On Propaganda and Advertising 25-36

25. On the Myopic
Social myopia is an ever present reality. Survival demands concentration on the immediate. The exhausted are incapable of the detachment necessary to see larger social and cultural constructs beyond those in daily contact. Empathy rarely is directed toward abstractions, and most simply believe at face value what they are told unless witnessed. No emotional stake implies a general disinterest in affairs that seem far away and uncontrollable. A passing familiarity is the best that may be hoped. Hence, the average American knows about the Iranian Islamic Fundamentalist Regime but very little concerning the Afghan Taliban and its influence in Pakistan. Most would probably equate the two, thus ignoring the distinction between Sunni And Shiite Muslims and their historic mutual antagonisms. On the other hand, I have been told by an educated Pakistani that he was initially unaware that the United States is not officially a Christian country. Ignorance may always be exploited to maximum advantage. The degree perception is removed from the actual denotes the level of anti-naturalness present in any cultural outlook. The mind will often fill in missing details. Constant repetition becomes rote.
26. On Analogies and Metaphors
Analogies and metaphors, being comparisons which require a common frame of reference, are among the best propaganda tools for enabling unlike comparisons. False correlations may be produced which allow unrelated incidences to be equated and used to justify repressive measures. Hence, bombings are equated to firearms to justify gun control after an incident like the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing. Acceptance is instilled by base appeals to insecurities common to the entire populace. Susceptible to propaganda, emotional buttons are pushed. People on drugs kill, therefore everyone on drugs is a potential murdered. Hence, the population is convinced drug use is harmful even when it affects nobody except the individual. Over time such beliefs are built upon each other. The result is an impossible tangle. Repression and acceptance leads to more repression and acceptance until huge segments of the population are imprisoned. Yet, we still call ourselves free. Who said so? Analogies and metaphors become completely divorced from reality. Human instinct, behavior and motivation becomes defined as something other than its reality. A common perception equates economic stability with social stability, even though some very turbulent times, like the 1960s, enjoyed a very strong economy. Economic prosperity will always negate revolution. The community is less needed. The next economic depression will be the optimal moment. Propaganda produces more propaganda. Even blatant lies are difficult to pinpoint. Opponents are not united and often confused. No common plan of actions exists. The future is just too murky. The loudest voice rules. Real debate is pointless. Only false comparisons, stated convincingly, remain. The proper time for true opposition to the machine may slip by...
27. On Buffers
Since even the propagandist is susceptible to his or her own propaganda, the opportunist is best advised to create a buffer between the message and intent. Leaving maximum advantage in all things as the only consideration, older forms of ethics and morality must be discarded. Of course, alternate socialization will still wield influence. However, positive reinforcement, in the form of success, will dispel any nagging doubts. Only the end results matter. The means are nothing. The public only cares about appearances. Negation is acceptable. Yet be fore-warned: one may advocate unquestioned superiority, but must never believe it for a second. Inflated egos are an easily burst bubble. Perhaps the best mindset is that of an actor reciting lines. Ronald Reagan was a master of this approach. Once the stage lights dim, the real personality re-emerges. Except for fanatics, most propagandists do the same. In addition, fuzzy boundaries are best drawn so the opportunist has more room to maneuver. It would not do for even close associates to sense such crassness, but the amoral should not be bothered by such minor deceptions when propagating even larger lies. Power is the only absolute truth or concern.
28. On Quality
Quality is relative to expectations. Compared to fundamental or major concerns, minor issues are not expected to be given the same attention. Undue anxiety over the small may often be perceived as a sign of weakness. For the maximum advantage of appearances, sophisticated propaganda campaigns should only be expended for necessary and protracted uphill battles. In minor cases, simple rhetoric is all that should be necessary to provide a simple nudge. For example, Franklin Roosevelt would have had a very difficult time convincing the American people the necessity to enter World War II without the attack on Pearl Harbor. Before, any major effort was doomed to unsatisfactory results, and could only diminish presidential prestige. FDR had no worries. War was inevitable. On the other hand, the Cold War required a highly mutable campaign spanning decades. The Gulf War required less effort by utilizing the auspices of the United Nations to confer legitimacy, therefore necessitating little more than racist rhetoric to be directed toward the public. Besides, the U.S.A. needs cheap fuel. The path of least resistance has proven its effectiveness. Complicated appeals have little effect. Rhetoric has its limits. In the United States, Socialist appeals to rationalism have always fallen on deaf ears. The opponent should realize the limitations of propaganda and act accordingly. Quality is only demanded by the hard sell.
29. On Limiting Propaganda
The population is more easily whipped into a frenzy against external enemies than against internal threats. However, once escalated nothing is quite so bloody or nasty as a civil war. The populace will either sympathize or despise their neighbors and will not be easily swayed. On the other hand, many simply take for granted those far away as a threat. Xenophobia is alive and well. Agitation Propaganda (agitprop in the language of Orwellian Newspeak) requires less subtly. Lest Depression occur, aggression is best channeled outward. Opportunists may easily ride waves of unrest directed toward exterior targets. World War I proved the industrial working classes are more united by national rather than class interests. Gazing outward is easier. Potential threats may always be magnified by purposely promoting misunderstandings with rival powers. The people desire to believe in their own superiority, otherwise all their effort might just be for naught. The unknown is always more easily feared, and may be more efficiently propagandized. Agitprop, employed in limited doses, maintains a constant simmer. Nuclear annihilation serves no interest. The Arms Race makes the power elite wealthy. In the nuclear age, the opportunist must never fall into fanaticism. Ruthlessness is another matter...
30. On International Media
National broadcast media is nothing new, but international new sources are a relatively recent phenomenon. Propaganda may now be disseminated to a world audience. A diverse international audience requires the broadest appeals possible. Living standards appear to work exceptionally well in the promotion of Global Corporate Consumerism. Despite Marxist and other rhetoric, crass materialism appears to have a very basic appeal. One cannot touch or possess the abstract. Espoused viewpoints are always in line with the interests of large media conglomerates. The opposition is relegated to elite avenues like the internet. Unfortunately, most of the world population has never made a telephone call. The well-educated egos will not admit an inability to digest endless bytes of blabber. In addition, only large media operations have the resources to translate their product. Smaller outlets are often more colloquial and therefore more confusing to other cultures. A Chinese citizen simply will not relate to the perspective of a North American Anarchist website. Western media outlets are more respected than domestic sources, controlled by authoritarian regimes, who have such a bad reputation for falsehoods that nobody believes anything they say. The situation becomes a matter of degree and perspective. Major American news networks may appear disingenuous to discerning North Americans and Western Europeans, while seeming like bastions of freedom of information to those who cannot even trust anything reported by a government controlled press. The marketplace has enabled the development of more sophisticated methods of propaganda dissemination compared to the less advanced methods employed previously. Because facts may be checked, while spin is debatable, truth is best bent or stretched rather than broken. After all, slant is largely a matter of perception rather than blatant dishonesty. Indeed, a large "free" press is nothing to be feared by the power structure. Their interests are the same because they are the same. Smaller sources are negligible and "too negative." The Capitalist West has discovered selling is better than shoving. Propaganda digests better. Just like any other purchase, the citizen calls it his or her own. Perhaps the opposition might learn a thing or two from its nemesis...
31. Concerning Religious Propaganda
Religious propaganda is particularly susceptible to backlash reactions. It may martial the faithful but also alarm others toward reaction. Certainly historical precedents have shown that appeals for holy war have been successful and extremely bloody. Of course, many such cries are simply appeals to circle the proverbial wagons in response to external threats. Who could really blame some religions for being paranoid? Jews suffered an attempt at genocide, and many Muslims feel the west is destroying their world. Although some calls for religious wars are simply vehicles for the opportunistic, almost all are painted in the same brush. The modern opportunist should avoid it. The basic difficulty with such propaganda is that it is really a remnant from another time, and hence unwieldy in the present age of maximum advantage. Religious calls for action are easily exploited. Anti-clerical sentiments may be directed toward a certain sect but are often applied to all regardless. God really is dead for those nauseated by all religions. The best religion may expect from unbelievers (although it may get more) is tolerance. The opportunist would be best advised to avoid religious rhetoric except for the purpose of vote-getting from suckers in a western liberal democracy. Religion bashing is another matter...
32. Tolerance v. Affirmation
Tolerance and affirmation are often used synonymously. Tolerance is a supposed virtue. Hence, tolerance must be affirmed through propaganda. It goes beyond deed. Intolerant thoughts are considered immoral. However, the technical morality is not really concerned with wrongness, rather efficiency. If one is tolerant toward others in day-to-day life, then one must be tolerant toward allied rogue nations who slaughter their populations, or one might not be tolerant at all... Avoiding racial strife is a technical virtue. Some idiocies are below even mediocrity. Senseless Racial conflict enriches few and impoverishes everybody. Specialists do not flower under blatant or legal discrimination, therefore the most skilled do not effectively develop and the system is poorer for it. The opponent is thus faced with a conundrum concerning maximum advantage in all things. The technical morality contains both good and evil, but only incidentally as justified by a balance sheet. Tolerance is dragged into many issues by propaganda and debased. Therefore those disagreeing with Israeli policy toward Palestinians (a view shared by some members of the Jewish community) are labeled as intolerant anti-Semites, even though Arabs are Semites too! Political correctness is another example, which cuts the heart from true debate and discussion, leaving only hollow rhetoric, and nothing really changes. (Is it any wonder many minorities hate white liberals?) Dogma may always be established for maximum advantage by taking something promising and squeezing it dry of substance. It will often spread like a wild fire, therefore requiring only minimal effort for maximum gain. Soon the tolerant, who actually live in multi-racial communities, become labeled as intolerant, whereas those living within the confines of segregated privilege are now tolerant. Indeed, these spoiled children actually believe it. Lip service becomes more important than action. Semantics change while society stagnates, and the rich maintain their power. The situation is like running on a treadmill. One works up a sweat while going nowhere. Idealism may always be twisted about for the maximum advantage of the status-quo. True tolerance is allowing others their due without undue hampering and erecting obstacles to opportunity as defined by the individual. True tolerance is respect. The current white liberal definition is a self-serving elitist lie. In a real revolution, these sort will be among the first against the wall...
33. Small minds always believe themselves to be otherwise.
34. Morality requires memory for comparison. Propaganda may always sway recollection.
35. A re-evaluation of values may be forced by insulting and attacking deeply held beliefs. However, the opportunist should be aware of the potential for the herd to stampede as it is most dangerous when threatened. Propaganda is about influence for maximum advantage, not control...
36. On Economic Values
i. Decadence may be expressed nobly or ignobly. Degeneration occurs on all levels but its expression may vary. The manifestations are often co-dependant with a need for a sense of shared belief, or a feeling of belonging. Decadent propaganda will often fatally infect its propagators. Both master and herd become united by the shared experience. All levels relate which creates a sense of equality. A little goes a long way. The past is enshrined. Events, like World War II, commemorate purity of motive. After an economic depression, the working class and the elite fought together. As a result of having survived those times, the World War II generation enjoyed a far greater amount of influence than other age groups and essentially controlled the national agenda for decades. Having fought for an empire, they weren't about to give it up lightly. Money is the binding agent. Once the wealthy could disregard the lower classes, but the world changed. Mass media didn't make anyone smarter, but it did make the world population more aware. The system required an implied approval. Only a few crumbs were required to appease the masses...
ii. The dollar is a symbol of obedience and acceptance. As long as one participates in the economic system, it does not matter whether one likes it. Once one works or owns that which has economic value, one has a stake in the stability of the system. Simply another profit opportunity, stagnation is an irrelevant concern. Economic bonds cannot be completely broken by any significant segment of the populace. The normative standards may be altered, but not broken. Standing military officers should never be allowed political power. Influence is uncontrollable, therefore the opportunist is best advised to promote money as power over all other standards. The quantifiable is less disputable. Maximum advantage requires maximum gain for minimum effort. It would not be efficient to directly terrorize the populace (not to mention foolhardy with so many guns floating about). The herd is best kept moving in the quest to get ahead. The American Dream is a powerful work of propaganda that requires checks and balances lest its promise get out of hand. An overly comfortable population has the potential to cause trouble. Some people just do not seem to find decadent diversions satisfying. Let them rebel but never revolt. A learned helplessness may be instilled by denying most to even contemplate alternatives. Hence, we work harder and longer than peasants and call ourselves free. Clutching dollars, we can be like gods chained to mountain tops. Indeed, some might prefer that sort of bondage. The opportunist may always supply a substitute...
iii. Uncertainty is despised by economists. While a fact of life for working people, instability is bad for systems. A truly stable and vibrant society would cut into the profit margins of monied interests. Stability is more efficient to promote than maintain. Hence, some systems become completely dissociated from reality and are lost. The entire culture moves toward the realm of the anti-natural. Decadence and nihilism are often the end result of a fatalistic mentality which sees no way beyond. If this is the pinnacle of the possible, then why bother? Economics are empty. The current path is not the only possible. Rather than pointing fingers, the opponent must acknowledge those lies lived...
iv. Money allows the inferior children of mostly rich white people to rule. These inbreeds have no loyalty nor sense of kinship beyond wealth, and have no clue how easily it can all be taken away. Terror and fear is an excellent means. Propaganda has convinced these idiots that they have something to fear. Behind gated subdivisions, locked away and removed from reality, these elite genetic throwbacks hide. Extremely weak, their views may be shaped. One must be willing to seize the reigns and not spare the noose...