"When an American soldier
was captured by the Chinese, he was given a vigorous handshake and a
pat on the back. The enemy 'introduced' himself as a friend of the
'workers' of America . . . in many instances the Chinese did not
search the American captives, but frequently offered them American
cigarettes. This display of friendship caught most Americans totally
off-guard and they never recovered from the initial impression made
by the Chinese. . . . After the initial contact with the enemy, some
Americans seemed to believe that the enemy was sincere and harmless.
They relaxed and permitted themselves to be lulled into a
well-disguised trap [of cooperating with] the cunning enemy."
U.S Department of the Army (15 May 1956). Communist
Interrogation, Indoctrination, and Exploitation of Prisoners of War.
(Pamphlet No. 30-101 ed.). U.S Gov't Printing Office. p.37
The
western system has much to learn about how to effectively control us
masses. Just imagine your local drug dealer being picked up for a
gram of hash he sold to an undercover officer and being taken into
the local detachment, no frisking, no handcuffs, stopping for a
cheeseburger on the way in, and being treated with great respect for
his role in supporting the local economy. They would be very sorry
for having to detain him till his court appearance, but then hash
could be a vile substance if abused, and they had to be a little
cautious about such things. The judge would lovingly offer this poor
fellow a way out from constantly looking over his shoulder and they
would be willing to support him with the amount it would cost to
incarcerate him for one year, so he would not have to survive in such
a dangerous occupation. If he agreed he was free to go, but three
strikes and he would get a free vacation on the Mars rover in a
healthy environment.
“In
totalitarian societies where there's a Ministry of Truth, propaganda
doesn't really try to control your thoughts. It just gives you the
party line. It says, "Here's the official doctrine; don't
disobey and you won't get in trouble. What you think is not of great
importance to anyone. If you get out of line we'll do something to
you because we have force." Democratic societies can't work like
that, because the state is much more limited in its capacity to
control behaviour by force. Since the voice of the people is allowed
to speak out, those in power better control what that voice says--in
other words, control what people think. One of the ways to do this is
to create political debate that appears to embrace many opinions, but
actually stays within very narrow margins. You have to make sure that
both sides in the debate accept certain assumptions--and that those
assumptions are the basis of the propaganda system. As long as
everyone accepts the propaganda system, the debate is permissible”.
Propaganda, American-style by Noam Chomsky
Hanging
on. Total obliterating black fog. Fingers frozen numb trapped in a
tangle of wiry metal shill. The arms gave up any desire for striving
in the distant hazy past. Dead weight this body, limp, drained.
Mind senseless beyond pain. Assumptions. Like freedom of thought.
What a joke. What do they want? They create quilt. Quilt about
questioning foundations built on quicksand. This quicksand miring
the legs to the waist, sucking, pulling, disjointing the comatose
wrists. Oh mind, oh body! Find that concrete footing, that solid
rock. Ease the pain, the agony, the torture of this hypocrisy, this
illusion of reality built on fleeting ideologies based on brutal
myths from bygone rapturous encounters with the divine.
Democracy,
that practice or spirit of social equality. A body of individuals
living as members of a community in the state or quality of being
equal; corresponding in degree, value, rank, stature. But, but we
say. We must lock him up because, because... he stole some bread,
he ignored traffic regulations, he mooned a cop. He violated our
democratic rights, our rights to own property, to drive unhindered by
those damnable pedestrians, to subject ourselves to the long arm of
the law. Where along the way did we forgo the freedom to
unquestionably not work for the man, or to soak our brains in the
opioids of enlightenment, or to joke around with the enforcers of
well being?
Dead
weight pulling, quicksand sucking. Ah yes, I'll have seven billion
cheeseburgers, please, one for everyone, you take Visa, yes? I'll be
a hero. Lots of love. Lots of full tummies. Lots of compassion.
Lots more hanging in the obliterating black fog. Them powers that
be. Bill collectors. On steroids.
Seven
billion damnable pedestrians.
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