Propaganda

It is everywhere, but nearly impossible to see

Propaganda is everywhere, but nearly impossible to see

But once you see it, it is nearly impossible to unsee

The beauty, or at least the effectiveness, of propaganda is it sheer omnipresent transparency.

Most of us might think of propaganda as blaring official pronouncements, or garish self-promoting government posters. Both attempting to put a final, unquestionable, stamp of authority on the dear leader or the party that knows (and sees) all and dare not be resisted.

The Dear Leader is always “right” and The Party is always infallible.

Acknowledging failure or weakness, is in this atmosphere, the greatest weakness and failure of all.

Individuals and groups might assert themselves in particular areas, or on specific topics.

But in the propagandistic eco-sphere facts, or even individuals, are largely irrelevant. Or suspect.

Truth might set us free, but for now….it just might cause us trouble

Humanity, and as one late night comic put it, reality itself, has a bias toward truth, freedom and justice.

Propaganda – and those who wield it, have a very different bias and agenda; the official stance, not truth; control, not freedom; and pure arbitrary authority, not justice.

Propaganda literally has no use for truth. Truth may – or may not – be of utility to the propagandistic state.

Truth properly handled is of use, but it is the handling, not the truth that is central.

Much of what any government does is, by necessity, shielded from public view, therefore easily presented in a packaged, politically palatable form.

But what about those “facts” that are visible, tangible and undeniable?

This is where the master propagandist shines.

Many years ago I lived in China. Cynics would say that the government-controlled media lied about everything except the weather.

As a “worker’s” state, the government, in the heat of the summer, posted the temperature in public places. At a set degree point, workers would be sent home for safety reasons.

Oddly enough, that point was rarely, if ever reached.

A home thermometer might, however, tell a very different story.

Among the critics, the weather story was a cynical joke.

We of outside countries shared a knowing look that we, of democracies and free press would never experience such an absurd and transparent deception.

But that was then…

Weather is, of course, directly experienced and easily monitored and measured.

Weather is what we experience directly on a constant daily, if not hourly, basis. Climate is the larger trend of heat, drought, and cold as measured over years, decades or longer.

Those of us who have a living memory of weather at a specific place, know something glaringly obvious. Weather almost anywhere is not what it was not that many years ago.

Virtually every area of the world is hotter, drier, wetter and colder – and more extreme – than it was not long before.

Agriculture, meaning food production, depends upon stable and largely predictable weather.

Most food takes months to grow. Unseasonable weather, at any point, can (and will) disrupt food production – for all of us.

And like weather, food availability and costs are directly undeniably experienced by most of us.

It is difficult to lie about what we see in front of us – what directly impacts our family or individual budgets.

But the state can, and will do it. Again, the principle of propaganda is not (always) to convince the public that a particular “fact” is true, but that the state is the only and exclusive source of truth.

But why would the state, any state, insist that something obvious to all was not in fact true and real?

Describing climate change as a “hoax” when anyone over thirty has a distinct, visceral memory and personal experience of how much weather – and climate have changed.

From water supplies, rainfall, record heat and record cold, nothing is as it was.

In my area, for example, in the USA about a hundred miles south of the Canadian border, lakes used to freeze over. The ice was thick enough to drive a car on. It was never safe or smart, but young people did it.

A generation or so later, we might have a day or two of below freezing weather. Not weeks.

The first robin (and hummingbird) of spring was something to celebrate – usually in late April or early May. Neither bird bothers to migrate now.

When I was younger, no one had air conditioning in their homes. Now most do. And virtually all new construction does.

Long term weather patterns have changed dramatically. And, presumably permanently .

Our summers, each year, set new heat records.

But again, why lie about the obvious?

Propaganda is not about facts; it is about feelings – especially feelings of loyalty.

Who do you believe, the state is asking; your own fallible eyes and experience? Or the state – that knows better, has sources – and of course – has access to key aspects of your career or personal records?

Propagandists don’t really care what you believe, they care who you believe.

And the prevailing, unrelenting lesson is very simple; believe the state first and foremost. Anything else is questionable. Denying one’s own perception and experience is a declaration of allegiance to the message of the state.

Propaganda is not a poster or a slogan, it is a self-perpetuating system. And is recognizable by these longstanding principles. Consider how often, in any format or on any topic, that we encounter these;

· Simplification: Reduces complex ideas to simple slogans or phrases.

· Repetition: Repeats messages frequently to reinforce them in the audience’s mind.

· Emotional Appeal: Uses emotional language to connect with the audience’s feelings.

· Demonization: Portrays opponents or alternative views as evil or dangerous.

· Selective Truth: Presents only information that supports the desired narrative.

· Us vs. Them: Creates a clear division between “us” (the supporters) and “them” (the opposition)

In short, the petri dish for propaganda is endless chaos, manufactured catastrophe and fantasized conspiracies and accusations. And in we see it on our newsfeed, headline and every waking breath.

It’s a well-worn recipe; disorder requires enforced order. Resistance is justification for further crackdowns. Either way, power and authority become ever more centralized and ruthless.

George Orwell knew this well, consider these excerpts;

The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.

The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.

n our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible... Thus, political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging, and sheer cloudy vagueness... Political language [is] designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable.

The answer, for most of us, is very simple; turn off the noise, the unstoppable exclamations and dire warnings.

Look for those moments without words, without agendas, without judgement. Seek, and maybe even find, some kind of resonance with the peace – and truth that never changes – even as it might change its appearance.

Look at, and even beyond, moving waters, and skies that move across the landscape bringing life and, in some cases, a fury upon the earth.

You just might find a truth there that defies human fingerprints, a truth that shimmers, somehow solid and soft, immediate and eternal at the same time.

Propaganda is the desperate noise of a beast clamoring and clawing for control.

Truth will sustain, and propaganda will become a distant, brittle joke in our rearview mirror…..