An Orwellian Nightmare
California's Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom shared a video from the N.R.A. that was utterly foul and putrid. It bothered him, and it bothered me as well. In it, they condescendingly belittle liberals, exclaiming how they are brainwashing people through the media, through Hollywood, and through schools. After making this an issue of us versus them, the N.R.A. proclaimed in dictatorial fashion that only they can "save our country and our freedoms...[by] fight[ing] this violence of lies with the clenched fist of truth."
By "violence of lies," they mean active attempts to crush their false narrative. And by "clenched fist of truth," they mean propaganda.
The N.R.A. has been very successful in promoting their hateful ideology and stifling all efforts to pass any real reforms in our gun laws. By their own hideous talents, they've managed to change the conversation around Sandy Hook from being focused on ensuring that elementary school children are never gunned down in their own classrooms again to "keep your hands off of my guns." How sickening.
Sadly, the N.R.A. is not the only propagator of lies and misinformation in our country. Since 1996, Fox News has had quite the success in brainwashing the minds of our middle aged and senior citizens. Whether it's Sean Hannity calling President Obama "the anointed one", exclaiming "he's not my president!" to their entire channel refusing to report on the fact that Trumpcare will take health insurance away from at least 22 million Americans - Fox News has, until recently, been number one in cable news.
Then there are fringe media groups like Breitbart, which has sheltered pathetic commentators like Milo Yiannopoulos, who was banned from Twitter after targeting SNL star Leslie Jones' looks and acting. His followers smeared Jones on Twitter, leaving harassing tweets and even sending her death threats.
And of course, there's Infowars. Led by Alex Jones, Infowars just pulls shit out of their ass. No sugar coating there. Like for example, the twisted idea that the Sandy Hook massacre was staged by the federal government, or the plot line that the moon landing was faked. This stuff is insane - but many people believe it.
Why?
I don't know if I can fully answer this question, but here's what I think. People want to believe what they want to believe. People feel so strongly on a topic that they rabidly believe in lies told to them (in order to rile them up) because of the strength of that feeling. To many people, for example, another regulation on guns is too burdensome - so for someone to validate that belief gets them going. They like it. Any sort of validation means that we get to continue to believe in whatever.
In many ways, we also live in our own bubbles (Liberals included, though that is another conversation at another time). We surround ourselves with like minded people that constantly parrot out certain talking points - and because we all mostly agree, there's never any challenge to what we hear. And in the rare chance that it is challenged - again, going back to my previous point - it gets us riled up because of the strength of what we believe; and again, any sort of validation means that we get to continue to believe in whatever.
How do we break through this?
I don't know. I don't have all the answers, but one thing that does seem to work is when something personally affects someone's life. Sen. Rob Portman became the first Republican Senator to support same sex marriage after his son came out as gay. Before that, he staunchly opposed same sex marriage. Same with former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, Mary Cheney. Then there's former Vice President Dan Quayle's about face on abortion when he said he would support his daughter in whatever choice she'd make if she became pregnant with an unwanted child. And then there's hawkish Sen. John McCain's staunch stance against torture, after being tortured as a POW during the Vietnam War. Etc.
I am not a cynical hack, nor do I want to see any person suffer - no matter if they put themselves in that predicament or not. I have empathy. But it seems that people will not see the truth until it bites them in the ass. It is evident to me that Trump supporters, for example, aren't going to stop being Trump supporters until he does something that personally affects them - like take away their healthcare. It's people in the red states that will be affected the most. And only when they can't pay their medical bills, or only when they can't afford the surgery they need to survive cancer or some other illness will they realize how stupid their choice was. And perhaps only then will they see the truth.
However, I also have hope that this isn't the only way. We have to continue trying to break this pattern of disinformation with action. We need to continue to advocate for everyone, no matter what. Our mainstream news media needs to work hard and fast at rebuilding their former reputations of honesty and good journalism and expose the lies that are perpetuated elsewhere. So far, we have people like Jake Tapper, Anderson Cooper, Chuck Todd, Charlie Rose, Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, John Oliver, etc. who are focusing heavily on the issues at hand and bringing journalism back to its former glory. We must continue to reach out to our neighbors and our Trump supporting family members. Or else they will continue to be justified in their beliefs.
Most importantly, we must persevere, because this isn't an easy thing to do. It is not easy for someone to admit when they're wrong. To say otherwise is naive and foolish.
Hang in there. The task is great, but we can accomplish it together.
By "violence of lies," they mean active attempts to crush their false narrative. And by "clenched fist of truth," they mean propaganda.
The N.R.A. has been very successful in promoting their hateful ideology and stifling all efforts to pass any real reforms in our gun laws. By their own hideous talents, they've managed to change the conversation around Sandy Hook from being focused on ensuring that elementary school children are never gunned down in their own classrooms again to "keep your hands off of my guns." How sickening.
Sadly, the N.R.A. is not the only propagator of lies and misinformation in our country. Since 1996, Fox News has had quite the success in brainwashing the minds of our middle aged and senior citizens. Whether it's Sean Hannity calling President Obama "the anointed one", exclaiming "he's not my president!" to their entire channel refusing to report on the fact that Trumpcare will take health insurance away from at least 22 million Americans - Fox News has, until recently, been number one in cable news.
Then there are fringe media groups like Breitbart, which has sheltered pathetic commentators like Milo Yiannopoulos, who was banned from Twitter after targeting SNL star Leslie Jones' looks and acting. His followers smeared Jones on Twitter, leaving harassing tweets and even sending her death threats.
And of course, there's Infowars. Led by Alex Jones, Infowars just pulls shit out of their ass. No sugar coating there. Like for example, the twisted idea that the Sandy Hook massacre was staged by the federal government, or the plot line that the moon landing was faked. This stuff is insane - but many people believe it.
Why?
I don't know if I can fully answer this question, but here's what I think. People want to believe what they want to believe. People feel so strongly on a topic that they rabidly believe in lies told to them (in order to rile them up) because of the strength of that feeling. To many people, for example, another regulation on guns is too burdensome - so for someone to validate that belief gets them going. They like it. Any sort of validation means that we get to continue to believe in whatever.
In many ways, we also live in our own bubbles (Liberals included, though that is another conversation at another time). We surround ourselves with like minded people that constantly parrot out certain talking points - and because we all mostly agree, there's never any challenge to what we hear. And in the rare chance that it is challenged - again, going back to my previous point - it gets us riled up because of the strength of what we believe; and again, any sort of validation means that we get to continue to believe in whatever.
How do we break through this?
I don't know. I don't have all the answers, but one thing that does seem to work is when something personally affects someone's life. Sen. Rob Portman became the first Republican Senator to support same sex marriage after his son came out as gay. Before that, he staunchly opposed same sex marriage. Same with former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, Mary Cheney. Then there's former Vice President Dan Quayle's about face on abortion when he said he would support his daughter in whatever choice she'd make if she became pregnant with an unwanted child. And then there's hawkish Sen. John McCain's staunch stance against torture, after being tortured as a POW during the Vietnam War. Etc.
I am not a cynical hack, nor do I want to see any person suffer - no matter if they put themselves in that predicament or not. I have empathy. But it seems that people will not see the truth until it bites them in the ass. It is evident to me that Trump supporters, for example, aren't going to stop being Trump supporters until he does something that personally affects them - like take away their healthcare. It's people in the red states that will be affected the most. And only when they can't pay their medical bills, or only when they can't afford the surgery they need to survive cancer or some other illness will they realize how stupid their choice was. And perhaps only then will they see the truth.
However, I also have hope that this isn't the only way. We have to continue trying to break this pattern of disinformation with action. We need to continue to advocate for everyone, no matter what. Our mainstream news media needs to work hard and fast at rebuilding their former reputations of honesty and good journalism and expose the lies that are perpetuated elsewhere. So far, we have people like Jake Tapper, Anderson Cooper, Chuck Todd, Charlie Rose, Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, John Oliver, etc. who are focusing heavily on the issues at hand and bringing journalism back to its former glory. We must continue to reach out to our neighbors and our Trump supporting family members. Or else they will continue to be justified in their beliefs.
Most importantly, we must persevere, because this isn't an easy thing to do. It is not easy for someone to admit when they're wrong. To say otherwise is naive and foolish.
Hang in there. The task is great, but we can accomplish it together.
Comments
Post a Comment