Optional Illusions: Framing or Propaganda

[coberst]

Optional Illusions: Framing or Propaganda

It seems to me that there are three possible topics for discussion: people, things, or ideas. I prefer to talk about ideas but there is a big problem about this and that happens when ideas encroach upon emotional issues that are political or religious.

When ideas generate political or religious considerations, discussion becomes flame war without rational substance. I would like to talk about the difference (an optional illusion) between propaganda and framing without exciting a flame war.

The unfortunate truth is that there is only a degree of difference between framing and propaganda. The degree of difference is a matter of sophistication of the information cloud that descends over the citizens. The purpose of framing and of propaganda is to manipulate the population. Ideology is the source of both framing and propaganda.

Every citizen is responsible for him or herself as to the weight any information is given in our effort to sort out ‘truth’. We are all influenced greatly by our ideologies and we are all products of our ideologies.

While we are all influenced by ideology we need not be blindly influenced by our ideologies. I think blind is a good metaphor. ‘Knowing is seeing’ and ‘understanding is grasping’ are both good metaphors to keep in mind regarding this matter.

We are all victims of propaganda/framing. It is like a cloud hovering over the land. It is pervasive and professionally created to snare all of us to one degree or another. The more we understand the less this propaganda/framing determines our judgment.

It is my opinion that those who are blind to this matter are certain to be bigger victims of this optional illusion than those who understand at least some fundamental aspects of reality.