Tom’s Tidbits

Can propaganda possibly be true?

Greetings,

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine seems pretty black-and-white. One of the world’s premiere military powers rolled into a sovereign neighbor to kill civilians until their government surrenders. Plucky Ukrainians, grandmothers and granddaughters all, are getting their first guns to defend orphanages from a slavering Russian War Machine and while people die, the world is trying to stop the rape of a nation without igniting World War III. Don’t get me wrong at all, those actually DO seem to be the facts, but when a story is this neat and tidy I automatically feel a little suspicious.

This suspicion was sharpened when I ran across these observations from Arthur Ponsonby about WWI. It’s easy to see propaganda in places like North Korea, the Soviet Union, and of course Nazi Germany, but it’s harder to recognize in our own culture. Some might argue that there’s no propaganda at all in the US and not even in the countries of our Allies, but Ponsonby’s list of easily identifiable propaganda concepts from “repressive” cultures may seem eerily familiar. For example, it seems overly convenient that in 245 years of empire building America has never wanted a war, never fought a war for greed or self-interest, never lost a war, and never been on the wrong side in a war. Just sayin’.

A major problem arises when we caricature opponents not only as evil, but as mindless embodiments of evil whose motives can’t be explained because they can’t be understood. This shallow jingoistic patriotism has deep roots in America, from Freedom Fries to Liberty Cabbage and even Freedom Measles. The ghosts of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi might agree. Ukraine looks to be no different, as barkeepers empty their vodka and events to honor Russians pull Russian names from their titles.

Cartoonish oversimplification seeds doubt and confusion as the rest of the story comes to light. Putin’s lies about US bioweapons labs in Ukraine are laughable except, well, there ARE biolabs there destroying weapons from the Cold War. Putin’s claim of NATO danger is ridiculous except, well, NATO has been expanding since the fall of the USSR. Putin’s argument that he’s protecting ethnic Russians is absurd except, well, Ukrainian loyalists and Russian separatists in the Donbass have killed 14,000 people in the past eight years. Like all the best propaganda these Putin Proclamations have roots in truth but none of them are true. Even IF true, they wouldn’t justify the invasion of a neighboring state. Sometimes, the subtleties make a difference.

It might not matter to the dead whether Putin targeted them or just didn’t care if they got hit, but it should matter a great deal to us (and hopefully our politicians). The difference between peace, war, or nuclear war could hang on whether we’re dealing with a drooling madman, a power-hungry plutocrat, or a rational but paranoid statesman… in Russia or here at home. Suspicion of propaganda also matters when we’re dealing with our own gulags/private prisons, war crimes/collateral damage, occupation/nation building, or oligarchs/billionaires here at home. As Mark Twain said, “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority it’s time to pause and reflect”. He’s right, we should never be jollied along into war, but sometimes the majority’s right. A long history of lies by our leaders has given good reason for suspicion, but after pausing, after reflecting, I think we’re getting (mostly) good information so far. I stand solidly with the majority of people in democratic societies around the world in support of Ukraine. We’ll see where that takes us in the weeks and months to come.

Make a great day,

aaazTomSignature