Saturday, January 9, 2010 - By Softpedia - Freedom or security?In the words of Benjamin Franklin, “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither.” He makes an excellent point with this statement. It would appear that, historically speaking, the two don't go well together, if they need to be fulfilled under a government or authority figure. There is a very clear mechanism for promoting security, which is the main interest of people in powerful positions. As the old saying goes, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
It has become clear throughout history that people in charge tend to devise means of remaining in charge for as long as possible. This can be achieved through responsible policies that win the support of the population, but that is rather difficult, and requires actual leaders.
More often, it is done subversively, by enacting measures that chip away slowly but surely at individual and group freedoms, while at the same time getting people to go along. You become a master at manipulation when you do not impose regulations that are detrimental to the people, but make the people ask for these regulations themselves. Who would have imagined ten years ago, in 2000, that the US would look and feel as it does today? If you had told the people of the time that they would have their houses searched and their conversations recorded arbitrarily, that they would be kept in arrest without charges or lawyers, and that they would be considered domestic terrorists if they protested, they wouldn't have believed a word of it.
However, history has a way of erasing principles and opinions, especially if change comes progressively. With all my sympathies to the innocent people lost on 9/11, I have to say this. Their deaths offered the US government an excellent opportunity to implement a set of measures with far-reaching implications. Even at the time, at the end of 2001 and the beginning of 2002, many analysts said that we were witnessing a paradigm shift in the way governments acted and exercised their power. Many people expected change to come to America, but no one (other than politicians) was ready for what actually came, and continues to come periodically.
===snipped===>Fascism; what is it?
Black, white, gray, it's still propaganda
Undoubtedly, the most invaluable tool that any government in the world, regardless of orientation, has is the media, or what has been termed the modern propaganda machine. What makes propaganda in the United States so dangerous is the fact that the information being presented is treated just like a Public Relations (PR) company would treat a product it needs to create an ad for. What they do in these instances is put a “spin” on it, as in present it from a certain point of view. Absolutely all forms of media (articles, editorials, TV shows, news programs, radio programs, newspapers, and so on), including this very piece, abide by this rule.
===snipped===>Nazism; what is it?
The fact that the “spin” is promoted covertly is the real danger. Having studied propaganda in World War II, I can tell you that those in charge of it today know very well what they are doing. They have recorded significant progress in constructing speeches, and in including the information they wish to pass on as the truth in a very innocuous way. Also, they mastered the technique of repetition, which proves to be extremely efficient at getting the point across.
This was most obvious after 9/11, when all major news outlets entered a frenzy. The words terrorist, terrorism and national security were on everybody's lips, politicians and media alike. This means that the public, wherever it turned, heard these words, which even unwillingly sunk in their consciousness. Now, because of this conditioning, every time a politician says one of these “catch phrases,” people remember automatically the disaster that was 9/11. This makes it easier for authorities to again rally support for various policies, creating a vicious circle of sorts. All these types of manipulation are thoroughly described in psychology books, but people are unfamiliar with them, so they fall for them.
===snipped===>"And Ye Shall Know The Truth and The Truth Will Set You Free"
WAKE UP AMERICA.....IT(s) OUR COUNTRY!!!
Love "Light" and Energy
_Don
References:
More often, it is done subversively, by enacting measures that chip away slowly but surely at individual and group freedoms, while at the same time getting people to go along. You become a master at manipulation when you do not impose regulations that are detrimental to the people, but make the people ask for these regulations themselves. Who would have imagined ten years ago, in 2000, that the US would look and feel as it does today? If you had told the people of the time that they would have their houses searched and their conversations recorded arbitrarily, that they would be kept in arrest without charges or lawyers, and that they would be considered domestic terrorists if they protested, they wouldn't have believed a word of it.
However, history has a way of erasing principles and opinions, especially if change comes progressively. With all my sympathies to the innocent people lost on 9/11, I have to say this. Their deaths offered the US government an excellent opportunity to implement a set of measures with far-reaching implications. Even at the time, at the end of 2001 and the beginning of 2002, many analysts said that we were witnessing a paradigm shift in the way governments acted and exercised their power. Many people expected change to come to America, but no one (other than politicians) was ready for what actually came, and continues to come periodically.
===snipped===>Fascism; what is it?
Black, white, gray, it's still propaganda
Undoubtedly, the most invaluable tool that any government in the world, regardless of orientation, has is the media, or what has been termed the modern propaganda machine. What makes propaganda in the United States so dangerous is the fact that the information being presented is treated just like a Public Relations (PR) company would treat a product it needs to create an ad for. What they do in these instances is put a “spin” on it, as in present it from a certain point of view. Absolutely all forms of media (articles, editorials, TV shows, news programs, radio programs, newspapers, and so on), including this very piece, abide by this rule.
===snipped===>Nazism; what is it?
The fact that the “spin” is promoted covertly is the real danger. Having studied propaganda in World War II, I can tell you that those in charge of it today know very well what they are doing. They have recorded significant progress in constructing speeches, and in including the information they wish to pass on as the truth in a very innocuous way. Also, they mastered the technique of repetition, which proves to be extremely efficient at getting the point across.
This was most obvious after 9/11, when all major news outlets entered a frenzy. The words terrorist, terrorism and national security were on everybody's lips, politicians and media alike. This means that the public, wherever it turned, heard these words, which even unwillingly sunk in their consciousness. Now, because of this conditioning, every time a politician says one of these “catch phrases,” people remember automatically the disaster that was 9/11. This makes it easier for authorities to again rally support for various policies, creating a vicious circle of sorts. All these types of manipulation are thoroughly described in psychology books, but people are unfamiliar with them, so they fall for them.
===snipped===>"And Ye Shall Know The Truth and The Truth Will Set You Free"
WAKE UP AMERICA.....IT(s) OUR COUNTRY!!!
Love "Light" and Energy
_Don
References:
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