{"id":6428,"date":"2017-08-15T06:16:05","date_gmt":"2017-08-15T13:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=6428"},"modified":"2017-08-15T06:16:05","modified_gmt":"2017-08-15T13:16:05","slug":"dont-be-a-sucker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=6428","title":{"rendered":"Don’t be a Sucker"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Propaganda and Psychological Warfare,<\/em>\u00a0a classic written by Terence Qualter in the 1960s,\u00a0defines\u00a0propaganda as the deliberate attempt by some individual or group to form, control, or alter the attitudes of other groups by the use of instruments of communication, with the intention that in any given situation the reaction of those influenced will be that desired by the propagandist. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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(The late French philosopher Jaques Ellul claimed (in Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes):“Propaganda by its very nature is an enterprise for perverting the significance of events and of insinuating false intentions… First of all, the propagandist must insist on the purity of his own intentions and at the same time, hurl accusations at the enemy. But the accusation is never made haphazardly or groundlessly. The propagandist will never accuse the enemy of just any misdeed; he will accuse him of the very intention that he himself has and of trying to commit the very crime that he himself is about to commit.”<\/em><\/p>\n

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When focussing on the manipulative aspects of that kind of communication it is easy to overlook that propaganda need not be used for nefarious purposes only. Admittedly bad intentions seem to be the regular mode. But it can<\/strong> be used for the greater good as well – a case in point is the link below, a propaganda film made in the late 40s in this country. \u00a0I chose it, of course, in light of the despicable events from last week, as evidence that we, as a society, are seemingly moving backwards rather than forwards. I wish Fox News or whatever other channel you-know-who watches would show this clip.<\/p>\n