In researching this project, I found that an awful lot has already been written on the subject of propaganda, a form of mind control, thought control, influence… or whatever you prefer to call it. And, despite all the efforts by good intentioned authors to educate the population that it is still in use, and to offer up ways to combat it, it persists to this day. Why? One could argue that it’s more prevalent now than it’s ever been - in spite of (or, because of) the so-called “information age”. What’s especially fascinating to me is that some folks seem to be more or less immune to its power to sway (see the ‘“sigma males” video below). While many, if not most, other people seem to fall “victim” to it, like prey to a predator. How can this be? Hypnosis? Close! In this essay, we’ll define it, explore a few examples of it, and hopefully learn some ways to insulate ourselves from it.
Mind control might seem like too harsh a term to some as it often is compared to brainwashing which certainly connotes a sinister influence. However, I think it’s reasonable to suggest that mind control comes in an array of forms… from gentle persuasion, to influence peddling, and on to deliberate, unwelcome thought manipulation. Everything from gentle parental guidance, on the more innocent side of the spectrum, to advertising (somewhere in the middle), all the way to the other end: Nazi-style propaganda designed to manipulate people into believing in and submitting to authoritarian rule. As you can see, it can be used for the public good, for profit, or to support a nefarious plot to justify evil actions. My focus here is to explore some of the highlights of mind control over the past century in order to illustrate to you that it’s quite an effective and powerful tool for controlling human behavior. Have you ever felt manipulated? By the end of this essay, not only will you realize that yes, you have been… you might even feel a little angry that you were so expertly led to believe something without your consent. Yet, it continues to affect people day in and day out. Especially in the weeks leading up to election time.
For further reading below, just follow the links (in pink):
While various forms of mind control have been around since the beginning of civilization, we’re going to set our focus on Sigmund Freud’s nephew, Edward Bernays, the “father of public relations”. His influence spans many decades, but we’ll keep it simple and concentrate on a couple of his more noteworthy “achievements” here for the sake of brevity. (more can be learned here) In 1928, he wrote a book entitled: Propaganda whose title really needs no explanation. Suffice to say, it’s about manipulating the masses (aka: “mass formation”). You can read more about Mr. Bernays’ accomplishments elsewhere, but one of his more dishonorable “successes” was the campaign to help tobacco companies sell more cigarettes. Realizing the negative connotations with the word “propaganda”, the phrase, “public relations” began to be used in its place. One of the main themes in my essay is to make the point that they’re the same thing.
Here’s a quote from Bernays’ book: The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, and our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of…. It is they who pull the wires that control the public mind.
While there are many, many examples of “public relations” (thought manipulation) throughout history, one of the most egregious ones began in the 1920s when Joseph Goebbels, who purportedly studied the writing of Edward Bernays, became Adolph Hitler’s propaganda minister helping to promote the Nazi party ultimately resulting in Hitler’s rise to power. Goebbels is reported to have said, “If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself.” Despite being Jewish born, Goebbels became an anti-semite. The rest, as they say, is history.
Edward Bernays has this to say about that episode in history: “They were using my books as the basis for a destructive campaign against the Jews of Germany. This shocked me, but I knew any human activity can be used for social purposes or misused for antisocial ones.”
One of the more glaring examples, in recent history, is the campaign to sell the public on an experimental gene therapy drug purportedly for the prevention of COVID. We were told, over and over, that in order to stop the spread, we should get the shot because it was “safe and effective”. Only to learn later that it was neither. Yet, that blatant propaganda persists to this day. Why? Follow the money. We’re talking trillions of dollars worth of influence peddling. Here are some of the myths we were told: LINK to my “10 myths…” article.
By now, hopefully, you’re beginning to see that there are a variety of ways to persuade people - all falling under the heading of influence, but not all necessarily good. Arguably, the most effective way, of our generation (boomers and later), is television. The following video presents, in an unambiguous way, just how powerful that influence can be and some of the “tricks” that influencers, advertisers and media alike, use in order to persuade you to feel a certain way in an effort to lead you to believe whatever it is they’re intending to convince you of. Not necessarily with your approval. My point is simple: beware of influencers as they work in a variety of ways. Be skeptical and whenever you feel like you’re being manipulated, always ask, “Who really benefits from this information? Who profits?” Watch and see:
I hope, one day, to have a more comprehensive inoculation “kit” that I can make available to my valued followers so that we can arm ourselves against this propaganda, but for now, I’m hoping that Carl Sagan’s “Baloney Detection Kit” will suffice until then... Cheers!
True story:
Just added: How to detect “psyops”:
About “Sigma Males”…
For those who are interested in alternative (and more trustworthy) sources of information on current events, I’ve prepared a list of folks, in no particular order, who I’ve come to (mostly) trust over the past several years. At least, I trust them more than the mainstream media outlets. Many of these folks are either Democrats or former Democrats who have become disillusioned with the party:
Bret Weinstein (Darkhorse podcast)
Heather Heying (Darkhorse podcast)
As usual, the best defense against propaganda is Critical Thinking.
Unfortunately, that's one thing our school system has avoided 'like the plague'.
More unfortunately, like almost everything else, the sooner in life we learn how to do it, the easier it gets. After a certain point, it's not learnable.
Good (that is, effective, whether for good ends or evil) propaganda is always dressed in Sunday clothes, with the stamp of 'experts' (usually unnamed), and the aura of consensus.