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To: No Mo Mo who wrote (15624)	6/21/2004 1:38:49 PM
From: NOW	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 110194

your theories? I think it is a combination of things: 1) lack of critical thinking skills 2) inherent trust in others including those in positions of power and the media 3) belief that rags to riches happens through ones own hard work alone 4) a need to see things through rose coloured glasses because once they come off, things start looking pretty damned crooked and big pieces of ones life start to look a lie.

To: No Mo Mo who wrote (15624)	6/21/2004 3:34:32 PM
From: glenn_a	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110194

No Mo Mo. Yeah, I'll take a quick stab at your question "Please tell me why those not served by this propaganda support the message....again and again???" My own take on this is as follows: We live in a very complex world. And our understanding of this world is significantly "socially constructed". We witness events, experiences, suffering, joy, burdens, etc. as immediate impacts on our "world" ... and to explain the "causes" and reasons behind these experiences, we turn to our friends, our family, our community, our schooling, newspapers, television, and our own history and experiences. And the "narratives" that emerge from such interpretive forces shape our understanding of our world. But these "messages" are filtered through "interest groups", and often these power behind these interest groups are largely invisible. This is the beauty of public relations. Which, BTW, I really live GNN's interview of PR Watch's John Stauber's take on the PR industry: guerrillanews.com And of course, there is typical "big money" or powerful interests behind this message construction. And we get their "view", their "spin" on reality. And we gets "omitted" from the narrative is the view of "the Other", those interests that are at odds with the powerful interests of society. Noam Chomsky has been the pioneer in understanding the mechanisms of propaganda in western society. And what it suggests IMO is the importance of taking personal responsibility for the media one consumes, responsibility for understanding the "interests" that lay behind any and all forms of "message construction". Also, it can be a very insecure and even painful experience to question the assumptions of one's existing world view. For instance, if you were raised under the assumption that Capitalist society was basically "good", or Media reported "the news", it can be very uncomfortable to have such assumptions challenged. (BTW, it could be the exact reverse, one was raised with the understanding that Capitalist society was universally "bad", and that they have no other purpose than to universally exploit lesser developed economies. The point being that it can be uncomfortable to challenge ANY deeply-held assumptions. And to reopen one's mind to reexamine basic questions in light of new information or experience.) But alas, we live in a world where people have to feed their families, send their kids to school, retire, pay for gas, and shop and acquire. It can be exhausting enough to make ends meet in our society. And consequently, it can require herculean efforts to question the underlying "political economy" that supports propaganda and message construction. Sometimes, it's easier I suppose to just believe the dominant messages ... to take the red pill so to speak (or was it the blue pill? :) ). Anyway, just some random thoughts on the challenges of understanding the mechanisms of propaganda. Regards, Glenn