Quote:
|
Originally Posted by irateplatypus
there are facts... but questions intended to be asked by the reader don't necessarily follow from the facts presented.
|
That's fine. RB has some very important questions that he wants answers for, and you have important questions that differ in context and background and perception. Ask yours and let him ask his.
My response to this article is that it serves to address something that falls near and dear to my heart: propoganda. (By the way, I think that we can all agree, for better or worse, that the Lincoln group produces propoganda. I hope there can be no argument or mincing of words over that fact.) Propoganda is something, as the article correctly stated, that has been around for thousands of years. It's a matter of using an element of control over the opinions and perceptions of others to your own end. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Well that depnds on who you ask. If one were to ask me, I would humbly reply that not allowing members of society to think for themselves is dangerous in that it does not rpepare them for a time when they will need to think for themselves for the good of themselves, their country, their culture, or society in general. More often than not, independent thought is a boon, not a bane. I am speaking in generalities because the specifics of the propoganda in the case above is something that has been beaten to death. Yes, there is asymmetric conflict, very heavy moral equasions, issues of trust and intent...etc., etc., etc. It's getting old. So I'll move back out to the less connected and yet completly relevant argument against propoganda. Often I hear the argument that we use propoganda in some sort of mutually assured destruction-esque fashion - we use it because everyone else does, and if our people are to be indoctrinated, it might as well be by our own government. Well, that's all well and good, but in fact there is asymmetric conflict in the world of propoganda. Taking into consideration of the average consumption of commercial news, entertainment, and other media by the typical westerner, I see no evidence of influence from other organizations or governments. Everything that I am exposed to when I turn on my TV has already gone throught the giant American filter.
Is there an argument for propoganda? I want to know honestly so that I don't strawman.
Edit: boy 161 reads, 4 replies....this one's going to be interesting