Propaganda when you hear it

I recall in the 1980s hearing an electrical utility commercial that was repeatedly broadcasted. They couched it as a public service message. The Commercial admonished, “…conserve electricity so we [electric company] do not have to build new electric generating plants”. I had to do a “double take” the first time I hear it. The forecast for national electricity usage at that point in time was for it to go nearly double. I knew from other advertisements that a new electric plant takes 2 to 4 years to build. This approach to electricity made absolutely no sense, unless you realize the price goes up in proportion to supply. The electric companies were looking to dramatically increase rates down the road without any new investment. The Commercial was propaganda to lull the public.

I recall several decades ago a semi-documentary saying why China will never get ahead. It asserted the problem was Asians do things in groups. They lacked our American rugged individualism. I again did a “double take”. I had been a Boy Scout and Explorer. It was team training and how to accomplish things as a group. I had watched hours of old war movies with the premise of success based on coordinated effort. I had also watched Cowboy movies. The Cowboys never built anything or participated in government. They rode off into the sunset. The documentary was pushing propaganda to degrade social approaches to issues.

The first episode of the HBO television show “Newsroom” started with a forum in which the proponents declared America is the greatest nation in the world. One of the panel members broke ranks and publicly stated “America is not the greatest nation in the world”. To a shocked audience he pointed out America is not the only free society. Out of 270 some nations, 180 are free societies. America is 7^th in literacy, 27^th in math, 22^nd in science, 49^th in life expectancy, 178 in infant mortality, 3^rd in median household income, 4^th in labor force, and 4^th in exports. He said we lead in two categories. The number of incarcerated per capita and defense spending. We spend more that the next 26 countries combined and 25 of them are our allies.

As you listen to politicians and others this campaign season, take what they say with a “grain of salt”. Are they talking real “nation” issues or pushing ideology and pulling emotional strings?

Be careful of the propaganda.