We generally believe and accept what we encounter repeatedly. Our truth building faculties are premised on nature. The river always swells after a big rain. Adv

We generally believe and accept what we encounter repeatedly. Our truth building faculties are premised on nature. The river always swells after a big rain. Advertising and propaganda exploit this and can cement false "truths" in our culture and consciousness. But I wonder if modern brand advertising is even more powerful. "Familiarity" and "Familial" share the same root. Our children resemble ourselves and our relatives. When I see my son's smile, I see my father's. When he giggles, I hear my wife's laugh. In history, our villages and regions are more self-similar than any two random people in the world. Inwardly, these similarities and recognitions trigger love and care, and outwardly they play a role in sustaining familial and cultural trust. We should always question and challenge that role, and increase our circle of empathy, it is repugnant to justify racism as some do with this line of reasoning. But the effects are there and it is counterproductive that by selling prominence and placement which even our own families can't match, we allow brands to purchase a kind of kinship.