I have a confession to make: I'm a propagandist. I don't necessarily write to inform, or to set the record straight, or to put an argument forward. I write, first and foremost, to influence, to motivate, to effect action; and not just any run-of-the-mill action, but action at a massive level, and specifically action taken in concert by millions against a particular type of target.
I spend an extraordinary amount of time and effort trying to understand human psychology, emotions, instincts, desires, wants, fears, dreams, ambitions, all with the goal of one day being able to motivate a large enough number of people to act against a common enemy. And I don't mind if it takes reaching one person at a time; I'm very patient.
Now, you may ask about my motivation for being a propagandist, or about the messaging I'm propagandizing about. My "customer" is a very modest, polite and unassuming customer: The truth.
Many years ago I realized that falsehoods and false narratives specifically designed to dupe the population into believing and accepting absurd propositions as not only normal, but good for them, had plenty of proponents, or propagandists.
I became aware of the infrastructure, methods, and modus operandi of this massive propaganda machine, and of how incredibly effective it was at convincing otherwise functioning, everyday people to literally act against their own interests, by the tens of millions.
And I realized that in order for this odious propaganda machine to be effective, it had to subvert the truth; turn it upside down. Make people believe that up is down, and down is up, literally.
And then, when I started analyzing the issue further, I identified certain psychological tactics which were born out of a myriad of research and studies by psychologists, business analysts, marketing, and public relations (propaganda) people, many of which had lurid pasts supporting brutal regimes.
They sliced and diced the understanding of human psychology and then went about using that knowledge to manipulate entire populations. And so they would create certain memes by linking well-known positive human traits such as hard work, love of family, and dedication to community, safety, and economic security, with absurd propositions.
And so the poor, the homeless, and the dispossessed, instead of pity and empathy, they deserved scorn and outright hate. Unions became bad for workers. Unbridled greed became something to be admired. Regulations preventing predatory practices by business conglomerates became bad for the economy. Too-big-to-fail banks became a necessary aspect of the financial sector. Increasingly onerous and draconian laws and sentencing for common crimes by average citizens became necessary for public safety, while massive looting of the country's coffers became to be seen as just part of normal business.
And after further observation and analysis, I realized that the people behind these lies, misinformation, false narratives, and propaganda were the richest and most powerful people in our society. People who have benefited from the country's infrastructure, from the labor of the workers, from a society ruled by law.
And yet, these, the most blessed, and comfortable people in the entire society, were the ones that found it necessary to invest an extraordinary amount of resources in order to be able to spread lies, misinformation and propaganda so they could manipulate, subjugate and exploit the citizenry.
And frankly I found that extremely offensive. In fact, I think it's pretty fucked up.
And so when I came to understand this outrage, this subversion of decency, I asked myself, "Does the truth have a propagandist?" And to my astonishment I realized that it didn't. I realized that truth and decency, and justice and fairness, and equality under the law, are too proud to engage the services of a propagandist.
After all, she (the truth) says, "Why do I need a propagandist, or a public relations agent, when I am the truth? Should not that be self-evident?"
She's too proud for her own good... When you are dealing with decent people, people who have a sense of duty towards country, towards their fellow citizens, towards the environment (Mother Earth), then the truth does not need her own propagandist, as among decent people her presence is self-evident, right in front of them.
But when you deal with parasitic sociopaths, with megalomaniacs, with sadistic monsters, then you don't only need a propagandist for the truth, but you need to be able to use that propaganda to help raise the ire and emotions of millions and millions of people so it turns into a fearsome and overwhelming show of force capable of forcing these vile despots to back down, as history has shown time and time again that these types of tyrants, these bullies, only understand overwhelming force.
And so if it at times it has felt like a lonely road to travel, I will not relent, I will not vacillate, I will not hesitate to continue to perform my duties as a propagandist for the truth, for decency, for justice, and for equality under the law, for all.
I will do everything in my power to continue reaching out to people everywhere to let them know that the whole goddamned system is rigged, that the austerity being pushed in the U.S., and Greece, and Spain, and Italy, and many other countries is basically a sadistic and brutal game being played by supra-national financial cartels hellbent on subjugating and exploiting the citizenry.
And I will continue to do everything in my power to convince decent, hardworking people that they have it within their power to oppose the imposition of tyranny by these despots, that they can organize with a common goal, with common strategies, with discipline, focus, and a sense of purpose, against these parasitic billionaire sociopaths.
My meditation? I close my eyes and I try to feel and understand the fear, anger, despair of every single person brutalized by these tax-evading criminal billionaires. The dad holding his head in his hands, totally dumbfounded, confused, ashamed, after being abused by banks who are about to throw him and his entire family onto the streets. The tens of thousands of people in Greece, and the U.K., who have totally collapsed under the pressure of this manufactured austerity regime and have resorted to taking their own lives. The kid who just became homeless but is trying to act just fine at school, afraid that any of her classmates may find out. In my meditation, in my prayer, I seek to understand what they feel. And I want that understanding to fuel my visceral desire to somehow make the culpable pay for what they've done.
In their comfort, in their obliviousness to the suffering of millions, which they have caused directly, in their smugness, in their sociopathic and sadistic megalomaniacal beings, there is nothing more I desire, at a very visceral level, than to see the day when the condescending smugness shown in their faces is replaced by utter fear when they realize that their goddamned propaganda is no longer working. Because finally the truth, even if reluctantly, agreed to get her own propagandist(s).
And at that moment, all the suffering and all the brutality to which people have been subjected for the sake of unimaginable enrichment of a few sociopaths will coalesce into a global demand for retribution, for justice, for accountability, and people will be able to refocus, re-calibrate their rage like a laser beam with the force of a thousand suns towards the real culprits.
And if you would also like to be a propagandist for the truth, she now welcomes you with open arms!
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Ray Pensador | Email List | Twitter | Facebook | Social Justice National Ad Campaign
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The current state of affairs. Let's change it!
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