OK, we’ve been online over a year now and I have yet to really discuss how Control Freaks can use propaganda wisely.

My fuckin’ bad.

Just so we’re all on the same page, let’s first define propaganda:

prop·a·gan·da (pr¼p”…-g²n“d…) n. 1. The systematic propagation of a doctrine or cause or of information reflecting the views and interests of those people advocating such a doctrine or cause. 2. Material disseminated by the advocates of a doctrine or cause: the selected truths, exaggerations, and lies of wartime propaganda.

As we Control Freaks look at it, propaganda is that information that is spread in order to retain/increase power, money or sex.  Of course, the information doesn’t necessarily have to be entirely true or accurate, but must seem reasonable enough to be accepted by the intended targets.  Propaganda is best when appealing to emotion, so that most people are less likely to actually examine or analyze it.

While we tend think of propaganda as just something that governments use to keep control over citizens, corporations and religions can utilize it also.  The mass marketing of ideas to thousands or millions of people has become a science, and there have been many experts in the field that have helped shape our world today with skilled propaganda.

For instance, one of the first, Edward Bernays, an American nephew of Sigmund Freud, began a career in public relations in the early 1920’s, and soon was considered one of the top P.R. specialists in the United States.  Inspired by his uncle, along with the works by Frenchman Gustave LeBon and Briton Wilfred Trotter, Bernays wrote various books about using group psychology to manipulate the masses, whether in politics or private enterprise.  His seminal work, Propaganda, released in 1928, became legendary with government Control Freaks worldwide.

From Propaganda: “If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, is it not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing about it? The recent practice of propaganda has proved that it is possible, at least up to a certain point and within certain limits.”

As an example of how effective Bernays’ methods were, in 1920 he was hired by the American Tobacco Company to increase the smoking of cigarettes by U.S. women, so he hired several female models to participate in a women’s rights march and light up Lucky Strike cigarettes as “torches of freedom”.  Bernays had arranged for this to be widely reported by various newspapers and magazines, thus weakening the taboo of women smoking in public, and thereby increasing consumption of his client’s product.

Throughout the 20^th Century, Bernays and others worked to perfect public relations, advertising and propaganda in order to influence targets to behave as their Control Freak clients desired.  This, of course, has primarily been used by governments to convince targets to emotionally react as programmed and automatically do as they’re told without question.

Certainly, the successful use of propaganda can help carry out wars, raise taxes, justify new laws, increase controls, and generally sway ignorant masses in to supporting just about anything a good C.F.’er could desire.  Which simply means more power, money and sex for us all!

Sieg Heil, Baby!

BTW, for some fun videos about Bernays, try these:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5dq8r_propaganda-in-america-history-of-pu_news

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5dq9r_propaganda-in-america-meet-edward-b_news

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5dqb1_propaganda-in-america-the-art-of-pr_news

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5dqcf_propaganda-in-america-hitlers-ideol_news

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5dqdv_propaganda-in-america-business-vs-p_news

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5dqel_propaganda-in-america-the-enemy-wit_news