Speaking about authoritarian propaganda can be very frustrating when potential victims are not receptive to understanding that their very existence is at risk.
The Frustration is exponential
I’ve written and said this before several times, and it is worth repeating – “NOTHING that has occurred at the geopolitical level has surprised me in the last several years.” I’ll keep repeating it because it remains true. However, I am getting more and more frustrated because the indicators continue to permeate, and people continue to be distracted.
And trust me, I am not a fatalistic person – on the contrary, I am actually a very positive individual. The problem is that when a storm is approaching, it does not matter if you’re happy or unhappy about it, it is going to happen. The question then becomes, are you ready or not to weather that storm? My intent is to help people be ready, or if possible, mitigate being caught by that impending storm.
That is why I write so much about this topic. I’m not obsessed, I am desperately trying to save our lives. As you read my words somebody has been forcefully ejected from their homes through violence or intimidation, and their lives have been destroyed. Meanwhile, other people who are maybe just a few miles away are blissfully ignorant of the suffering that is occurring down the road. What they don’t realize is that a similar mayhem is coming their way too.
AUTHORITARIANISM & PROPAGANDA The Puppet Master Tools
Available worldwide on eBook and Paperback worldwide
Yes, it can happen to you too
One of the reasons why I wrote my book Authoritarianism & Propaganda the Puppet Master Tools is because of the Ukraine-Russia conflict. The indicators that the Russian military was going to cross the border into Ukraine was very obvious for several years. Yet a very large percentage of people in Europe and even Ukraine was very surprised when in February 2022 the Russian military forces crossed their borders and have been fighting a dehumanizing war ever since.
Although my words are gaining traction, and the fact is that you’re reading this article – what I am concerned is the lack of attention most people display about current events, and more importantly how little compassion exists for others who are in peril or struggling. I realize that we cannot stop living our lives thinking about the existing mayhem in other countries or communities 24/7– but that lack of interest normalizes the problem, and eventually the problem finds its way to your cozy lives.
Yes, even if you’re wealthy or have a personal arsenal of firearms at your disposal – it won’t matter if the geopolitical climate gets rigged against you. So how do you fix this? Through understanding context and marrying critical thinking with intellectual honesty. That way you will be able to understand if your biases are being manipulated and exploited.
Once you do that, then you can identify the falsehoods, faux outrage and call for misguided bravado that the propagandists permeate in the environment. Once you are able to identify their game plan, that will prevent their otherwise card blanche freedom of movement to carry on their nefarious plan. I realize some people might think this sounds hyperbolic, and to that I submit that some people who felt the same way are now fighting for their lives. HLC