It is little wonder the government thinks we’re stupid. I have never really felt at a loss for words the way I do right now. I sit contemplating the reactions to Trump's attack on Venezuela, and I realize one disturbing truth. Either the conservative movement is so far gone, so easily distracted, so willing to accept anything this man does simply because they believe he isn't a liberal; or everything is a controlled narrative, and mass support for this is only a perception. A perception created by clever propaganda campaigns which reflect back to a confused and desperate audience a once popular belief that the administration is desperately clinging to, in the hopes of retaining any legitimacy. The belief that Trump is the greatest president ever, engaged in a brilliant game of four-dimensional chess in his efforts to save our country from the left. Some of the memes floating around on social media support this narrative by saying ridiculous things like -- And for my next trick I will make the democrats support a deranged narco terrorist. Memes like this have been used all throughout both of Trump's presidencies to reinforce the idea that the left suffers from what they like to call -- Trump Derangement Syndrome. The truth is that the conservative support for Trump becomes more unbreakable the more the left opposes what he is doing. Trump could kill a puppy on live TV, and his base wouldn't know what to think about it until they see the left's opposition, then they would make excuses for it. Just like they do with everything else. That is the true Trump Derangement Syndrome. Another example of the memes pushing this type of narrative compares Trump's military action to Bush's wars, suggesting that Trump is some type of strategic genius. This is ridiculous and shows -- presuming it is accepted by the conservative base -- just how detached we are from any ability to critically think. Therein lies the point, though. Throughout the pages of this website are numerous links, references and citations which show what is known about the human response to propaganda and persuasive messaging. The study of mass persuasion, which the book Propaganda and Persuasion compares to Psychological Warfare, has been undertaken by the fields of psychology, sociology, communications, rhetoric, philosophy and law. Yet, the majority of us have no clue as to how these techniques affect our perceptions, and our abilities to think freely -- outside of the constructed box that traps our thoughts in a this or that paradigm. For example, we either support Trump's actions and are on the right, or we oppose and are deranged leftists who support narco-terrorist dictators. The truth is that these messages are directed to audiences who are not expected to think at all, only follow along. We are living at a time where illiteracy rates are high, and people's opinions are formed and controlled by quick a minute headlines, memes, and stories that do little more than reinforce popular sentiment. There is a sad reality underlying all of it. We allowed this to happen to ourselves because we have become an entertainment addicted nation, fixated on quick satisfaction, shallow explanations that support our own beliefs, and easy answers which demand as a little of our own responsibility as possible. We are losing our country, our freedom and our own self-identity not because of left-wing authoritarianism or right-wing fascism, if there even is such a thing. But because we have opted to turn our brains off and accept comforting lies that make us feel safe. The conservative movement, for instance, as soon as Trump won the presidency -- both times -- did the same thing the liberals do when their guy wins. They went to sleep under the misguided notion that Trump was fighting for them. They sat back and accepted everything he did because the popular perception was that every move he made infuriated the left; therefore, it must be a great move. We became willing participants in a self-sustaining propaganda campaign which pushed state supported narratives under the guise of popular opinion. This is called participatory propaganda, and it is permeating social media. Every meme shared and every emoji icon clicked reinforces a narrative that protects state sovereignty and is often referred to as a do-it-yourself misinformation campaign. Propagandists have stated that the state can rely on its own citizenry to propagate the false information being fed to them on social media platforms like Facebook. The control of information then, becomes an environmental control that guides behaviors and attitudes in directions useful to the state. It is useful to any administration when people are sharing memes mocking those that question it, I suppose. “Participatory propaganda restores state sovereignty from within. It aims to build walls in the inner spaces of the subject (you) by shaping categories of perception of the environment. First, it constructs the object of a conflict that can potentially divide people. Second, relying on the design of social networks that combine information proliferation with personal interaction, as well as the mediated mobility of devices, it makes this conflict an omnipresent and integral part of everyday life.” (Asmolov, 2019) Our reactions to persuasive messaging and propaganda are under the microscope 24/7. They provide feedback into our abilities to critically evaluate and question what is going on around us. As far as the propagandists are concerned, we might as well all be elementary school students because as a society, we are showing them a willingness to just follow any narrative that tells us what we want we want to hear. When the government watches a large number of people -- for example -- go from demanding the release of the Epstein files, to supporting Trump's attack on Venezuela after heavily redacting them, and even telling people their support is no longer wanted if they believe the files even exist, it is a pretty safe bet they think you are stupid and see no reason to treat you like a thinking human being. The book, Psychology and Modern Warfare: Idea Management in Conflict and Competition says the same thing by describing the public as being very feminine in character, and devoid of sound reasoning logic able to differentiate between conflicting ideas. Rather, they view the public as children who are easily led from one idea to another. Gee, I wonder why. Again, this is a conclusion based on our own behavior and willingness to just accept everything we are told without question. We are doing this to ourselves every time we choose to share a meme, instead of reading an article that challenges our preconceived notions. We propagandize ourselves every time we get behind a narrative that reflects our cognitive biases instead of challenging them. We are telling the propagandists that we believe what we are being fed whenever we discard the idea that we are being lied to by our own party. Within the pages of this website are the links, citations and references to books and academic journals that prove one thing beyond any doubt. The study of propaganda and persuasion is a huge undertaking, and it is being done to better understand how to persuade large audiences into accepting the propagandist's point of view. Yet, the information I am sharing is discarded, and I have been mocked by a very large number of people who are tied to the Trump narrative, defending his every move. People that at this point, I just can no longer take seriously at all. These articles do not get shared by anyone, nor are they are picked up by any algorithm. They are largely ignored. Yet, people can't figure out what is going on around them. I am not arguing that I am correct in every conclusion I make, only that the science of persuasion and propaganda is an academic endeavor, and that messages are targeting audiences who are generally believed to be smart enough to understand them, but not smart enough to know why they need to be questioned. If we don't start asking some questions, we are going to be nothing more than willing participants in the creation of a system that tells us what the correct opinions, beliefs and attitudes are, while punishing those that hold alternative views. We are already willingly propagandizing ourselves every time we share a meme that says, and for my next trick I will make the democrats support a deranged narco-terrorist. Goodness gracious, it is no wonder the government thinks we are stupid.
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