Submitted by Erik_Scheibe on

Perpetual Campaigning and Groupthink

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Lifestyle

The information highway has thrust upon us an onslaught of propoganda.  It used to be that the propoganda was contained by the radio, TV, newspapers or billboards and focused on politics and selling soft drinks.  Now with the advent of social media, we are awash with outrage 24/7.  We are constantly being manipulated to formulate an opinion on everything...and not just a soft malleable position.  It must be a boastful and intractable position.


"That's a disgrace!!!"


It's not just another opinion...it can't be just wrong...It's an outrage!!!!!!!!!!!


That person should lose his job.  He should be prevented from ever being able to earn an income again.  His family too, they should be held accountable.  Did you hear what that guy said about it?  He should be fired too!!!!!  We have to send a message that this way of thinking is not acceptable.  He and everyone who doesn't denounce him an everything he stands for should be openly shunned by all of society!!!!

 

He's a liar!  He's a bully!  He's a racist!  He's a bigot!  He's ungodly!  He's un-American!  He's against freedom!  He's a fascist!  He's a coward!...wait a minute look at all those "He's"...He clearly hates women!!!

 

I used to love debate, contemplation, discussion.  It was thoroughly enjoyable to engage in the act of communicating with someone without guarded walls, without phoniness and political correctness.  To have a discussion without bitterness.  To truly get to know who someone is and how they think, to understand what they believe in, why and whether or not I can learn something from it.

 

Now, why should I bother listening to anyone else when I have all the answers.  I don't have to worry about developing my own ideas, about being fair, or being right.  All I have to do is make sure I go with the flow, stand with the majority and everything will be okay. People will like me.  I don't have to worry about public scorn.  I can even crash down on the others as loud as I want, without discretion or reasoning.  After all, anyone who tries to oppose me will be destroyed by the avalanche of social and political groupthink.

 


Comments

Submitted by VikramRajan on Tue, 07/29/2014 - 22:28

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Vik Rajan

the majority of dictionaries spell it "propaganda," but don't give in to the masses! :) I s'pose political pundits are the new opiate of the masses. Unfortunately, the opposite of being Inflammatory, need not be literally Ignornant; hail the middle the ground of being Informed. The I's have it.

Submitted by StephenMichel on Wed, 07/30/2014 - 00:28

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Stephen Michel

With today's internet I don't need to talk to anyone that disagrees with me. I can find people that agree with whatever opinion I hold and I will never need to defend or explain it. For example I could hold the opinion that all Lefties are the Devil's spawn (you knew I had to pick on Fred) and I am sure I could find a group that thinks like that and never have to defend the opinion. Also in today's world of political correctness I could say or do something in private and probably in anger, if someone were to tape me or quote me, I have become a bigot. I may have done 10,000 good things, but one bad call can make me a bigot. For example, if someone were to take my joke about Lefties out of context, post it on the internet; I am sure I would be called out by any number of people for being a bigot, a loud mouth and an insensitive jerk.
Tessa Marquis

Everyone just has to be aware that what they do or say may be repeated, taken out of context, or misunderstood.

"Social Media" and other communication devices have made everyone into a celebrity of sorts: We are now subject to paparazzi-style stalking and broadcast.

It is not that people should move towards some bland middle ground, nor that they should hide or suppress their opinions. It is (IMO) more that everyone needs to be able to defend their opinions openly and accept criticism when it is appropriate.

Everyone is "prejudiced" but that is not the same as being a bigot. Always try to look at an issue from the point of view of the other person.
Rona Gura

I agree with you completely. I recently saw a clip, on the internet, of Joan Rivers at LAX, being interviewed about the Israeli-Hamas conflict. I thought her answers, while a bit passionate, were very well thought out. I then read an article about her comments and, if I had not seen the interview myself, I could have easily concluded that she was crazy. The article used words such as "rant," "outburst," and "tirade" and accused her of singling out certain celebrities when she was, in fact, specifically asked about them. It's all in the wording.

Submitted by CatherineStone on Wed, 07/30/2014 - 01:13

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Catherine Stone

I attend a painting class once a week, and ya' know how there is always one person in every class/seminar that can't shut up? Well the "one" in my class loudly expresses things like how he wishes a certain politician would "finally die" or how other groups in our country are sneaking out at night and poisoning the water. He says these kind of things very loudly all the while he is painting a sweet landscape. There are some people around him glued to every word probably because they are hungry for this kind of outspoken opinion. The professor pretends it's all not happening in the name of peace and tranquility. People like me seethe in silence.

What would you do?

Catherine Stone

Tessa, I so agree with you about not moving toward that bland middle ground but ... our culture blatantly shuns the discussion of politics or religion in social settings. We can't discuss this important stuff with anyone but a spouse or the face in the mirror.

Oh wait, we can yell at the TV if no one else is in the room, but here the media is in control and they can't hear us and don't care what we think as long as we keep coming back for more.

So, yes, the common person's expression of political views and opinions often arrives through social media, stupid viral emails, and YouTube and (see my comment below) art classes.

And when expressed in two dimensional soundbites, we simply can't trust what we are hearing.

Erik Scheibe

I don't disagree Tessa, but how do you prepare yourself for being "misunderstood." Perhaps Vic can shed some light on that, lol.

Submitted by Erik_Scheibe on Wed, 07/30/2014 - 04:03

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Erik Scheibe

I don't know what I would do Catherine, but I know this. The ad part about your story is 90% of the people in the room will not talk politics because they are so afraid of being or being confronted by that schmuck. It is a huge problem.
Erik Scheibe

Just shows that if we stay true to ourselves we can move mountains! (ok maybe, a little over the top, lol)

Submitted by Erik_Scheibe on Wed, 07/30/2014 - 04:13

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Erik Scheibe

Yes and we usually begin our sentences with capital letters. Unfortunately, there is no correlation between how radical or "middle" one might be and how informed or intelligent they might be. Some of the most radical people in the world are radicals. In fact, I believe educators in Russia were usually fairly highly respected in the Communist Party.

Submitted by Erik_Scheibe on Wed, 07/30/2014 - 04:17

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Erik Scheibe




Interesting that it seems most took a political theme from my blog when it really wasn't intended that way. Maybe it's on their mind. Maybe they fairly inferred it from previous blogs

Submitted by TheodoreLanzaro on Wed, 07/30/2014 - 05:15

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Theodore Lanzaro

Social media gives people a platform for their opinions whether they are brilliant insights or complete stupidity. Just because a majority of people thing something doesn't mean its right. 80% of people are somewhere between complete idiots and mediocre thinkers. The other 20% is out there making it happen for themselves and others (like us Gotham Members :) ). Those are the only people whose opinions I care about. A wise man once told me "never listen to the opinion or take advice from someone more screwed up than you are! :)
Corey Bearak

Nothing has changed over the year; only evolution involves how we communicated our ideas and comments; sometimes more folks see it; sometimes other items crowd it out. To me the ease of search to find out including what who said to whom remains the biggest change. Recall the water cooler. Erik muses well about how the medium for communicating changed; for better or worse, it remains to be considered.

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