|
One of the most evil men ever to walk the earth was Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's Minister of Propaganda. His lies about Poland led the planet into the Second World War and his demonization of the Jewish people was the foundation of the Holocaust.
As vile as Goebbels was, he murdered his own children in Hitler's bunker, he is considered a genius and is the orchestrator of today's incredible propaganda machine, which is aided and abetted by the internet.
Goebbels understood two basic things: that most human beings are generally uninformed and believe what they want to believe. And that if you repeat a falsehood often enough, many will think it's true.
Today in America the corporate media largely controls the flow of information to the people. Social media companies are the most dominant in that area. And to these powerful companies, information is money. Truth has little to do with it.
Media companies target audiences and serve up what those folks want to hear. Like Germany in the 1930s and early '40s, restraints are few when dishing out dishonest garbage.
Two recent examples of propaganda from both ideological perspectives.
The liberal line is that President Trump "instigated" the riot on January 6, 2021. But we now know that Mr. Trump made a request to the Pentagon on January 5 asking that 10,000 National Guard members be committed to protecting the Capitol and supervising the gathering crowd in Washington.
President Trump could not directly order the Guard to the streets or to the Capitol grounds. By law, the DC mayor and the Speaker of the House have to make a request first.
Muriel Bowser and Nancy Pelosi did not do that even though both knew there was trouble brewing.
So, if Mr. Trump really wanted violence why would he request the Guard? And why is the House panel investigating January 6 ignoring the Pentagon's documentation of his request?
The media is also silent about evidence that destroys the "instigation" theory, as well as the possible January 6 culpability of Bowser and Pelosi. This is a propaganda scenario at the highest level.
On the right, you also have madness about the Capitol riot. There is video of two men urging demonstrators to invade the building housing Congress. Neither man has been arrested. One man's name is known, the other anonymous so far.
During a recent radio interview, the host asked me about "FBI undercover agents" spurring on the mob. She said she heard that on Fox News and talk radio. She believes the two men caught on video work for the FBI in some capacity and that's why they haven't been arrested.
Of course, there is no evidence showing any Bureau involvement - it's a conspiracy theory. And it's preposterous. How could anyone think the FBI, already under fire for the Russian Collusion fiasco, would participate in a seditious attack? But millions of people apparently do believe that.
Propaganda is dangerous. It can destroy the truth and distort reality. It can certainly lead to violence as history shows us.
And it is here. In a big way.
|
