The Power of Propaganda - 99% of Americans Consider Iranian Nukes a Threat

[Magda Hassan]

I heard a really good talk on the radio by Gore Vidal some many years ago on this subject. I wish I could find it to post. The siege mentality of the US and the psychological need to pull the wagons in a circle. When in fact there has never been any enemy but they have been the enemy of others. Ultimately, imho, it is just an old trick of any ruling class to get others, who otherwise have nothing to gain, to identify with them by creating a shared enemy. Part of the American founding mythology is the history of 'persecution' by the Pilgrims. Good god fearing people seeking peace and space to worship their god but unable to do so by corrupt and powerful papists and monarchs. Then there is the open theft of other people's land who were unsurprisingly unwilling to go quietly or 'give up' their land. I think this goes deep to the soul, for lack of a better word, of a people, a country, its basic illegitimacy in existing at the destruction of some one else and the cognitive dissonance this creates. Like having ripped some one off and always having to look over your shoulder in case justice or karma catches up.

My friends from the East tell me that any attempts their nation states made to control people through propaganda and dictates etc were nothing compared to what the Hollywood dream machine can do to people's brains.