"I'm mad as hell and I can't take it anymore!"
Propaganda and Arrogance
Despite the laws passed by congress regarding the prohibition on “covert propaganda” by US government agencies, the Bush Administration seems to “think” that it is not guilty of any crimes. I say “think” because they are well aware of what they are doing, they just believe that they are above the law. And with a few notable exceptions, the press (and most definitely the Democratic Party) has let these crimes slide. Perhaps this is not an impeachable offense, but it seems that at some point, the American public would get tired of being lied to and manipulated.
Have we all become so used to taking the medication we are fed that we just lap up the latest lies and beg for more?
Several months ago, I got into a discussion with a friend about how the Bush administration lied about his reasons for waging war on Iraq. I was outraged at how we were lied to about WMDs, about how we were told that the US would be “welcomed as liberators”, that Iraqi oil would pay for the expense of bombing their country further into the Stone Age, and manipulated into believing that Saddam Hussein master-minded the 9-11 attacks. His response? “All politicians lie.” Whatever! I cannot fathom such cynicism.
Shouldn’t we hold our leaders to some sort of ethical standard?
Just for reference, please consider the following:
Disinformation is deliberately misleading information announced publicly or leaked by a government or corporation or other entity for the purpose of influencing opinions or perceptions.
Misinformation is information that is not true. The difference is intent.
Propaganda is a specific type of information aimed at serving an agenda. Even if the message conveys true information, it may be partisan or fail to paint a complete picture. Propaganda attempts to change people’s understanding through deception and confusion rather than persuasion and understanding. Advertising, public relations and (cynically perhaps) all political speech can be said to be propaganda.
So what is the Bush Administration feeding us?
Despite the laws passed by congress regarding the prohibition on “covert propaganda” by US government agencies, the Bush Administration seems to “think” that it is not guilty of any crimes. I say “think” because they are well aware of what they are doing, they just believe that they are above the law. And with a few notable exceptions, the press (and most definitely the Democratic Party) has let these crimes slide. Perhaps this is not an impeachable offense, but it seems that at some point, the American public would get tired of being lied to and manipulated.
Have we all become so used to taking the medication we are fed that we just lap up the latest lies and beg for more?
Several months ago, I got into a discussion with a friend about how the Bush administration lied about his reasons for waging war on Iraq. I was outraged at how we were lied to about WMDs, about how we were told that the US would be “welcomed as liberators”, that Iraqi oil would pay for the expense of bombing their country further into the Stone Age, and manipulated into believing that Saddam Hussein master-minded the 9-11 attacks. His response? “All politicians lie.” Whatever! I cannot fathom such cynicism.
Shouldn’t we hold our leaders to some sort of ethical standard?
Just for reference, please consider the following:
Disinformation is deliberately misleading information announced publicly or leaked by a government or corporation or other entity for the purpose of influencing opinions or perceptions.
Misinformation is information that is not true. The difference is intent.
Propaganda is a specific type of information aimed at serving an agenda. Even if the message conveys true information, it may be partisan or fail to paint a complete picture. Propaganda attempts to change people’s understanding through deception and confusion rather than persuasion and understanding. Advertising, public relations and (cynically perhaps) all political speech can be said to be propaganda.
So what is the Bush Administration feeding us?
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