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Would you accept that most Americans believe what their government tells them? I mean, politicians on the campaign trail can't be trusted, but when the head ho

Would you accept that most Americans believe what their government tells them? I mean, politicians on the campaign trail can't be trusted, but when the head honchos of the US "defence" forces, the Secretary of State, and the President of the United States stands in front of the nations media and talk about the foreign bogeymen who're out to get them, would you accept that most Americans believe them? Then you have the Fox News and dozens of right wing radio talk shows pounding on the same drums... creating more fear about these foreign evils who hate them "for their freedoms" and who "want to impose sharia law on the world. The propaganda machine in the US is extremely efficient... so well oiled that most people don't see it. Even the moving parts of the machine believe that they're doing good and aren't out to fool anyone. This type of brainwashing is less the Pyongyang brand, and more of the type that the beauty product companies use to tell women they're too fat.

krapp 11y ago
>Would you accept that most Americans believe what their government tells them? Often, but not always. I think Americans will believe what they're told not because they believe the government is never wrong but because they believe what the news tells them and they simply don't care enough to dig deeper. Americans also tend to believe whatever confirms their existing biases. I suspect this is not a uniquely American problem, though. > but when the head honchos of the US "defence" forces, the Secretary of State, and the President of the United States stands in front of the nations media and talk about the foreign bogeymen who're out to get them, would you accept that most Americans believe them? Even at the height of the post 9/11 paranoia and the Iraq war, there was plenty of skepticism and criticism of Bush's actions. Some (admittedly many) Americans thought Bush was a hero (and still do,) and others thought he was an idiot who was playing out a power fantasy in the Middle East. So it's not really the case that the whole country swallowed the government's arguments hook, line and sinker. >Then you have the Fox News and dozens of right wing radio talk shows pounding on the same drums... The thing with right-wing talk radio and Fox News is it's designed to preach to the choir, and it does, and the choir is large and boisterous, but it's a laughingstock to a lot of people as well. Is it effective propaganda if it only works on people who shared its biases to begin with? To paraphrase Obi-Wan Kenobi here, what you're saying is true, but only from a certain point of view, and a narrow-minded view at that. As with any population of this size, pinning it down to any one political stereotype is difficult - our lunatic fringe is bigger than some countries.
- markdown 11y ago
  If you look at how well Donald Trump is doing, you have to concede that the "fringe" is a bit more than a fringe these days.
  - krapp 11y ago
    I will concede, it is disturbing that Donald Trump is as popular as he seems to be. But to be fair, he is a celebrity and can afford to literally force the country to listen to him, and he doesn't actually have to appeal to anyone but the hardcore Republican base at this point. I feel like Donald Trump is the bursting of a pustule that's been festering under the skin of America's psyche for a while. But he hasn't even been nominated by his party yet, and I'm not entirely certain he would actually win a general election.

krapp 11y ago

>Would you accept that most Americans believe what their government tells them? Often, but not always. I think Americans will believe what they're told not because they believe the government is never wrong but because they believe what the news tells them and they simply don't care enough to dig deeper. Americans also tend to believe whatever confirms their existing biases. I suspect this is not a uniquely American problem, though. > but when the head honchos of the US "defence" forces, the Secretary of State, and the President of the United States stands in front of the nations media and talk about the foreign bogeymen who're out to get them, would you accept that most Americans believe them? Even at the height of the post 9/11 paranoia and the Iraq war, there was plenty of skepticism and criticism of Bush's actions. Some (admittedly many) Americans thought Bush was a hero (and still do,) and others thought he was an idiot who was playing out a power fantasy in the Middle East. So it's not really the case that the whole country swallowed the government's arguments hook, line and sinker. >Then you have the Fox News and dozens of right wing radio talk shows pounding on the same drums... The thing with right-wing talk radio and Fox News is it's designed to preach to the choir, and it does, and the choir is large and boisterous, but it's a laughingstock to a lot of people as well. Is it effective propaganda if it only works on people who shared its biases to begin with? To paraphrase Obi-Wan Kenobi here, what you're saying is true, but only from a certain point of view, and a narrow-minded view at that. As with any population of this size, pinning it down to any one political stereotype is difficult - our lunatic fringe is bigger than some countries.

markdown 11y ago
If you look at how well Donald Trump is doing, you have to concede that the "fringe" is a bit more than a fringe these days.
- krapp 11y ago
  I will concede, it is disturbing that Donald Trump is as popular as he seems to be. But to be fair, he is a celebrity and can afford to literally force the country to listen to him, and he doesn't actually have to appeal to anyone but the hardcore Republican base at this point. I feel like Donald Trump is the bursting of a pustule that's been festering under the skin of America's psyche for a while. But he hasn't even been nominated by his party yet, and I'm not entirely certain he would actually win a general election.