Ministry of Truth?

[Dill]

(05-12-2022, 11:04 PM)StrictlyBiz Wrote: I've been sold the 'this is the worst thing, the world is going to end' propaganda for decades now. I used to buy into it. And believe it of not, from both sides of the political aisle as my 'political pendulum' as I call it, swung in my youth before finally settling in the center. 

Im a child of the 80s, so I grew up fearing the Russians and being petrified that they would nuke us at a moments notice. It was irrational. So I tend to not overreact to Russian fear mongering. That's not to say that they aren't political adversaries and that they aren't actively engaged in trying to influence our politics. But if you think we aren't reciprocating just as strongly, you're naive. In the end it's political gamesmanship and it's always been there. 

Im not discounting the power of the internet and it's ability to amplify these efforts, but I still don't see it as a grave threat. I've been down this road before, and it sucked. 

I appreciate the response, Biz. 

Part I. You are taking what I call a "seasonal" view of politics here. Politics has no effect on the seasons, and "both sides" pretty much play the same game. Winter will come, and then it will turn into spring, and eventually winter will come again, regardless of whom we vote for. Cyclical no matter what,

I grew up in the '50s and '60s.  I remember the Cuban missile crisis, which was a real crisis, with the world on the edge of nuclear holocaust. A NUCLEAR winter, not a metaphorical one. No spring after that one. Not equivalent to a claim that world Muslims plan to undermine us with Sharia.

And yet, I didn't grow up "feeling petrified" (though I confess to some heightened anxiety during Reagan’s first term) or thinking that fear of nuclear holocaust was "irrational." Rather I understood that diplomacy within a larger foreign policy framework was holding that catastrophe at bay. That was back when "both sides"--Dems and Repubs, U.S. and USSR--recognized the threat and worked daily to avert it, though mostly out of sight. No reasonable person thought, or said, the Russkies would “nuke us at a moment’s notice.” If I ever heard that, it was only from the far right, which was fringe back then, not mainstream, not in the White House directing or mostly un-directing national policy, as it was from 2017-20, and very well could be again.

I am still very happy that back then, the people in charge of preventing a planetary disaster were not thinking "well, political gamesmanship has always been there. The republic will survive, regardless." That it did is no argument it would have anyway.

Those who created that foreign policy could remember a time in the ‘30s when Americans ignored the rise of authoritarian states. They'd been down that road and it sucked. For every fascist leader extolling dominance and new imperium, you could find a Communist saying Capitalism was doomed. Many Americans saw little difference—until Dec. 7, ’41 sorted it out for them.  Our Republic survived with a mere 400,000 dead; other Republics did not (including Austria). 60-100 million dead world wide; cities in ruin from Antwerp to Moscow. And here we are again—Hungary, Turkey, the Philippines, China, NK; India leaning authoritarian, a significant mass of U.S. voters still “undecided” (“why am I supposed to hate Putin? Does he kill dogs?) and Russia invading Ukraine.

Until one sees the foregoing as a great threat, foreign disinformation working with homegrown will be difficult to take seriously. The right to disinform will seem more sacrosanct. (more about that in part III, upcoming.)