From John Rogers at Kung Fu Monkey:
Ironically, any halfway decent screenwriter/director pair could have made that mini-series [The Path to 9/11] and made Clinton look like an ass without inventing anything at all -- but that would have required a talent for subtlety evident in a level of professionalism that would make writing propoganda ... distasteful.
From, ahem, Hermann Goering [G.M. Gilbert: Nuremberg Diary, 1947; pp. 278-279]
Why, of course, the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. 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 pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.
From Keith Olbermann (via Poor Man):
salamaat,
ReplyDeletethat second quote depresses me K.
Peace to you; and may our children never experience the horrors of war.
I generally don't comment much here on American politics--I don't live there and there are literally a million people (more qualified than me) already doing lots of talking about it in the blogosphere (and elsewhere).
ReplyDeleteThe first quote brings up the specter of propaganda currently at work in the US. The Goering quote (especially at the end) is simply a 'mirror' (intentionally tinted with sarcastic irony). Olbermann provides some concrete examples.
I've been to the US several times and, with no exceptions have been met with nothing but friendliness and good cheer (well, some of the airport security staff...). If I criticize the US, it's in the spirit of responsible friendship (and Canadians, whatever wingnutia says, are the best friends Americans have). (Bleh, that sounds too damned 'high and mighty'...).