Few things are as accelerating as when a powerful figure seems to be reading your mind, and speaking to the masses in a belligerent manner. Is that good?
The pedantry of hostile politics
A demagog is able to exploit people’s most basic instincts. That primal emotion that excites the crowds when they are “owning” or “defying” whomever is that the collective decided that needs to get squashed or punished in any way. This is a strong catalyst, because it makes people get a rush of dopamine – especially if everybody in that group feels just as fired up.
That is why you see during political debates that a zinger, or another “sick burn” that can be scored against their opponent will have a lot more views, likes, reactions, shares, and clout than actual policy and substance. And yes, the modern media algorithms are designed to reward those primal feelings, because that is what glues people’s eyes to the screen.
On my book Authoritarianism & Propaganda the Puppet Master Tools, I very much explain how this phenomenon exists, and it has existed pretty much from millennia. My book cites specific examples from the Bolshevik revolution, but this is a very well utilized tactic, even though a lot of the younger and older crowds, along with their unsuspecting minds, fall for it – quite easily I might add. Do you have an old relative who gets fired up if you talk about politics or religion? There you go.
The more a person feels they are in the right, the more they will gravitate towards whomever seems to be reading their mind. This is because they feel this person speaking so intensely “gets him or her” – whatever doctrine is that they are pushing for. This is not a “left or right” side of the political spectrum; it works well no matter where in that gamma you might be sitting. Why? Because it is a human trait, or in this case a human vulnerability.
AUTHORITARIANISM & PROPAGANDA The Puppet Master Tools
Available worldwide on eBook and Paperback worldwide
Many politicians will lie to your face
Politicians – not all, but a sizable number of them – will lie in your face and even cry theatrically if that serves their purpose. Many others, especially as they are gaining clout, will be very much on the attack against anybody they consider their enemy, and they will use this faux bravado as a badge of honor to assert dominance over the crowd they are performing for. And the more impressionable minds will buy it all with gusto. It’s pretty sad actually.
Why? Because people might forget what the hell you told them, but they sure as hell will remember how they felt. That is why it is very easy for many thousands of people to parrot talking points and buzz words. They sound absolutely watertight when you’re in an echo chamber, but when you put that into actual scrutiny, you’ll soon find out that those arguments have the water integrity of a hairnet.
It is not so much as WHAT you say, but HOW you say it will entice the audiences. It is a method of exploitation. If you’ve been following this series of articles for a while, then you know what they are after – the biases! A person who has strong biases will be easily exploited, while convincing them that they’re the smartest person in the room. They are not, it’s a swindle, much like when a person is getting scammed. It sounds good a promising but there is a lot of information left about their decision-making prowess.
When a politician seems to be very intense, and attacking their opponents as a person – but not on the substance of their claims or doctrine – then you know that they are demagogs. Accountability based on the merits is very different than somebody throwing a sophomoric attack, such as a derogatory nickname to another candidate. If the latter is true for your candidate of choice, and you enjoy it – your mind has been highjacked. They are exploiting you.
Yes, I know this might make you mad. Don’t get mad at me, I am teaching you how to break free from that. Get mad at the demagog who is playing with your emotions and your feelings. They are insulting your intelligence. I am here to tell you that we are all vulnerable to fall for this trap, but once you realize that it is a trap then you can avoid falling for it. To learn more, keep reading my articles, they will set you free. HLC