Words and Propaganda
October 9th 2006 10:40
Aldous Huxley (Wikipedia)
Modern wars are fought on two fronts. The first being the battlefield, dominated by gun-fire, cluster bombs and depleted uranium poisoning with casualties inflicted on human life and the Earth. The second is a more subtle yet sinister front with casualties less apparent than the first but just as deadly, for it provides the support and fuel for the physical fight. This second battlefield is between the media and your mind, it is war waged upon public opinion and its victim is the unity of mankind.
For the simple reason that we all, or at least most of us, instinctively know that it is wrong to kill another human being, every effort is made to conceal the obvious fact that the 'enemy' is a person just like you or I. It is extremely rare to hear of a dead Iraqi reffered to as 'father of three' or 'promising student' etc. Yet in the case of British or American soldiers who may have been tragically killed in the line of duty there is an emphasis on such details, as if to remind us of the loss to their families and our countries.
A Muslim who is prepared to die for his beliefs, country or religion is named as an extremist or a suicide bomber and is considered a blood thirsty radical intent on killing as many people as possible. Our troops who stand with the same conviction are reffered to as dedicated patriots and heros and are thought of as martyrs who die so that another country can share in our freedom and democracy.
I think it is important for us to remember that words are just words. Just a vulgar rendering of a higher truth, an attempt to give form to a concept in order to fit it into the inadequate box of language. It only takes a brief look at any thesaurus to know that there are an almost infinite number of words available to describe any scenario, each providing a slightly different context. Words can be used to manipulate you into perceiving something in a certain way or they can be considered to be the proverbial finger pointing at the moon. It is always your own decision whether you decide to look at the finger or the higher truth to which it points.
"He was half-dressed and holding up his trousers with both hands as he ran........I did not shoot partly because of that detail about the trousers. I had come here to shoot 'Fascists'; but a man who is holding up his trousers isn't a 'Fascist', he is visibly a fellow creature, similar to yourself, and you don't feel like shooting at him." - George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia.
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Comment by Damo
Comment by the best
ill give it 8/10
Comment by Brenton
Dr Spin
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Comment by Gareth
Brenton, I heard about that memo, its shocking how open they are about they're one sided opinions. I have recently watched 'Outfoxed', a documentary about how corrupt Fox news are. You can watch it on Google video by clicking here.
I was so apalled I felt the need to write a blog about Bill O'Reilly. Click here to read it if you're interested.. I'd like to hear your opinion.