Thinking about maybe cleaning this up and posting it here.
I wanted to highlight something in particular: propaganda is about social status. It's the government telling you what ideas are high status. Status, of course, has absolutely nothing to do with fact. Indeed being factual is a social status inhibitor. Nobody cares if the ideas are true (unless it's your job and you can't do your job with the false ideas). Exactly the same way Americans drive cars because USG says cars are high status, whereas Europeans don't because Europe doesn't, subjects say they believe the things they're told to believe.
Even American "dissent" is merely another way of sucking up to the government, because USG says "thinking for yourself" is high status. Being "free" means disagreeing with the government sometimes. Not meaningfully or for long, but you're supposed to do it ritually or symbolically sometimes. You're supposed to be a windsock but you're not supposed to look like a windsock because it's embarrassingly infantile for everyone involved.
I have fully concluded the car thing is dominated by 8. Whenever a non-American points out anything deprecating about cars, the American helpfully reminds us (in that inimitably rude, inarticulate American way) that USG in fact says cars are high status and you're not allowed to say mean things to them.
>. Even American "dissent" is merely another way of sucking up to the government, because USG says "thinking for yourself" is high status.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't work too well for ol' Al Jones though huh? Heheh.
"Think for yourself and come to the same (high status) conclusion".
High status dissent would be something along the lines of "We have the 2nd amendment but a FREE THINKER can see that NO ONE needs an Assault-Rifle-Model-15".
If you clean the post up and post it I will comment.
Regarding Larrys question - I think the answer is simple.
China is bad because something something our enemy something communists something something there are poor people.
My brother was arguing with me the other day "CHINA IS A SHIT HOLE EVERYONE I SPOKE TO FROM THERE WANTS TO COME HERE CAUSE ITS SHIT" he says.
But like 90% of their population lives in family owned homes. So.. things aren't directly comparable.
I'm starting to think that the "muh russia muh china shithole" meme is mostly based around the fact that the western governments are willing to constantly print money to build new things.
Hmm. How does China handle corruption compared to the US? Well, they're capable of building a massive high speed rail network, and the US isn't. So, why do the Chinese want to move to the west, big big mystery. Added mystery : they can afford to buy expensive overpriced western properties with cash. Mysteries upon mysteries...