Why are so few people willing to think, instead of reflexively repeating state propaganda?

Question

People ignore Israel's secret torture prisons that hold many Lebonese, this was the main issue that gave Israel the pretext for thier actions i.e the Hizbollah resistence to Israeli oppression.

People ignore Guatanamo Bay in Cuba, Camp Delta, which is itself a sick psychological concentration camp.

People ignore the facts about why the US is engaged in all these squabbles in the first place. Is it to fight for freedom? PLEASE. It is for control and profit. It is a mafia hit, a totally scummy and ignorant act by a handful of University of Chicago grads. who had thier neo-con vison long ago.

Now that Americans have been dumbed down, and terrorized by our own leaders we follow.

This is how normal people can be convinced of such heinous crimes done in their name against others is justified. Remember, these people don't go away, we are now in the roll of bully, and if you think fighting has decreased, you are wrong, we will have to fight for a long time, your kids too.

Ethan M - you mean al-Qaeda? I am not a Sunni Muslim being attacked by Western forces in my homeland and my children are not threatened. Thats why I don't.

Read that book yet? Probably not, your too scared, Zinn is too heavy for conservatives to handle.

Answer 1

It's called manufactured consent, or propaganda. The television is a most amazing machine with terrible potential that unfortunately is used to breed complacency.

Most people don't go out of their way to study what is going on in their own society or in other countries. This means that the primary source people get information is from television and mass media publications. Investigative journalism in the US is on the decline and most news agency tend to quote and print what they are told without often checking facts or offering disagreed opinions.

If you open up publications such as the LA Times you'll see news articles that have information in them quoted as; US officials say, One State Department official said, the White House press secretary said, etc.. People tend to take this information for granted.

Moreover the US is a massive machine that needs to keep its populous pointed in a similar geopolitical direction. You do this by the use of propaganda and misdirection. The average citizen usually does not have efficient access to information and thurough news agencies to make educated choices. I'm not calling people dumb, just that they may not have access to or choose to seek out information.

ConcernedCitizen citizen is correct. Ignorance is bliss and people tend to want things that way.

Americans in general tend to have a short attention span and for some reason I can't wrap my mind around forget events and history months after they happen. I think this has a lot to do with misdirection. For example; we went into Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction which me did not. When it became apparent that there were no WMDs the administration shifted the propaganda machine to bringing democracy to Iraq. The new focus and barrage of information, disinformation etc... pumped into mass media misdirects people from the original statement about looking for WMDs. If you throw in there that we are fighting terrorists as well you have even more leverage.

Answer 2

People tend to follow the path of least resistance, especially when they don't have any better ideas. The same thing happened in nazi Germany, fascist Italy, and many other examples throughout history. When times are difficult, people seek out a strong leader, even if he doesn't have the best interests of the country at heart. Propaganda works in these situations because it's what people want to hear, and they refuse to think about it any deeper than that because they don't want to uncover the lies behind the propaganda. They want to believe they're safe even if the evidence shows otherwise. It's very similar to the way some women are attracted to "bad boys" because they feel safe with tough men. Even if that means getting beaten up on a regular basis, they consider that a small price to pay for protection from the worse dangers they imagine are lurking elsewhere. They're wrong, just as the voters who condone what the government is doing are wrong. It's never worth giving up your freedom to feel safe, especially when that safety is an illusion and the greatest threat to freedom lies in our own country, not outside it.

Answer 3

I honestly think that ppl do this because it is easier and it allows them to 'fake' like they are smart on the issues.

Ppl, especially males, do not like to admit they don't know something. They can't stand to say, "I don't know." So, ppl grab hold of the first thing they hear on issues and make that their conclusion.

I have a lot of fun with this because I am in the south. I come across redneck males that assume I don't know anything all the time. I chew them up and spit them back out with facts... leaving them shaking their head confused and feeling absolutely stupid. muuuahhhh It's fun. lol

Answer 4

it's a lot easier than reading a history book or watch the news from an out side source!!
they come here and find what fits their beliefs and they repeat it like parrots.
they are idiots and their ignorance will get them in trouble because they refused to educate themselves when ALL the evidence was available right there in front of them.

Answer 5

"Why are so few people willing to think, instead of reflexively repeating state propaganda?"

The same can be said for much of what appears between "Accepting Answers" and "Answer this Question" above. Propaganda.

Answer 6

Why don't you go take up your arms and fight for Al-Queada.