How to Win a Propaganda War

We are in the midst of a propaganda war in this country where misinformation abounds and credibility is being put to the test. We are all combatants in this war and our brains are both the weapons we fight with and the targets we must defend from attack.

Common sense, back when it existed in meaningful quantities, gave us the simple axiom, “Garbage in, garbage out.” This suggests that good things in, will result in good outcomes.

Superior education, research and technique result in superior products. Putting a man on the moon began with an inspiring goal that was followed by gathering accurate data, understanding it, analyzing it and building on it. Many would call this the American way.

Conspiracy theories are called conspiracy theories because they are based on—well they are not based on anything. They are baseless. In the past, conspiracy theories existed only in the world of cranks. Intelligent people looked down on both the theories and the cranks, but fortunately, there were no enough of either to threaten the rest of us.

Today, we are living at a time where more and more people, especially people in powerful positions—men and women in the Senate and Congress, governors, state and local leaders are looking at nonsense and concluding that if it works for them, it’s okay. The biggest piece of nonsense being floated is that the recent election was corrupted by election officials, fixed to favor Democrats, and must be overturned. Mind you, they don’t necessarily believe the nonsense. In many cases, they don’t. They are simply evaluating nonsense in terms of how it works for them. They are even willing to look like cranks themselves, if there is something to be gained for them personally.

These leaders are playing into the hands of people who would like to see our government fall because if government falls, democracy falls. Thus far, too many Republicans have refused to stand up to these conspiracist.

Our country has always been able to deal with a small minority of cranks who were out of touch with reality. It cannot deal with a sizable number of leaders unwilling to stand up to them.

Republicans don’t have to do much. They have to simply admit, publicly and en masse that the last election was fair, that Trump lost, and that trying to overturn a free election is the most un-American thing any individual, especially a president can do.

They have to use their brains to fight, not surrender their brains to fear—especially the fear that Trump will somehow punish them for doing the right thing.

Again, our brains are the only weapon we have against ridiculous propaganda, and they are the only things we must protect when they are being attacked. Propaganda is the enemy of democracy. Accepting and promoting propaganda is no different than working with the enemy in a hot or cold war. It is treasonous.