Seems odd to me that the military in a supposedly "free country" produces propaganda that directly targets its own citizens.
Discuss.
Also, I'm getting out the :spray-bottle: and having :volcel-police: on standby for this thread, just in case.
Seems odd to me that the military in a supposedly "free country" produces propaganda that directly targets its own citizens.
Discuss.
Also, I'm getting out the :spray-bottle: and having :volcel-police: on standby for this thread, just in case.
Of course, I’m on this website and I frequently read and talk about this sort of thing, so it’s not actually odd to me. It was phrased that way to highlight the contradiction between US rhetoric and US action. The part that is genuinely odd is why so many people unironically refer to the US as a “free country”, despite many examples to the contrary. Sorry if that was a bit confusing.
Eh. I would say the contradiction lies not in the existence of propaganda in a free society (the very assertion of liberal "freedom" as a virtue is, itself, state propaganda). Propaganda will exist in every society, as the ruling class (be it bourgeoisie or proletariat) asserts its logical and moral positions.
I think the contradiction is in the disparity between what American state media espouses, what Americans claim they believe, and how those same Americans behave.
The insistence that we live in a free society coupled with the assertion that we are constantly under siege - both from without and within - and the constant call for the sacrifice of liberty in the name of security... it screams a lack of either.
This, combined with a public that assets the existence of a democracy, while constantly questioning the results of every election, every appointment, every law passed, every judicial decision reached... Again, it suggests a deep lack of conviction.