Any time you hear the phrase "War on Terror", it's worth taking a moment to reflect on what one of the all-time Grand Masters of Propaganda, Herman Goering, had to say about the art of leading the public by the nose. His name ring a bell?
Hint: Herr Goering was Adolf Hitter's right hand man. Here's what he had
to say on the subject:"Why of course the people don't want war. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."
- Herman Goering - Nazi Super-Asshole
Spin, Spin, Spin
You gotta hand it to Bush's handlers. They know their history and they sure as hell know a free ride in a Hummer stretch limo when it comes rolling their way. If there was a Nobel Prize for creating a propaganda screen big enough to hide the North American Continent, they'd sure get my vote.
Note that it's not called the "War on Terrorism". That would barely get you a C- in Propaganda 101. The War on Terror, on the other hand, gets you an A+, combining as it does the triple-header of Panic, Overwhelming Fear and Anxiety - all conveniently bundled together in one short, powerful word. Best of all, Terror's a feeeeeling - and everybody, I mean everybody gets the picture.
Those Spin Doctors must have been positively orgasmic with glee. Picture it: half a dozen sleazebags sitting around a table, all worked up:
First Spinner: "That's the beauty of it! Terror's a ghost, Gentlemen, a demon spirit, a shape-shifter - hell, it can be anywhere at any time! It's whatever we want it to be. What message could be better for getting people to do whatever-the-hell-we-want than making 'War on Terror'?"
Second Spinner (laughing): "Demon's on the loose, folks!. Danger, danger, danger! Gotta go on the offensive or we're sitting ducks! Oh, almost forgot, did we mention NUKES?"
Third Spinner (serious): "Who could argue against it? What could they possibly say? And, heaven forbid, if anybody's suicidal enough to oppose it ...
We'll just make 'em out to be way worse than low - hell, they're so Un-American that they might as well be Traitors."
Alerting The Public
Only one small problem stands between the spinners and success: You need more than a roomful of Spin Docs crying "Terror, Terror, Terror" to keep the public focused on the message. You need coverage.
No problem, dudes! That's where the members of the press come in. You know, "The Media". Talk about a World-Class Snow Job - they're still buying it! "War on Terror", "War on Terror"; I don't know about you, but I'm sick of hearing it.
Bottom Line
The world's a dangerous place and we're living in it. From time to time - no question about it - some bad shit is going to happen. Nothing new about that. We took a hit on 9/11, but we're a Big Country. We didn't fold up our tent and leave town. We were shocked, horrified, and saddened by what happened on 9/11, but we got over it. So let's get real:
The "War on Terror" is prize winning propaganda; a smokescreen behind which Bush & Co. enrich their already rich buddies and have the audacity to screw around with our precious liberties. In other words, it's bullshit. Bullshit of the worst and most dangerous kind.
Americans aren't terrorized, and we don't need a "War on Terror" to keep us from cowering in fear of "the terrorists". What we really need now is a War on Bullshit.
