The Victims Of Propaganda
Victims of the destructive force we call propaganda are myriad. In fact, I feel we all are. Propaganda gradually encourages people to give up what they truly treasure; love of family and friends, the appreciation of kindness. Creativity becomes warped by those affected and infected by propaganda. The most warped by this toxic form of communication become the perveryers of propaganda themselves.
However they are not the only victims. The world becomes splintered, and information becomes unstable. What is true? False? The water becomes muddy and we lose sight of what is truly valuable in the human family. Wars and the rumors of wars are prompted through its use. Gradually the propagandist begins to believe some sense of their shifting of truth. They feel justified in their actions as they feel they are at the head of a vanguard, leading the way so that lying in support of their desired outcome is reasonable in their minds.
It reminds me of Gollum from the Lord of the Rings. He is a character once beautiful and noble, but gradually becomes bent and polluted, like the after photo of an anti meth advertisement. This also happens to those who become insatiable in their pursuit of manufactured news, (I could get myself to say fake!) The more they consume this false information, the more they want.
Eventually they become someone their friends and family no longer recognize. They become extremely forceful, and force indicates insecurity. The ego becomes very large, and the ability to truly listen diminishes. They express extreme confidence but are hiding from their true selves and real reality. They exhibit fear masquerading as faith.
This is a worldwide issue in service of what I consider to be the true pandemic, the worldwide fracturing of humanity, promoted by those that feel that force is the way to move. It is a tipping point. A single person can be a crackpot. However if enough people feel that they are advantaged by this person, if he or she becomes the leader of a political party, country or religion they can collect great hordes of humanity. A group of humans become a mob, and simply by having so many others with them they feel justified in their beliefs no matter how much their view does not jive with reality.
Propaganda is stimulated by self interest, not the true self, but the imagined, conceptualized self. It is in supremacy of any kind, because what is supreme is considered worth lying for, both to others and ourselves. It is promoted by news agencies who make more money the more inflamed we are. It is also connected to the ever increasing speed of technology and made all the more dangerous for the association. This fear that masquerades as faith is not a real foundation, any more than eating plastic fruit is real nutrition.
Even as you gather information, pay attention to some of them markers that keep you in the range of authenticity. Discover what your deepest values are, and use them as guideposts. If you are willing to give up your deepest human values based on the news, you are in the grips of propaganda. Remember to let kindness, compassion, joy and positive indifference guide you. Beware of news that stimulates fear, and the almost addictive desire to ingest more. Be your true self. Your authenticity will lead us all.