By Judith Gayle | Political Waves
Perception is everything. I don’t know who said it first, but they stated the obvious. Decade after decade, the majority of Americans have been washed in the blood of nationalism masquerading as patriotism and American mythology pretending at populism. As the communist and socialist movements of early last century — brought to these shores by an energetic cross-section of immigrants — faded into complacency, Americans fattened themselves on rewards of productivity and middle-class comforts. It’s always easier to remain discontent with an empty belly.
Those good times came with a powerful new medium, television, and we became avid consumers of political spin, propaganda, and public relations. It started out gently enough, buzzwords tucked into commercials and endorsements from movie stars, but you can’t accuse corporate consciousness of failing to exploit a good thing: our television fare is now about 99% reality-free. I’ll make exception for the occasional pay-channel or PBS offering, but even that would disappear in a heartbeat if the conservatives had their way.
There’s another popular word for propaganda and PR, of course: truthiness. That’s Colbert’s construction, describing what we want to believe as opposed to the truth. It’s a useful term and very Neptunian, I think, speaking to the illusionary internal landscape we adopt rather than acknowledge discouraging and often harsh realities. You will find examples of this kind of thinking on FOX News, if you need them, but be aware that they pop up everywhere; even in our own conversation. We’ve been well-schooled in bullshit.