Posted by Noa on February 1, 2000, at 8:04:23
In reply to Re: DP's Lair--The Tedious Play By Play, posted by citiboy on February 1, 2000, at 0:18:57
Sometimes propaganda can be used for good purposes, as well as bad.
The words we use are powerful influences on how we think. That is the basic underlying reason for propaganda. When the general calls bombing "air support", it helps him and other military types focus on the goal from their perspective--the bombing supports the efforts of the ground troupes. Obviously, from the perspective of the civilians on the ground, it looks completely different. And to outside observers, who can see the effects of the bombing on both the ground troupes and civilians, it seems devious, even ludicrous,to call it "air support".
The euphemism Kev offered manipulates thought in a similar way. By calling it "cleaning", I am focusing on the goal of having it clean. That goal tends to overwhelm me because I get anxious about not getting it clean enough. By calling it "dirt reduction", as silly as it sounds, I am focusing my attention on the goal of reducing the amount of dirt present, not eliminating it alltogether. This is just a simple cognitive "trick" we can use to fool ourselves. And it can be done for good or evil. But just because it is used for hostile purposes sometimes, doesn't mean it can't be used for a benign or good purpose.
poster:Noa
thread:20280
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000128/msgs/20298.html