn’t so.
It’s a fact that we’re vulnerable to emotionally-gratifying advertising, slick marketing campaigns, and especially fear-based communications.
Here’s a fascinating quick video from the godfather of modern advertising (also interestingly Sigmund Freud’s nephew) Edward Bernays. that explores the roots of American “public relations” and propaganda, discover the tricks “they” are using against you.
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” Nazi master of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels.
With that Nazi quote in mind, have a look at the following video. Any propaganda here?
A SEAL’s account of how Osama bin Laden really died
0*from (to my amazement) YahooNews
Forget whatever you think you know about the night Osama bin Laden was killed. According to a former Navy SEAL who claims to have the inside track, the mangled tales told of that historic night have only now been corrected.
“It became obvious in the weeks evolving after the mission that the story that was getting put out there was not only untrue, but it was a really ugly farce of what did happen,” said Chuck Pfarrer, author of Seal Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama Bin Laden.
In an extensive interview with The Daily Caller, Pfarrer gave a detailed account of why he believes the record needed to be corrected, and why he set out to share the personal stories of the warriors who penetrated bin Laden’s long-secret compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
In August the New Yorker delivered a riveting blow-by-blow of theSEALs’ May 1, 2011 raid on bin Laden’s hideaway. In that account, later reported to lack contributions from the SEALs involved, readers are taken through a mission that began with a top-secret helicopter crashing and led to a bottom-up assault of the Abbottabad compound.
Freelancer Nicholas Schmidle wrote that the SEALs had shot and blasted their way up floor-by-floor, finally cornering the bewildered Al-Qaida leader:
“The Al Qaeda chief, who was wearing a tan shalwar kameez and a prayer cap on his head, froze; he was unarmed. ‘There was never any question of detaining or capturing him—it wasn’t a split-second decision. No one wanted detainees,’ the special-operations officer told me. (The Administration maintains that had bin Laden immediately surrendered he could have been taken alive.) Nine years, seven months, and twenty days after September 11th, an American was a trigger pull from ending bin Laden’s life. The first round, a 5.56-mm. bullet, struck bin Laden in the chest. As he fell backward, the SEAL fired a second round into his head, just above his left eye.”
Chuck Pfarrer rejects almost all of that story.
Former KGB agent speaks out
0A shocking and profoundly interesting exchange between the fantastic G. Edward Griffin and former KGB subversion and manipulation expert Yuri Bezemenov.
It’s fascinating to wonder how these techniques have advanced through the years and their current applications.
Are we being lied to again about Iran?
8Perhaps the new allegations that Iran is actively trying to commit terrorism in The United States are legitimate, but would it be something entirely new and different if this was a fabrication? Or at least a modification of the truth?
I’m sure we remember the series of lies, half-truths and omissions leading up to the most recent Iraq invasion….
While on this topic of Iran and our perception of the nation, we should discuss Ahmadinejad’s comments related to “wiping Israel off the map.” These words are continuously repeated and used to justify the anger, angst and aggression “good Americans” are supposed to have when they think of Iran; but are the statements accurate?
Ahmadinejad was quoting the long deceased Ayatollah Khomeini for the aformentioned threatening speech—understandably it is bothersome.
However, Juan Cole a professor of modern middle eastern history at the University of Michigan translates his words as, “this regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time.” He didn’t say the country or the Israeli people; rather the zionist regime that is occupying and running the country should vanish.
From my limited perspective, this is all-to-similar to the situation during the Cold War when Nikita Khrushev was quoted as saying to America, “We will bury you!!” However, there is a stark contrast to different translations; according to the Translation Research Group the quote should be translated as, “Whether you like it or not, we will be present at your burial.” While this is hardly a love and bunnies statement, it is radically different than what we’ve been told and aims at the longevity of The Soviet Union rather than an attack on The United States.
Blessed are the peacemakers indeed. Let’s keep that in mind. Amen.
Introducing Mitt Kennedy–oops, Mitt Romney
0Anti-gun rights, pro-legal baby murder, pro-Ted Kennedy—check the link he even flip flops on him!
Sorry Romney fans, the power of propaganda is an exact science, but thanks to Youtube it’s very difficult to escape the past.
Want to elect a white Obama with more money and a stronger track record in business? Vote Romney!
Thanks to my man Al Green for the soundtrack on this lovely little video.
