What are the propagandists afraid of? Questions.

I have recommended UnSpun to every peer and friend remotely interested in being intellectually informed or reading an interesting book that can carry conversations for hours. I have learned that propaganda flies at us from all directions, it is not limited, and it is not contained.

Spread by political parties, schools, churches, businesses, advertisements and other groups, propaganda will make our decisions for us thus creating the inability to think independently. It is important that we familiarize ourselves with the devices and techniques used by propagandists and ask questions on the way.

Questions to be asked include: Who is the propagandist? What does he want/ what is he influencing? What do those words and symbols mean exactly? What does the propagandist try to make them mean? This list, still evolving and making additions, is what I have begun to ask after reading UnSpun.

Fight back, ask questions!

Cars, People, Roads, Waste = No Problems Here?

What are anti-environmentalists are fighting for? I couldn’t help but ask myself that question a few times while reading Chapter nine of Toxic Sludge. Money, I concluded, they must be fighting for money. What else would have enough power to force these people into ignoring the fact that we live on earth and are constantly seeing the immediate effects of our waste?

Although I have not seen too much environmental PR, propaganda meant to persuade the public to disregard environmental problems, I realize that it must use some very persuasive propaganda techniques and devices in order to spin the public.

This type of propaganda has disturbed me most because it not only misinforms the public, but also places our environment in danger. If all else fails, what’s the harm in going green just in case those environmental problems really do exist? HA…we have to get our facts straight. We are living, polluting, and littering, there has to be consequences somewhere. Go Green!

How can we be sure? Research: Do it yourself.

Every aspect of our lives revolves around knowledge, therefore it is increasingly important that we get our facts right, always. Chapter eight of unSpun tells us how to be sure and deals with the dilemma of un-factual facts. Reliance on the media, government sources, and public will only leave us misinformed and at times, embarrassed. We are only limiting our own ability to retain solid facts and knowledge if we believe the first web-site, commercial, article, or television show that we have viewed. By taking the time to research the topic on our own, we equip ourselves with the only chance to remain well-informed individuals that have their facts straight.

Crows have character -- Fun "facts" to entertain.

I can’t argue that animals aren’t brilliant, because I am truly fascinated by how they work. The ability to live off the land freely, camouflage themselves at times, escape the dangers of humans and predators and survive leaves me watching plant earth wide-eyed for hours on end. However, the Great Crow Fallacy attempted to offer conclusions to the public without a full report or sustainable research, leaving the public holding onto the theory long after it had been debunked.

Jackson and Jameison point out, “It’s fun to think that crows might be clever enough to learn such a neat trick” (105). Most people believe what they want. If the idea is pleasurable to entertain, even if research proves it to be false, then people will continue amusing the idea. It’s a great “fact” to keep the conversation rolling, and unless you are questioned, which is unlikely, the dinner table is going to assume your telling the truth, thus the word of mouth kicks in and returns even more believers. The tests ended up revealing that birds often drop their food on hard surfaces to crack them open, but that isn’t nearly as fun now is it?