A remarkable feat has been achieved by governments over the last 100 years or so. The tools of propaganda have been constantly refined and at the same time, a large mass of the population in country after country has been convinced that they are not being subject to the same.
What is propaganda? It is the dissemination of a particular doctrine or point of view. Alternately it is also the spread of information (which can be misleading or even false) that is harmful to a group of people or another nation. The use of propaganda has increased with the spread of literacy and the development of mass communication media. Propaganda as a tool was first used extensively during World War 1. By today's standards, that propaganda is laughably crude but it served its purpose then. The Nazi's and the Allies refined it further and used the new medium of cinema to great effect during World War 2. The Cold War gave a further impetus to the development of new methods of spreading propaganda. This coincided with the rise of TV and the concomitant spread of television news. At the same time, extensive research was conducted into the science of the mind. The ultimate purpose was to refine the way propaganda was carried out. Propaganda today is not overtly carried out by the government. It is done via movies, songs, TV and now even the Internet.
What is the point of doing all this? The one word answer is control. Propaganda has always had a dual purpose. One purpose is to convince the population that their current circumstances are the best possible ones because they are living in the best country. Americans in particular are a victim of this. The other purpose is to make the population be afraid of and hate "the other". The other can be defined in many different ways. During World War 1, the other was the Kaiser. During World War 2, it was the Nazis. During the Cold War, it was the Russians. After 9/11, it became the Muslims. A nation that is convinced that it is living the best possible life and that is also afraid of some "other" who are out to harm or destroy that way of life will be willing to make great compromises and suffer great pain. All in the name of God and country.
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