4 ms·

In the end, what works is propaganda, propaganda, propaganda. Not truth, not facts, not numbers. Look at the "no campaign"[1] that got the ball rolling on remo

In the end, what works is propaganda, propaganda, propaganda. Not truth, not facts, not numbers. Look at the "no campaign"[1] that got the ball rolling on removing Pinochet from power. They won on rainbows, birds, and flowers. "No" is happy good-feeling, "yes" is scary and bad. Don't correct, or debunk, or engage. Just flood the channels with your message. Infiltrate. Buy the opposition. That is how you govern effectively. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Chilean_national_plebiscite#The_campaign https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Chilean_national_plebisci...

Applejinx 5y ago
This isn't an indictment of any side, even: it is a fundamental truth about the human mind. Not a one of us truly has rationality: at some point we're building our realities on sand. Anyone who's done therapy where they managed to deconstruct some of their childhood crap, and gained some re-evaluation of the deepest tenets of their existence (note: if that's you, then it was probably a good thing because you probably were suffering under some ugly nonsense absorbed as a child, that you're better off without!) knows the truth of this. There's no specific moral position to propagandizing the human mind. It's about what you're doing with it, and why. Bottom line is you can't do without that story, without that propaganda, so come up with a good story to go with your good purpose. It's story vs. story, all the way down (or up, if you're optimistic).
- tunesmith 5y ago
  I think this is another booolean vs spectrum issue. If that were universally true and people bought into it, it'd be a very sad world indeed. Luckily, most people really do try their best at keeping track of their values and living in accordance with them, even if we often fail around the edges. It's how we offer consistency and fairness to each other.

Applejinx 5y ago

This isn't an indictment of any side, even: it is a fundamental truth about the human mind. Not a one of us truly has rationality: at some point we're building our realities on sand. Anyone who's done therapy where they managed to deconstruct some of their childhood crap, and gained some re-evaluation of the deepest tenets of their existence (note: if that's you, then it was probably a good thing because you probably were suffering under some ugly nonsense absorbed as a child, that you're better off without!) knows the truth of this. There's no specific moral position to propagandizing the human mind. It's about what you're doing with it, and why. Bottom line is you can't do without that story, without that propaganda, so come up with a good story to go with your good purpose. It's story vs. story, all the way down (or up, if you're optimistic).

tunesmith 5y ago
I think this is another booolean vs spectrum issue. If that were universally true and people bought into it, it'd be a very sad world indeed. Luckily, most people really do try their best at keeping track of their values and living in accordance with them, even if we often fail around the edges. It's how we offer consistency and fairness to each other.