"Do not believe it until it's been officially denied." Claud Cockburn
"Let me control the media, and I will turn any nation into a herd of pigs." Joseph Goebbels
"Those who seek to dominate our behavior first seek to dominate our speech. They seek to obscure meaning. They make war on language." Chris Hedges
It is a commonplace to say that Americans are the most
propagandized people in the world, the most misinformed and dis-informed. We
Pakistanis are not far behind. For example, most, if not all, Pakistanis have
some pet conspiracy theory up their sleeves. The most popular ones are: Yehudi
saazish, CIA, MI6, Mossad, RAW or that generic evil mastermind behind all
mysterious and mystified things, the “foreign hand” (behrooni haath)---the
all-purpose, all-mighty explanation that is so beloved of the bungling Pakistani
ruling elite of all political stripes. I am not really against what is now disparagingly
called “conspiracy thinking”. In fact, the expression “conspiracy theory”
itself is a conspiracy construct, the creation of conspiring vested interests!
It was first used, intentionally and systematically, by the “invisible”
establishment forces (now commonly known as the Deep State) in post-WW2 USA,
mainly to discredit those who refused to toe the official line on the John F. Kennedy
assassination and the related narrative on the Cuban missile crisis. The label
of “conspiracy theorist” is akin to name-calling, a propaganda shaming term
typically used by the privileged and powerful against the powerless with the sole
purpose of discrediting them. But the way it is used nowadays, indiscriminately and
vindictively, it is more of a psychological thought stopper. In a world where
everything and everybody is suspect, especially the official narratives of the
ruling classes everywhere, it is often employed by the mouthpieces of the high
and mighty to slight, contain or control certain dissenting narratives, and to
prevent critical thinking. So, one must be mindful of the pernicious uses of
such terms and instead of knee-jerk reactions, use one’s critical faculties, ask
inconvenient questions and analyze the evidence first.
In this blog, I want to touch upon some aspects of the dark art of propaganda and especially the uses and abuses of language therein.
As a propaganda technique, glittering generalities play a very important role in our current political milieu, both national and global. What is a glittering or glowing generality? This is how Wikipedia defines it:
“SD is a ‘metafix’ that will unite everybody from the profit-minded industrialist and risk minimising subsistence farmer to the equity seeking social worker, the pollution-concerned or wildlife-loving First Worlder, the growth-maximising policy maker, the goal-oriented bureaucrat, and therefore, the vote-counting politician.”
These noble sounding, fix-all words, these magic wands, are all suspect. In our times, they have become like sacred cows, their particularly constructed meanings are constantly guarded by the powerful and nobody can challenge them without suffering some form of retribution. Exhibit: in recent years, the USA has destroyed at least four countries in the Middle East / West Asia with the help of mere three, although very powerful, of these glowing generalities: "democracy", "freedom" and "human rights." To challenge these is to invite the scorn and ridicule of the Western and westernized secular-liberal mobs everywhere. Often, these are like empty vessels into which are poured the interests of the powerful, the oppressors and victimizers. Following fear mongering, glittering generalities are then employed to give the frightened and the now vulnerable a sense of security and superiority.
As elsewhere, this dark art is also practiced, tragicomically, in the mainstream Pakistani media, especially in its electronic form. The aim of these channels is not to inform and enlighten, but to keep the masses perpetually entertained, which often means dumbing them down. These days the shows on the mainstream channels, especially the news and talk shows, serve the same function as the old Pakistani dramas used to do some decades ago, minus the quality, the civility or just plain decency. Everything is staged, with all the paraphernalia of sets, make-up, scripts, rehearsals and all; it’s one big vacuous spectacle with bad performers. Notice how most of them are bad clones of western mainstream media---BBC, CNN, Fox, NBC, ABC--- down to the minute details of dress, stage, mannerisms and music. Oh, the music. The non-stop tasteless music that plays in the background of news and talk shows also has the crucial function of disorienting the viewer. Once disoriented, the audiences’ minds become like blank slates, tabula rasa, upon which anything and everything can be inscribed or, “consent is manufactured” through a combination of denatured language, noxious imagery and disconcerting sounds. It is this "sickness of language" to which the Trappist monk Thomas Merton alerted us long time ago and from which we need to protect ourselves.
Worth reading:
George Orwell, "Politics and the English language"
Thomas Merton, "War and the crisis of language"
In this blog, I want to touch upon some aspects of the dark art of propaganda and especially the uses and abuses of language therein.
In our highly politicized world with its obscene wealth
inequalities and unbridgeable power disparities, language is not, and cannot be,
innocent. In such a world, language often encodes and reproduces wealth
inequalities and unjust power relations. Increasingly, it is the instrument of
choice, the lubricant, for systemic exploitation and violence. Real, physical
violence smoothly follows linguistic violence. The initial injury is done
through the malignant uses of language. In any act of violence, the first
casualty is that of language itself. Violence, especially state or
state-sanctioned violence, requires the distortion and abuse of language first,
so that the minds of the masses can be corrupted and the ensuing violence made
palatable to them. Again, before the physical injury and elimination, the victim is
linguistically attacked and mutilated; before the napalms, cluster bombs and
daisy-cutters are dropped, before the gunship helicopters arrive, and the
mushroom clouds hang above their heads, the victims are systematically
demonized with the devious use of language and toxic images. This has been a
constant in twentieth century conflicts involving the modern West and the rest,
from WW1 trench warfare, to Hiroshima to Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and
Yemen.
Propaganda is part and parcel of the modern social and
political landscape everywhere. Since the early years of the twentieth century
when its potential as a “public relations” exercise was first recognized,
courtesy of pioneers in the field like Edward Bernays who was Sigmund Freud’s
nephew, it has become more and more sophisticated over the years. But its
common or essential techniques have remained the same. One of the early
critical analyses of propaganda techniques was carried out by the Institute
for Propaganda Analysis (IPA). Established in 1937, the IPA lists these common
techniques as follows:
-
Word games (name calling, glittering generalities and euphemisms)
- False connections or associations (transfer and testimonial)
- Special appeals (plain folks, bandwagon and fear)
As a propaganda technique, glittering generalities play a very important role in our current political milieu, both national and global. What is a glittering or glowing generality? This is how Wikipedia defines it:
“A glittering generality (also called glowing generality) is
an emotionally appealing phrase so closely associated with highly valued
concepts and beliefs that it carries conviction without supporting information
or reason. Such highly valued concepts attract general approval and acclaim.
Their appeal is to emotions such as love of country and home, and desire for
peace, freedom, glory, and honor. They ask for approval without examination of
the reason. They are typically used by politicians and propagandists.” (emphasis
added)
As vague words, phrases and expressions with positive
connotations, glittering generalities are what the IPA calls “virtue
words”. Strongly appealing to our
emotional faculties, they disable our critical faculties and make us
susceptible to all kinds of manipulations. Glittering generalities are words
like science, rationality, development, progress, civilization, motherland,
fatherland, democracy, freedom, human rights, sustainable, international
community, civil society, community development, grassroots, empowerment,
poverty alleviation and so on. These are all abstract in nature, meaning
different things to different people and, therefore, amenable to
manipulation.
Let’s take one of these concepts, sustainable
development (SD), to see how it works. Sustainable development as a “buzzword”
is one of those concepts which are widely (ab)-used by all sorts of individuals
and interests, from the ecologically destructive industrialists to slimy politicians,
from NGO and civil society missionaries,
social justice activists, opportunist environmentalists to compromised (lifafa)
journalists, intellectuals, writers and artists. I think nobody has improved
upon Lele’s early critique of the concept. He wrote way back in 1991,
“SD is a ‘metafix’ that will unite everybody from the profit-minded industrialist and risk minimising subsistence farmer to the equity seeking social worker, the pollution-concerned or wildlife-loving First Worlder, the growth-maximising policy maker, the goal-oriented bureaucrat, and therefore, the vote-counting politician.”
These noble sounding, fix-all words, these magic wands, are all suspect. In our times, they have become like sacred cows, their particularly constructed meanings are constantly guarded by the powerful and nobody can challenge them without suffering some form of retribution. Exhibit: in recent years, the USA has destroyed at least four countries in the Middle East / West Asia with the help of mere three, although very powerful, of these glowing generalities: "democracy", "freedom" and "human rights." To challenge these is to invite the scorn and ridicule of the Western and westernized secular-liberal mobs everywhere. Often, these are like empty vessels into which are poured the interests of the powerful, the oppressors and victimizers. Following fear mongering, glittering generalities are then employed to give the frightened and the now vulnerable a sense of security and superiority.
With the fear also comes rage which, in this socially
fractured and chaotic age of political and historical amnesia, is a godsend for
the demagogues of all sorts. For example, nowadays populist politicians
with fascistic tendencies see and understand only too well the pent up anger
and frustration in the masses who are the victims of no-holds-barred casino
capitalism around the world. These mendacious sheep herders exploit this rage
for their own purposes, often by redirecting it onto minorities and
marginalized groups of society, as has happened in the United States under The
Donald, in India under Modi, and in Hungary under Victor Orban, to name just a
few.
Language that hides, confuses and ignores, always
serves some ulterior motives. George Orwell, one of the most profound critics
of linguistic distortion, had good reasons when he advised writers, among other
things, to write clearly and to use idioms and metaphors that help us
visualize, that shows more and tells less. Ambiguity and impersonality in
language use may sound nice and formal but they are often in the service of
power and not speaking truth to it. When a doublespeaking politician uses the passive voice
and says, 'Mistakes were made", then we know that language has been
corrupted and truth has been distorted. We are not told mistakes were made by
whom?, or who made the mistakes? and why? This evasive language hides and obscures
in order to shun responsibility and to avoid culpability. It is language
designed to deceive and injure. It is a communication blocking technique that often
frames the issues in such a way that the audience is readily turned into a bunch of losers!As elsewhere, this dark art is also practiced, tragicomically, in the mainstream Pakistani media, especially in its electronic form. The aim of these channels is not to inform and enlighten, but to keep the masses perpetually entertained, which often means dumbing them down. These days the shows on the mainstream channels, especially the news and talk shows, serve the same function as the old Pakistani dramas used to do some decades ago, minus the quality, the civility or just plain decency. Everything is staged, with all the paraphernalia of sets, make-up, scripts, rehearsals and all; it’s one big vacuous spectacle with bad performers. Notice how most of them are bad clones of western mainstream media---BBC, CNN, Fox, NBC, ABC--- down to the minute details of dress, stage, mannerisms and music. Oh, the music. The non-stop tasteless music that plays in the background of news and talk shows also has the crucial function of disorienting the viewer. Once disoriented, the audiences’ minds become like blank slates, tabula rasa, upon which anything and everything can be inscribed or, “consent is manufactured” through a combination of denatured language, noxious imagery and disconcerting sounds. It is this "sickness of language" to which the Trappist monk Thomas Merton alerted us long time ago and from which we need to protect ourselves.
Worth reading:
George Orwell, "Politics and the English language"
Thomas Merton, "War and the crisis of language"
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