The Programming of America, Pt 6- Cult of Personality

As I have detailed throughout this series, the media and the government discourage critical thinking and try to incite emotional reflexes, suppressing critical thinking. This is true from advertising to news to music to movies and TV to political campaigns.

Where political campaigns are concerned, ideas and issues are discouraged. Instead, you are expected to focus on a name. There is a story, a legend, an emotional response created to accompany the name, the face which is packaged and sold to you like toothpaste. “Want whiter teeth and fresher breath? Vote for Joe/Jane Doe!!” It really is no different.

You are sold the idea of fear. Then a candidate promises to keep you “safe”. The threat does not have to be real, only your perception of a threat has to be real. If they keep repeating it, they condition an emotional response in the average person. If the narrative is questioned, no need to respond using facts, just accuse your questioner of “treason”, being “anti-American”, an agent of a foreign government (the outsider/invader), a “coward”, “weak”. Call them “inexperienced” and “naive”. Use blame and state or merely insinuate that they or some cohort they belong to are the reason for every problem the country has. In all cases, use emotion to condition a negative response to any opponent or questioner of the narrative.

The next time you watch a political debate, watch these dynamics in action. When you’re aware of it, the entire picture changes in your perception.