āyouāre not immune to propagandaā applies to you too
Yes, it absolutely does!
Propaganda is baked into our daily reality so seamlessly and thoroughly that it mostly feels like common sense.
It's why we defend brands like they're old friends.
It's why we discuss celebrities we've never met and who don't know we exist as if we know their hearts, defending or condemning them based on how talented their publicists are.
It's why we confuse relatability for trustworthiness
It's why we mistake emotional resonance for moral principles.
It's why we think our opinions are purely self-generated despite being nudged by countless carefully curated narratives which have more (and more subtle) ways of reaching us than at any time in human history.
It's why we treat people's lives, public policy, and geopolitical matters like team sports.
It's why we need to constantly interrogate our own assumptions, habitually subjecting them to fact checking, methodical scrutiny, and cynicism.
It's why we need media literacy and media ecology to be taught to kids of all ages.
It's why everyone should read Orwell, Huxley, Neil Postman, and Marshal McLuhan.
It's why we should all study logic, rhetoric, and ethics - so we can understand and apply moral reasoning based on principles.
The point isn't whether or not we're affected by propaganda, because we all are.
The point is whether or not we know we're affected...which ironically is the exact blind spot that makes people think they're immune.
The moment you assume you're above that influence? That's when it's working best.
That's why, Anon, the post you're responding to didn't say "you are not immune to propoganda."
It said:
If you think you're immune to propaganda, that means the propaganda is working.
Hope that helps!
About an hour after posting, I got another Ask which I think is from the same Anon:
That was what...500 words? So Anon's problem is aliteracy.
That's ironic because aliteracy makes one much more vulnerable to propaganda.
"You're not immune to propaganda"
"You're right! No one is! That's why we all have to put constant effort into identifying and resisting harmful propaganda!"
"OMG, I didn't, like, mean it. I just thought it was a quippy way to call you stupid."
Reblogging solely because I love how @daughterofstories words this.
