PROPAGANDA

This one is, I think, would be the conclusion for now on the article on propaganda. I will, unfortunately, have to come back to it as our media keeps outdoing its shenanigans every other month but until then I think this should conclude this series. I had some thoughts that I had concluded today, so wanted to put them in writing

Can Propaganda Be Good? If you have seen my previous articles, you know how much I like to reiterate that it is not the tool that is good or evil but the person or intent using it. So, let’s for this one, I would like to share a thought I have been debating for quite some time. Can a tool as maliciously use as propaganda which would argue has been more devastating than any weapon in human history, be used for good? So the first thing is, can we think of a case where propaganda is a tool for the benefit of mankind, after all, if something has had such a destructive effect as allowing the rise of the Third Reich and the razing of cartage, its constructive effects may also be great. I think I finally came up with a case where it can be.

The case where the propaganda, the methods used to make a person believe or think in a way without questioning it can be a good thing would be if we had crucial information for a person to have that was simply beyond their understanding but they must perform the actions towards that belief. Which I think was exactly the idea beyond all the religious dogma, it is hard to understand the reasoning behind it and it would be too long or difficult to teach a large group of people as to why this action is good or bad. This, I think, is the only condition for propaganda to be considered good. I will have to add a caveat here. In this case, the people who created it must leave tools and explanations as to why they have thought people to do the actions they taught. This is because as time goes on, some will begin to wake up and realize this dogma has no rational basis, they will think this of course unless the originators of the dogma did not give their reasoning somewhere, in texts or in a way it can be passed on.

In a way, the last paragraph also explains why there is still a sizable group of religious people among scientists and even some of the greatest minds. Were they too occupied to see the propaganda or did they see the benefit of society going along with this propaganda? I do not know but that is a topic for another day perhaps.

Any other case I can think of is simply too easy to distort and thanks to human nature and group think, it is also even more dangerous. I think that is why propaganda is so dangerous in the end. Just like cancer, it spreads not because it is strong on its own, but it is strong because it uses the existing mechanisms in the body to propagate itself. Just like that not only does propaganda spread but is also reinforced thanks to the social nature of the human race.