Propaganda, n. Propaganda can simply be defined as any piece of information(
factual or
otherwise), that acts as a
means to
indoctrinate, or
sway the reader to the propagandizer's
cause. Propaganda has been an incredibly
effective tool throughout
history, used as a means to either bring the
glorius light of truth to the
blind masses, or, more
often, to persuade the
masses to support another
canidate. This was the case with the
Weirmar Republic being
slandered by the
National Socialists in pre-WW2
Germany, with the help of a
retarded Dutchman, of course.
As
Jet-Poop has so elegantly mentioned in the above
writeup, we as a
populace are bombarded with propaganda on a
daily basis. In such a case, the most
frequent, yet least
potent(or so we
think) of this
indoctrination would have to be
commercial advertising. It's constantly around
us. Even if you
don't have a single television in your home! It's all around you, seeping in the
walls. Now, I think it would be
almost paranoid to construct some kind of
conspiracy theory at this point, but isn't there an interestingly
perceived correlation between the rise in
consumerism and the rise in general
political apathy?
Of course at this point, you can say a number of things. "You're full of
shit!", "Isn't that a little
presumptuous?" or the perrenial
favorite here on
E2, "You're
ideas have
occured to
others.", well do you want a fuckin' cookie or somethin?
I mean, we're moving into a new
millenium, we stand on the
threshhold of what could be
marvelous technology. It's. All.
Right.
There. But, I don't see the technology being used for human embetterment, why? Because the developers of said marvelous technologies are what you call a
private corporation, which is bent doing
what? Making
profit.
Now, you can believe whatever far-out theories on the future of mankind you want, but I've always been a person of the "corporatist" school of thought. Namely, that within the next 50 years or so, corporations will be their own countries, with private
armies,
lifetime contracts and
corporate funerals(ala
Cyberpunk in general).
Boy, and this started out as a simple
blurb about propaganda.
But anyways, to get to the point of this
writeup, isn't it an interesting possibility to
consider that just
perhaps, all this commercial
white noise we're constantly bombarded with is an attempt to draw our minds away from the sad realities of life (That is what
pop culture was meant for, after all. To shield
consumers from the angst of
daily life, making them better
shoppers, better
workers, etc). But why would they do something like that? Why wouldn't they want us to face
reality, and hence seek a
real improvement of our lifestyles, not just "more toys". These are the
chains that bind us. Now, I don't really think this is all some kind of constructed conspiracy to enslave us with material
comforts. It's more like, over the years, this is the way the
organics of corporate policy have just
evolved. And I gander, now that it's in this
state, why wouldn't they harness the benefits? We're all entrenched in this
invisible war for more
goodies.
I
think, if enough people got together and focused their energy on the improving of humanity in general, that is, if we all really
wanted it to happen, we could make things
better for
everyone(there's that goddamn
altruism again). You know, forgoe our own
gluttony and just
share the wealth. That is, if you
really wanted everyone, every-single-human-being and lower-lifeform-alike, to
really be contented, you'll have to sacrifice some of your own. Of course, doing this would probably involve overthrowing
corporate and
govermental rule...
*Shrugs*