NOTE: Some may regard the following article as political and highly biased – that is their right – but my intent is to illuminate a critical issue of ethics in American culture: How and when did we forget the principles of good and bad we were taught as children, and how do political and business programs and individuals justify lies and propaganda? So .. on to my article.
Subliminal advertising is still in use. Driving home from work last night, I was listening to the AM radio station with the best traffic updates, a helpful thing when you’re driving in the Detroit area at rush hour, when an ad came on, one of those promotional pieces the station produces for itself, but I noticed an unusual background in it. There were a lot of voices behind the announcer. What struck me was that the things they were saying were so gloomy they sounded like what people were saying when the last recession hit bottom in 2008, not like what I hear today. It wasn’t very appealing, as radio ads go, but it was certainly reaching a lot of people, and I am sure that the subliminal “the economy is in the dumpster and there are no jobs anywhere” message was creeping into at least some people’s minds, whether they knew it or not. It is important to note that a lot of people will not notice the many negative messages promoted in the background of such ads, but some will be “primed” by the subconscious messages and words that stick in the back of their minds.
A simple ad turns out to be heavy-duty propaganda. The spot started with a montage of voices, but they were all saying things that pushed the same point: they were all extremely, unreasonably gloomy about the economy. At first I thought they were sound bites caught back in 2008 when the economy was really in the crapper, and I was probably right about that, but with the economy slowly climbing and a lot of positive ground having been covered over the past 4 years, why were these old sentiments all being spewed onto the airwaves in such a concentrated form now? Immediately I realized there could be only one reason – this was real propaganda – a paid ad – disguised as a radio station promo, and it was intended to push people’s “fear button” and convince them the economy was still extremely bad and that nearly everyone was out of work, neither of which is true. It said things like “we set up our website so it will work better with your cellphone as you drive around looking for help wanted signs.”, promoting the silly idea that everyone is driving around searching for help wanted signs. I could think of no other purpose for such a flood of economy-related doom and gloom except political advantage – an opportunity to sneak the false notion into people’s heads that the economy hasn’t improved since 2008, with the hope that people will blame the president and vote for the conservative candidate (himself weakened by a track record of being successful with most of the same initiatives he objects to the president pursuing – in other words, he can’t even claim his own past successes, but I digress).
Conservatives’ goal: how to politically damage the president. It has been widely recognized that the biggest single factor that could reduce an incumbent president’s chance of reelection is bad economic times. Unfortunately the 2008 recession happened too early to have full effect on the 2012 election, and this has panicked many conservatives, resulting in scores of ads full of huge lies (not errors – they knew what they were saying) and twisted facts intended to convince people the economy is still bad and it’s the president’s fault. I believe conservatives have also tried many measures, large and small, to deepen the recession or otherwise harm the president, such as promoting the federal deficit and voter fraud as urgent problems. The appalling thing is that they don’t care if they harm us, the voters. If they’re putting their political power ahead of our interests now, won’t they do that in office? We in the middle class have lost far too much ground over the past few decades, almost all coördinated, corporate funded, conservative action, and it makes one wonder: why would anyone except a millionaire or a religious nut support this party?
What ever happened to right and wrong? I, like most people, was brought up to believe that hurting people is wrong, especially if it enriches the perpetrator. I was taught to look for the money, who gave it and who got it, to understand the bottom line motivators in a situation. I have strong principles about right and wrong, and take responsibility for my actions in all cases. From my viewpoint it is appalling that so many, especially on the conservative side, will apparently disregard right and wrong, and fair and unfair, to obtain or increase their political power. Worse yet, they will organize millions and put hundreds of millions of dollars behind attempts to harm all of us, including the poor folks who don’t realize how badly they are being tricked. This is the essence of evil – people who will “sell their souls” and work to mislead and recruit others to their greedy, short-sighted cause, even if they hurt everyone in the process. Since when is taking people’s rights and money against their will okay?
We’re swimming in sneaky propaganda. While I don’t deny that bad behavior can be found in all political corners, the flood of lies and twisted propaganda that unceasingly flows from right-wing media, and Fox News in particular, is frightening and overwhelming. Shouldn’t it be a crime to twist, obfuscate, and corrupt facts to fool people into supporting any political cause? I was always taught that propaganda, like other forms of lying, is damaging and wrong, yet many on the conservative side are apparently willing to use it nevertheless. By all appearances conservatives have stooped to adopt the “big lie” concept used by the Nazis – if you repeat a big enough lie often enough it will eventually be accepted by increasing numbers of people as the truth, and the more outlandish it is, the more traction it will get. Given the religious affiliations claimed by so many on the right you’d think opposing lies and propaganda would be a no brainer … but no?? Have people’s religions taught them nothing about right and wrong? There is virtually no appearance of a moral compass in conservative American politics any more.
It is tragic, what the American political system and culture have come to. At this time in history, when we have massive, overwhelming problems of overpopulation, pollution, and energy shortages hanging over our heads, that conservatives are willing to spend all their effort and focus all the country’s media attention on political squabbling is a crying shame. It suggests we are not the noble species we think we are, and that we will “go down in flames” in just a few decades under the burgeoning weight of billions more people than the planet can feed while small-minded people fight over trivial bull$&|+.
Happily, there is hope. Fortunately there are reasonable people out there who know better and can see through the conservatives’ ploys. Still conservative companies (including broadcasters) and high-profile individuals (Fox News pundits and right-wing politicians, for example) have every reason to keep lying, if their principles aren’t enough to stop them … and that’s what worries me. While they scream that everyone else has lost their moral compass, it seems the far right in America lost theirs decades ago. One of the oldest ploys in the book is, if you’re doing something wrong, start loudly accusing your opponents of doing it, and there is a lot of this behavior in American politics. It is heartening to occasionally run across the opinions of someone who still has a “moral compass”.
I urge you to think hard before you support the current Republican party candidates. People who have so little regard for right and wrong, for the good of the people, and for the constitution do not deserve your support or votes. Propaganda is a red flag, warning us that we are being misled and need to be wary. Watch out for any group who all say the same words on the same day, who rack up more refutable lies in the media than anyone else, and who don’t care who they harm if it increases their political power. They will do us no good, especially if we give them control over our lives. Political machines, even when they seem aligned with our views, are always dangerous as they can hide many initiatives we would not support if we knew of or understood them.
Please be wary when listening to political (and all) messages. The science of propaganda is highly advanced and it can sneak up and capture the thoughts of any of us without warning. As always, I welcome your comments. — Tim
Tim Prosser - Scratch Space 