Propaganda. A powerful weapon in the hands of the Nazi party before and during World War II. The exhibit State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum depicted powerful images that we had never seen before. One of the most striking characteristics of the exhibit was that the Nazi Party used propaganda techniques similar to those used by Britain and the United States. Furthermore, the propaganda used was eerily effective: not that we were convinced by any of the propaganda, but we saw how easy it was for people to become enamored with the Nazi state and policy. What did you think of the power of the propaganda used? The Nazis literally ripped off ideas from the British and the Americans. How does that make you feel about the use of propaganda as a whole? Propaganda has such a negative connotation. Is that connotation deserved, considering that the propaganda that the British and Americans used was arguably meant for the good?
Furthermore, another striking aspect of the Nazi regime was how, as evidenced by the article "German Churches and the Nazi State," the Nazis tried to control the churches in Germany. The challenge between Church and State highlighted the struggle between control and freedom during this era. The Nazis created its own national Church founded in Nazi ideology when other churches failed to comply. The Catholic Church and the Protestant churches spoke out against this, calling it out for what it was: an attempt to gain power over the people. This is shown in the "Theological Declaration of Barmen," in which author Karl Barth asserts the hegemony of Jesus Christ over any political ideology. The churches presented direct opposition to this in their stance on freedom of thought and belief. These Churches were founded on the Word of Christ and so they would not submit to being the state’s puppet. In the midst of the regime, the Church still stood its ground on policies such as euthanasia and staved some Jews. This is an example of how throughout history the Church and Christian churches have not backed down when it comes to morality or what is good for the people. The purpose of the Church is to testify to Jesus Christ even in a sinful world. It is to be a witness against ideological and political conventions and chooses not to be manipulated. Can you see how this is true even today?
Going to the Holocaust Museum was probably a sobering experience for you, just as it was for us. It is easy to compartmentalize the Holocaust: it happened, and now it's over. However, there are still great injustices going on in the world today. At the end the exhibit, there was a poster with questions that relate not only to the Holocaust but to world injustice that still takes place today. One of the most striking questions was, "What is the best way for societies and individuals to expose and counter deceptive messages?" A constant theme at the museum was "What you do matters." What can we do to prevent something like the Holocaust or just injustice as a whole from happening again?
~Philip da Costa, Lauren Gaydos, and Gina Shaffer
Realistically speaking, there is not a whole lot that anyone can do from preventing injustice in the world. Of course we can learn from past mistakes and attempt to stop another Holocaust from occurring, but even as we try there are still similar events that happened after the Holocaust and are still happening now. For example, genocide in Rwanda in the mid 90s, in Darfur in the early 2000s, conflicts and massacres in Bosnia, and overall injustice in various middle eastern countries right now all serve as strong evidence that it is next to impossible from preventing injustice. This sounds pessimistic, but this does not mean that although it is difficult to predict and then stop injustice we cannot still try to fix it. I think that no matter how hard we try to prevent genocide or terrible war crimes and injustices from happening some people will still find a way to commit them and all we can do is help to stop it once it becomes apparent. In other words, injustice is not exactly preventable, but surely we can find ways to get rid of it once it is visible, seeing as how it is often hidden from us for some time. The things that we do, like donating money, making ourselves more aware of the current state of the world, and participating in events or giving time to organizations that are dedicated to the prevention of the spreading of injustice, do matter to those who are experiencing this oppression.
ReplyDeleteI think that what you said at the end is the whole point of the museum. Injustice is inevitable, yes, but what we do as individual human beings matters as well. I think that as citizens of the world, our job is to make sure there's as little injustice going on around us as possible. I know that sounds hard and idealistic, but again, what we do matters. If at least try to do something toward ending injustice, that's more than doing nothing.
DeleteI do believe in a long term process through which social injustice can be prevented which begins with individuals like you and me. Its idealistic and a very long term process, but its possible. Something I have learned from participating in the Social Justice club on campus this semester is that in reality "What you do matters."
ReplyDeleteTo counter social injustice I believe we need two fundemental things: Universal sentiment of care for Human Dignity and knowledge.
UNIVERSAL SENTIMENT/ HUMAN DIGNITY: Each person in society is called as a fellow human who as Hume would say shares in a universal, natural sentiment that approbates virtue and morals. This comes from a natural sharing in the sentiment of others. Of these morals benevolence is the most obviously worth merit. Therefore we all must to some degree care for each other, and this care is to be praised. We should feel pain with others and pleasure with others. Doing so brings us merit.
In our society today, we have lost some of this philosophy. Self-love often conquers love of others. THE FIRST STEP in any social justice is humanity reclaiming the dignity of the human person and the universal sentiment towards others. This starts with individuals. Individuals foster this within their families (the origin and garden of social virtue). Each individual in the family shares this with society. Society feeds into government and public policy. Government in turn enforces and upholds this sentiment, this human dignity through laws and preventative action. Entire societies and governments that understand the dignity of the human person will not allow genocides to occur. In effect, the society would then stop the individual criminal.
Can you imagine a mass genocide in the US today? Wouldn't, couldn't happen. It would be immediately stopped (providing knowledge of it). We as individuals, families, states, and the government wouldn't tolerate it.
KNOWLEDGE: To some degree, I feel sheltered here at the CUA campus because I am not exposed to the world and I really cannot relate or even begin to understand the culture and society of many other countries, especially ones in which genocide would be more likely or more capable of taking place. Without first the knowledge of the crimes against humanity it would seem that we can do nothing to help.
Knowledge of social injustice stems from care for the Human person. If we care, then we will take the time to figure out what is occurring in our society. And if we find knowledge that social injustice is occurring we will act.
If German citizens all knew what Hitler was doing (and had a universal respect for the human person) they would not have supported him and he would have failed. They would have had to make sure to see the truth behind the propaganda. They would have had to search beyond the societal norm of disregarding and degrading Jews and others and see the truth of the situation.
The important part is that this all started with the individual. Once the individual truly appreciates human dignity, they spread it to others. Fervor for humanity is infectious.
If each individual took a stand for human dignity, all of society would respect human dignity. If all of society respects human dignity, individuals who don't will be stopped. It all starts with the individual.
Jackie, I like what you've said here, but I completely disagree with what you said about a potential genocide in America. I'm not trying to nit-pick; I think this is important. I think it's idealistic to say that something like that couldn't happen in America. In fact, please don't take offense, but to say that it couldn't happen here is a form of idealistic nationalism (or patriotism, because America isn't a 'nation' in the sense of common nationality), as if we are somehow civilized enough not to have that happen here. Seriously, I'm not trying to be picky, I just don't want to start thinking in an "us" vs "them" mentality!
DeleteHey David, don't worry, you're not being picky. I agree with what you mean about this us vs them mentality and I was actually sort of uneasy when I was typing that. I guess what I was trying to do was provide an example in which people who care about human dignity as a nation who would not tolerate mass genocide. I think our constitution provides enough basis for the dignity of the individual to prevent genocide. I think the American people, government, and justice system stand by the constitution too much to let that happen. I don't know if I'm doing that us v them mentality again, but that's just my train of thought.
DeleteI really like what Lindsay said about injustice. We must always be striving towards justice even though true justice might not be possible. There is much that we can do! But I would like to delve into WHY we seemingly can never reach perfect justice. It is not just that there are a lot of evil people like Hitler around and we need to watch out for them. It's not just that we need to disbelieve anything the government says. It's not even that nationalism is bad! What it really comes down to is that we as humans are flawed.
ReplyDeleteAt one point in the exhibit there was a display showing the number of votes the Nazis received, and it was between 1928 and 1930 that they gained the most popularity. We look, in our present situation, at the Nazi propaganda and find it despicable, but if we were in an economic, social, and political crisis as bad as theirs at the time, we might think differently. People have this harmful tendency to displace blame, and for that you need a scapegoat. And to exclude someone and gain strength in that, you need to have things in common (another tendency we have: to cling to people who are similar to us), thus the whole Aryan race thing along with German Nationalism. And so we see that the progression of the Nazi propaganda led the German people along a path, starting with unifying statements and then slowly moving to anger towards a perceived common enemy. What's scary about it is that it's not like the bad guys in movies, i.e. obviously and totally evil. Instead, because we're human and we have these tendencies, we can relate to the people who were drawn in by Hitler and the propaganda. We know what vulnerability is like, and we know what unity against an enemy is like!
This is why justice is so hard to get at: we're flawed; not Hitler, not the Germans at the time, not our parents, not our government! Each of us is personally responsible for seeking truth. We must sell everything we think we know about the world and ourselves and walk out each day as if we've never walked before! Incidentally, this complete and total openness to truth is an experience we have as Christians! Fancy that!
To answer the first question, I think the negative connotation of propaganda is very much deserved. Even though the British and American propaganda during WWII was meant for the good, it is still manipulative and attempts to control and get the nation to think together, almost as as one being. While British and American propaganda was trying to rally troops to fight the injustices in Germany and Japan, what's to stop the government from using it for other things. I am not saying we should distrust everything the government says, I am just saying we should look at both sides of the issue and make the judgement for ourselves.
ReplyDeleteThe reconstruction period of Germany in the 1920's and 1930's is an example of a state in which morality and religion got pushed aside by utility. While many people argue that utility is the basis of morality, German society, along with a flawed and weak political system,* proves the weaknesses of these ethical beliefs. At this point in history, Germany was very poor and had massive hyper inflation. People desired a job and wealth. The people were demoralized, weak and wanted a better life. As seen at the Holocaust Museum exhibit, the earlier propaganda campaigns emphasized hard work, community and strength. This appealed to the Deutsche Gemeinschaft, but in their struggle for a good life, they became dumbfounded and naive by this intimidating and persuasive figure.
ReplyDeleteI think that when a society is Christ centered and focused on doing soical justice, then a society will not be as likely to allow an intimidating and deceptive force break the society. If people had united their faith with reason when voting or discussing poltics, the disguise of the evil would be made visible. But when faith is put behind the desire for wealth and a prosperous life, then a society has opened itself up to be penetrated by the forces of evil. The choice to believe in God comes from the individual person. When the individual chooses to love God and to follow the teachings of the church, they are called to evangelize. In this circumstance, evangelization would include discussion and advocation of justice, which the utilitarische Gemeinschaft did not care about. By placing faith of God and adhearance to God's teachings above all, I think that even the strongest propaganda could not break the truth in the Christian Community.
*I call it flawed and weak because the electoral system allowed parties that earned enough vote for 1 seat to hold that seat. This allowed for many factions and divisions which allowed for one party to ascend to the top.
Going off of what some of you have been saying: IS it possible for propaganda to be used for the good? Can something be good if propaganda was used to achieve it? This brings us back to the discussion of religious thought and religious propaganda. How does the idea of religious propaganda fit in with all of this?
ReplyDeleteSimilar to and going off of what David brought up, the social and economic conditions were so radically different than today that we just cannot imagine the possibility of anything like the Nazi part coming into power anywhere.
ReplyDeleteBut they did have many things that led to their success, and that's what is so strange and yet intriguing about them. They really did a lot of stuff to get the support of people, and their propaganda was just one way of doing that. They also developed a series of new ideas that helped pull Germany out of its economic slump, and that certainly helped their success. Some of their ideas were a radio that every family could afford to buy (but why did they want that? so that everyone could listen to the speeches given by Hitler.), the autobahn highway system, and the Volkswagen (literally, the "people's-car" that every working man could own). They definitely catered to what the German people would have been looking for, from leadership to economic recovery. It's just strange for us to imagine that something so simple and yet so complex could have seized control of an entire nation like it did. Propaganda had a lot to do with it (and one could argue the Volkswagen and the other things were propaganda in some degree), and they certainly used it to their advantage.
Regarding propaganda in general: propaganda is not bad. Ideas that are behind it can be bad, and if misinformed decisions are made, that is very bad. However, if used to attract attention, propaganda isn't necessarily bad. Everyone uses it in some form. It just depends on the goodness or badness of the ideas being promoted.
As far as the Church being strong in the face of political pressure and adversity, I just want to say two words: "HHS Mandate". And we know how the Church is standing against that.
Overall, I think the way to avoid a repeating of the Holocaust is to keep a level head, investigating all claims that can be seen as baseless. Keeping passions in line is also very important.
In reading about how the Nazi regime tried to control the Church, I also thought of the HHS Mandate. The government is annoyed that the Chruch won't give up its position. Things would run a lot smoother for the government if that Church wasn't so defiant. This just reminded be of the Holocaust reading on blackboard.
DeleteI sorta agree with Will here. Let's pretend that the Nazis won the war and we are all "Germans." There would probably be a museum devoted to the horrible propaganda techniques used by the allied powers. If we had our own Nuremberg trails, Walt Disney would be tried just like Leni Riefenstahl, the Nazi propaganda film maker, was. Propaganda is meant to be bought into. It's supposed to look good. I don't know if I would buy into the Nazi propaganda if I lived in Germany at that time, we can never know such things, but I do know I would probably buy into the American and British propaganda! I've seen it in our museums and go, "Hey, that looks pretty cool!" Many of us have posters on our dorm walls that say "Keep calm, and carry on." That's English propaganda that speaks to us even today!
ReplyDeleteGuilty... I have that poster :)
DeleteIt is definitely true that propaganda is something that should be considered potentially dangerous and therefore treated and used with caution. However, I agree with Jason in that, in itself , propaganda is not bad; rather, it can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what it is trying to promote, and how it achieves its goal. For example, if propaganda was being used to rally a nation to fight injustice, then it is contributing to the efforts that were being discussed earlier in the blog about raising awareness to fight something unjust. However, the method being used matters also because, if the goal is honorable, but the messages being used in the propaganda are exaggerations or lies about what injustice is occurring, then, even if it is well intentioned, propaganda would be bad in this case due to the way in which it approached the issue.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that propaganda is inherently bad, but it's connotations obviously are. For me, when I think of propaganda, I think of the things that I saw at the exhibit or other things from wartime, like Rosie the Riveter. Propaganda appeals to the emotions of the viewer. It aims to stir up some sort of response and reaction. That means that often propaganda is used to manipulate- if someone sees this, I want them to feel this way so that they will act this way. And as history shows, it is very effective. I was a little overwhelmed in the exhibit, just thinking about how an entire people could buy into, essentially, all of the lies that the Nazi party stood for. But actually reflecting on it, I started to see why. I still don't think that the people can be held as blameless- they have their will, they chose to conform and subscribe to the belief system of the Nazis- but they were under the incredibly powerful influence of the Nazis and they were totally surrounded by it in all areas of life. And the Nazis made their cause look good! One image from the exhibit that really struck me was an image of a group of teenage girls doing some sort of exercise outside. Looking at them, I could see why a young German girl would say to herself "I want to be a part of that." It's attractive and the true intentions are dressed up so a person is unable to see what is really going on. And I think it's important to remember that though the Nazi party in particular was very successful at constructing appealing propaganda, they did not always achieve their end. At the exhibit, I noticed this in the German public's reaction to the movie "The Eternal Jew". The people totally rejected it at the box office because they saw it for what it was- totally staged.
ReplyDeleteI think the scariest part of the exhibit was that at some points, I almost felt persuaded by the propaganda. It only took a step back and a shake of the head (what was I just thinking?) to dispel this, but I can totally understand how the people at the time bought into it. We had the advantage of knowing exactly what was really going on in Germany at the time when we entered the exhibit, the people back then were kept very much in the dark. I think the exhibit did a great job with its small and fast-paced format to simulate the experience of being bombarded with false information. One thing that caught my attention was the fact that many people's initial reaction to the nazi's forcing the Jews to wear stars was one of sympathy. I think that propaganda isn't necessarily evil because it can be used for good (think of Rosie the Riveter) but I think it is so powerful its is far more often used for evil.
ReplyDeleteGoing off what people have said about propaganda not being bad, I'm not so sure. The goal of propaganda is to sway someone's point of view. It does not promote deliberation or thought but rather it appeals simply to emotion. Often it involves bias and frequently misleads people. That is not the way it should be. Ideally one should present the facts in a clear argument and sway someone by reason. I recognize that propaganda has its uses and is constantly being employed, but it is definitely not a good thing. I know that propaganda has brought about some good things but that does not make propaganda good. Do the ends justify the means? No, they do not.
ReplyDeleteIs there another way to advertise or make the masses (people) aware of things without using propaganda?
DeleteWell, what about Kony 2012? (Still not sure about that whole issue, but anyways...) The Invisible Children Group is essentially trying to promote a good cause. That is their main intent. How do they get the word out? Propaganda. They're gonna put up all of these posters around cities with the hope that people will be intrigued and find out more for themselves. Propaganda is an effective way of getting the word out. And yes, it appeals to human emotion. All those movies you see of kids starving in Africa, and all those @$%&*! animal shelter commericals with Sarah McLaughlin singing "In the Arms of the Angels" in the backround appeal to emotion. It's simply another form of inspiring one to not just think, but to ACT on the information given. Pathos should not be thought of as an intrinsically lesser form of rhetoric than Ethos and Logos, because ethos helps one commit to acting upon the information. However, ethos and logos should also be in place, and if they aren't, and the rhetoric-balance is out of wack, then yes, one could say it's manipulative. But pathos should not get a bm rap just because it's based in emotion.
DeleteI agree with Dan that propaganda is a method of persuasion. However, it is impossible for a human to create something and for it to have no bias. Everything is a reflection of its creator and therefore part of the creator's opinion or view will always be in it. Even with this in mind, the use of propaganda should remain very limited. It is an effective method of communication, but as Dan stated it can have very strong effects.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Church, Pope Pius XI did try to oppose Hitler. He did what he could and unlike other leaders during that era (like Neville Chamberlain) Pope Pius did not appease Hitler when he broke the concordat. The pope stood firm and tried to hold Hitler to the agreement. However, it can be difficult for the Catholic Church to force a political leader to do something. The Church is not a political force in the way that it was during the Reformation and therefore remaining peaceful is one of its main objectives.
A current situation that this applies to is Pope Benedict XVI's trip to meet with Fidel Castro. The Pope talked with Castro about different issues with the country of Cuba, but he cannot force his will on Castro.
What I believe one must remember, when both asking about and answering our questions about propaganda, is that propaganda itself is a tool. For anyone to say that a tool is bad by definition is inherently wrong. The tool of propaganda can be used for good when it encompasses three things that Jackie pointed out - it is individualistic, it is knowledgeable, and it is aware of others. By the individual, I mean that a "grassroots" propaganda movement is far more credible than one that starts at the top, because since Hitler we have become suspect to authority, and since power corrupts, if an idea starts from the bottom I believe it has the capacity to do more good. Knowledgeable - if we are to endorse an idea, we must know as much as possible about it. We can't take anything for granted, like the Germans did. Finally, nine out of ten times we can avoid this problem if we focus on others. An idea focused on the well-being of ALL others not only is good propaganda, but merits it.
ReplyDeleteThis being said, what about religious propaganda? Well, I look at the Catholic Church as the most knowledgeable group of individuals, who holistically seek to uphold the human person, and especially in a culture today that does not espouse the teachings of the Church. The Church is not built as a power structure or an oligarchy, but has over 5100 bishops whose main task is to oversee their diocese, not move up in the order of cardinal or pope. (this is the Church of today, not the Church of the Renaissance or before). I admit, my arguments on the authority part are wanting, I'll think on them into tomorrow. However, I believe that the conditions are right for the Catholic Church to bring forth positive religious propaganda as part of evangelization (though that is not fully the heart of evangelization).
As for the avoidance of another Holocaust, I think that Lindsey's response has been answered well by David and Jackie - that we necessarily can't begin with conflicts in Africa, and killings across the world, but we must begin as the individual to others, since letting happen what occurs around us is only our fault. Additionally, think about how we stop the negative propaganda occurring around us - with other propaganda. Good propaganda seeks to be more knowledgeable and more holistic than the last guy.
I admit that, as a blogger that covered the (continuing) HHS Mandate crisis Catholic values, I have a vested interest because I admittedly see myself as a propagandist of the good, which is why I believe it is possible. Some of the posts I write are out to convince; but I try to do so in light of the 1. knowledge I know 2. seeking to help ALL others and 3. my position as an individual.
Let me tie this into Nazi Germany, since I'm fearing I'm getting slightly narcissistic. The problem with Nazi Germany's propaganda is that it objectively did not work in the truth. When I say I'm out to be a propagandist and yet not deceive others, it means that I must accept the truth, which sometimes means I must concede when my opponents, or those I am spreading ideas against, have a good point or do a good thing. Additionally, I have to accept my opponents for what they are. As one of the exhibits noted, the Nazis painted the Bolshevik leaders as Jews. The Bolshevik leaders weren't Jews. That was a lie. Thus, I guess to make things easy, add a fourth point to my outline of good propaganda - that it must accept and work off the truth.
That's long winded, but I hope it contributes!
Propaganda is seriously everywhere we turn: it's on the television, in newspaper adverts, and on the poser hanging to my left. Today we tend to shy away from the term propaganda because of all of the terrible events of the 20th century that were born from its sway over the people, preferring to call it "the media" or "the advertising industry." Whether it is an advert for shoes or an Uncle Sam poster, the basic psychology is the same: get people to think what we want them to think so that they will do what we want them to do.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I would agree with Hannah that this does not make propaganda an inherent evil. It is, however, a fact of life and something that we ought to be wary of falling for too readily. Much of Hitler's success in his rise to power in Germany came from his sheer carisma and enthusiasm which naturally holds sway over people, especially the desperately poor and depraved of hope. He had the people wrapped around his little finger because he seemed to be able to offer them what they wanted most, and that was pride and dignity. Little did they know that he would strip millions of their human dignity in just a few short years. It was this very fact that the propaganda worked to conceal for as long as possible.
As far as the role of the Churches in fighting the battle against Hitler and his propaganda-fueled rise to power goes--if we are honest--they really couldn't help all that much. They were fighting an oil fire with a water pistol; yes it was all they could do, but that still wasn't enough. Hitler was a whole new breed of monster, and was seemingly impossible to beat chiefly because he was so persuasive in the area of propaganda.
Looking at the idea of propaganda as a whole, though, there is no reason why we can't now fight fire with fire. Positive propaganda can be a weapon against injustice that is just as powerful as Hitler's propaganda of the 20th century.
There are so many things that each of us can do individually for making a difference and preventing another international tragedy such as the Holocaust. It can be as simple as simply calling your friends out when they use anti-Semitic jokes or you hear someone else directing negative language towards people of a different race, religion, ethnicity, age, or gender. Also, exploring and studying issues such as the Holocaust and educating others goes a long way as well. It is important that we don't give in to the propaganda that is in the media today, especially in regards to the Church and State. Propaganda has a negative connotation, as I believe it should, and it is important that we don't spread propaganda ourselves. However, propaganda can be used for the good, yet it is often misconstrued and it is difficult to utilize it without offending any one group or individual. In conclusion, I believe that propaganda should be avoided unless one is fully aware and understanding of the issue at hand because unless we know everything about the argument, we cannot make a justified argument and, in the end, we will be hurting many people.
ReplyDeleteThis is a point that has been made by a few people, does understanding the world around you better help influence your perception of the propaganda? If germans had been more aware of the Nazi's actions, would the propaganda have been so widely effective?
DeleteIs knowledge the best tool to defend against propaganda? Or should we just avoid it all together?
There are a very large group of things that one can do to prevent injustices like the Holocaust from occurring again. One of the first things that comes to mind is keeping an open mind in daily life. Acceptance and acting in support of further acceptance was something that was in no way present during the time of the Holocaust. Another important idea is to stay true to oneself. One of the things that made the Holocaust and Nazi propaganda so powerful was the mob mentality. If people stay true to themselves and specifically what they believe in then the mob mentality would be for the other side. Meaning that if one man if strong in the face of potential adversity then others will be more likely to follow in that man's footsteps.
ReplyDeletePropaganda that is considerate of others is impossible, for the basis of expressing opinion by any means is that it expresses one viewpoint alone, for George Orwell once wrote " All art is propaganda". It would not be expedient for propagandists to consider the other side or fully explain what is behind their reasoning. Therefore, propaganda appeals to sentiment and ignorance. In Germany post-WWI, the Nazis used the motif of betrayal in their political ads, blaming Communists and Zionists for the collapse of the glorious German Empire as it lost WWI. A more modern example would be the Occupy movement, for they advertise that the government and the system conspired to betray them, portraying the rich as inherently selfish.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing in the exhibit a family tree outlining racial purity. The amount of Aryan blood was directly proportional to the amount of political participation a citizen had. This idea or racial purity comes from a misunderstanding of Darwinism, namely Social Darwinism, stating the the weaker classes or races of people will die out. The unfounded study of eugenics, the idea that more successful people had better genes than those of other social classes, also contributed to the lies. Pseudoscience such as this only promotes open discrimination and hate.
To prevent such a disaster from happening, people should be less hasty in judgment. It is so relevant today as major media corporations are heavily biased and one is led to believe that conservatives are overly rich, bible-preaching, homophobic racists, and liberals are baby killing, socialistic, atheistic, gun-hating drug addicts. My point is the polarization of opinion only increases one's willingness to take up arms for a cause as a result of faulty or hasty judgment.
This is an interesting point. Does this inherent bias in propaganda make it impossible to use propaganda for social change and awareness? How then can people spread messages that are about tolerance? I'd like to point out that propaganda exists in forms outside of the use demonstrated by Hitler and the Nazi Party- what about propaganda for racial tolerance and acceptance of world religions? While there is a case against negative propaganda that finger-points, as you've described, is there not a place for positive propaganda?
Deletenaturally, there is a place for positive propaganda. just as people desire to share their distorted and negative opinions, so too do others wish to convey the positive truths they hold dear. the question is wether those truths are objectively good for society and the individual.
Deleteas joe said, propaganda appeals to ignorance and sentiment and the proponents of positive propaganda, in order to carry their point across, they too invite people to believe by making them slaves to their ignorance and appealing to their pathos. i personally think that a huge amount of the problems of the world result from ignorance and miseducation. we are ignorant of ourselves, our neighbors, or world and our God.
In order for us to ultimately expose deceptions within our world we must be cognizant of our surroundings. We can be often misled by kind words and seemingly nice gestures but we must be wary of what lurks behind the intentions of others. Though this might sound very harsh and rude to observe our fellow human beings in such a manner, we need to be more aware of what is happening not only to us in the immediate sense but also in a global sense of what is happening to other peoples on the other side of the globe. Also, we must be active in our pursuit of what is right and within that the sense of justice must be preserved. In countering messages of others that may contain ill will, it entirely depends on our sense of what lies behind the basic meaning and looking behind the context in order for us to decode the message.
ReplyDeleteBoth of these questions are hard. We are told that to abort anything like the Holocaust from happening again we must remember the past and not repeat it. This is a great start. However, I do not think that this is as preventative as we think for the world. This is partly because educating the entire world has never happened. The murderers in Rwanda, in Nepal, in Sudan, and elsewhere have certainly not been educated. I think the best way to prevent genocide is to simply have the understanding and the control not to buy into a group that is willing to sacrifice others that do not agree for their own selfish gain.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Chris said about propaganda being relative and meant to be believed. Propaganda doesn't necessarily mean a negative things but as WIll said, it is manipulative. We can talk all we want about how persuasive the propaganda was but we don't know how we would have responded to it.
ReplyDeleteAs many have said injustice does occur everyday, however we should do our own best to prevent the injustice around us. Hitler was only one man and could cause so much injustice that I do believe that someone can have just as great of an affect on justice through gaining followers such as Ghandi. I believe raising awareness is key to solving some of the world's injustices.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons for the effectiveness of Hitler's propaganda as David said was the economic and political climate of Germany at that time and I believe that propaganda was much more influential because German citizens wanted to look for a brighter future and ignored the negative things that Hitler was promoting for their own well being. American propaganda was just as effective at that time due to our own economic and political climate. The war as well as attacks on U.S. soil allowed for the propaganda to sink in more to citizens.
I do not however believe propaganda is always negative. The connotation of the word and the use of propaganda has definitely changed the meaning. We see propaganda on campus everyday. It is not over something as serious as war, but there are posters with pictures for events that may or not sway us to attend, however this is not necessarily a bad or evil message it is just meant to sway.
As many have said injustice does occur everyday, however we should do our own best to prevent the injustice around us. Hitler was only one man and could cause so much injustice that I do believe that someone can have just as great of an affect on justice through gaining followers such as Ghandi. I believe raising awareness is key to solving some of the world's injustices.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons for the effectiveness of Hitler's propaganda as David said was the economic and political climate of Germany at that time and I believe that propaganda was much more influential because German citizens wanted to look for a brighter future and ignored the negative things that Hitler was promoting for their own well being. American propaganda was just as effective at that time due to our own economic and political climate. The war as well as attacks on U.S. soil allowed for the propaganda to sink in more to citizens.
I do not however believe propaganda is always negative. The connotation of the word and the use of propaganda has definitely changed the meaning. We see propaganda on campus everyday. It is not over something as serious as war, but there are posters with pictures for events that may or not sway us to attend, however this is not necessarily a bad or evil message it is just meant to sway.
I do not think propaganda is inherently bad. Propaganda uses images to provoke emotion to persuade an audience. This is done because if you are on one side of an issue and seek to tell other people the truth of your side, you employ many means to do this. For example, if I feel strongly that people should brush their teeth because I believe it is true and right, I'll tell people, write articles, and put up flyers. It is not feasible to present every person I come into contact with with a logical and developed argument founded in reason and rhetoric. I think this is why propaganda is employed. People might see pictures of dirty and grimy teeth and be compelled to brush their teeth more. So propaganda is useful, but it is also not always good either. Merely a tool to be used.
ReplyDeleteWhat Rhodes has said reminds me of the pictures of the black and deteriorating lungs of people who smoked for several years. This image appeals to emotions, for people are meant to look at this and become frightened and think, "Oh my gosh! I don't want that to happen to my lungs!" This image is meant to persuade people to avoid smoking. Is this propaganda? Yes, but it is the good kind. It is the kind that directs people to the truth and tries to convince them to avoid harmful decisions.
DeletePropaganda is simply a short argument used to persuade people. Arguments consist of appeals to logos, pathos, and ethos. Arguments should not be only logical, and, in fact, arguments that are only logical are not very persuasive because people are not merely logical beings. We are also emotional beings and are more willing to listen to someone whom we trust. Now, propagandists tend to value pathos over the other two elements, but this is not inherently bad, for some arguers tend to value logos more, and this is also fine. Propaganda is just a specific type of argument. It either leads others to the truth or to something for one's personal advantage. In the former case, propaganda is a tool used correctly, for it is used to help others, and in the latter, it is used wrongly, for it helps one at the expense of others.
This blog topic just reminded me of a quote, so I thought I'd post it here...
ReplyDelete"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Propaganda is popularly associated with lies, falsities, manipulation, and bias especially because of its use by Germany and the US. A major reason for propaganda's effectiveness is its reliance on playing on emotions. Propaganda forces people to substitute their emotions for their rational knowledge. Nazi propaganda was very effective because it first catered to the needs of the German population and gained its support because they thought they were being assisted by the Nazi party. Slowly but progressively, the Nazi party dropped its supportive ways and took to its own agenda. Also, propaganda simplifies concepts for a larger audience to understand and because of this, many truths are eliminated/held from the medium of communication. The propagandist only includes information about their view, encouraging uniformity and easy decision making.
Propaganda is not always bad; however, it is bad when it does not allow for any competing voices to be heard. Propaganda is used to shape opinion and behavior and can be tolerated when it is used in a democratic way and allows for opposing view points to voice their opinion as well.
In order to stop propaganda and injustices, we as citizens of the world, are expected to thoughtfully evaluate every message we encounter for its validity and truthfulness. We have to be on our toes when reading anything and we must think before taking action. Educated and involved citizens are the best defense to propaganda.
Everyone on the forum seems to believe that awareness is the biggest and best step we can take towards justice. Thing is, we can be influenced without even knowing we are being influenced, without even knowing why we react the way we do. This seems obvius, right? But awareness is not always enough to promote action.
ReplyDeleteExample? The Milgram Experiment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHuI2JIPylk&feature=related
And it should be known that Milgram later did a variation of the experiment, where the "Learner" sat 3 feet away from the "Patient" and literally held his hand down on a shock panel, and the rate of people who delivered the highest voltage shock was still 20-30%.
My point is, we can so easily persuade ourselves to not think about uncomfortable situations, even ones that violate our basic moral consciousness, even if we are fully aware of what we are doing.
The Milgram Experiment is a great example that actually was related to the consciousness of Americans versus Germans. Down to the root, individuals do succumb to authoritative figures, and can be easily influenced in the wrong direction.
DeleteHowever, that displays the capabilities of an individual. An issue so widespread such as the holocaust had to have been perceived through numerous eyes; many people took part in saving victims and refugees, being fully aware that it was wrong. I guess it's then a collective effort of awareness. Milgram's patients didn't have other people influencing/reaching out to them otherwise, they only had the experimenter telling them what to do.
I really like hearing everyone’s take on whether propaganda is inherently a bad thing. I think it can often depend on one’s perception of the general population. If one thinks that the majority of people who view some form of propaganda will consider the matter no further and simply accept what the propaganda is telling them, then it would make sense to consider propaganda as inherently bad. If that situation truly takes place, then propaganda is brainwash. It is something that keeps an issue shallow by asking for feeling without thorough reasoning behind it. Whether the intention behind a message is good or bad, if it discourages further thought, then I would consider it a bad thing. However, I think humans are far too complicated to just accept things and move on, at least when something affects them directly. Think about the Catholic Church and the Protestant Churches at the time of the Nazis. Think about the Catholic response to the HHS mandate today. Despite any simplified messages that may circulate, people will stick to prior convictions because they have thought the issue through. The danger of propaganda is if a bad message reaches too many people who haven’t given an issue much thought. If a topic doesn’t have a direct effect on an individual, then even if the message is an awful one—such as the many examples of demonization of Jews by the Nazi propaganda machine—the individual might not bother to look further and see what is happening. The part of the exhibit that burned into my mind was the plaque that explained that though the Nazi propaganda was trying to incite violence against the Jews, they were satisfied if the propaganda only worked well enough to ensure indifference. Apathy was what they achieved.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate Meagan’s bringing MLK Jr.’s quote into the discussion. He really had the right idea: if there is injustice anywhere affecting anyone, then it is a threat justice everywhere. We need to care about things even if they don’t seem to affect us directly. We cannot let ourselves fall victim to apathy. We have to educate ourselves and take an active role.
I agree with what Lucy said about propaganda depending on one's perception of the general population. I also think that the effect of propaganda depends on the amount of it and on one's access to other viewpoints. For example, in Nazi Germany, there was no freedom of the press. The German people were bombarded with images and sayings that all pointed toward the same thing - the supremacy of the German state and the Aryan race. This propaganda was fashioned in such a way that it was incredibly appealing to the German people. They became influenced by it because of its appeal, but also because of its constant presence. However, nowadays, I think that propaganda is less effective because there are so many difference sources of media that often have contrary views. In a free society with a balanced media, brainwashing usually does not occur because people have a choice to discuss different views and make their own voices heard.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with what Mary said about awareness of injustice not always being enough. How many people who jumped on the recent KONY 2012 bandwagon will actually do something about the situation? How many of us will keep what we learned at the Holocaust museum in our minds and actually allow it to influence how we live our lives? What is the good of spreading awareness if that awareness turns into eventual apathy or the thought of "I'm aware of the problem, now my part here is done"? Simply becoming aware of injustice is not enough.
I agree with some of the posts above that stated that Propaganda is not inherently bad; I mean, how could it be? It's the people behind the propaganda, who use it to distort the truth and bring harm to an entire generation of people, that are bad. Like Hitler and the Nazi's during the period of the Holocaust: they used the propaganda to hide the truth from the German citizens, but used rather for their own hideous purpose, that is, the annihilation of the Jews. Also, I think that it is important to be aware of the world around you: this knowledge definitely lets you perceive propaganda differently than how others see it. Then again, although German citizens were somewhat ignorant of the events of the Holocaust during the time period, there was a large part of the population who had, at least, an inkling of what was going on but did not go against it. Some were purposefully ignorant, they did not want any part in the terror of Nazi Germany. Then there were some people who were either completely indifferent to what was going on or were on the fence about it. The propaganda, that is the distorted image of the events that were happening at the time, managed to convince many people to join the side of the Nazi's, because of the fact that they used such enticing words to lure them in.
ReplyDeleteThere is one other thing that I wanted to mention: Someone was mentioning the fact that the United States is a nation that would not tolerate mass genocide. However, I believe that this is wrong! The United States is part of a genocide at this very moment: the killing of millions upon millions of innocent unborn children. We continually say "never again", and yet look at the state that this great country has come to. We're not far off from what was happening, also, between the Nazi's and the Church. The Church did not support that form of government; likewise today, the Church condemns abortion, which is greatly accepted in many countries around the world. Propaganda is used in this instance too: Nazi Germany was all about German(Aryan) pride and the Motherland. So too, today, propaganda is used in the case of abortion: "Say yes to Choice", women's rights, etc. Not that I have anything against women's rights, but this excuse is being used to support the massacre of the future generations of America.
Propaganda distorts the truth: it is not inherently evil in itself, but it can be used in anyway to support whatever beliefs anyone has. As was stated previously, propaganda is merely a tool used, although many times it is used very wrongly.