OpEdNews - Page 3 of Article: Tell your children, a paradigm of dope.

Simply providing misinformation is not enough to make real propaganda. The emotions have to be manipulated as well. Reefer Madness is clearly made to manipulate emotions. One need only look back at the foreword to see this. It is clear that phrases such as "a violent narcotic-an unspeakable scourge-The Real Public Enemy Number One!" contain an emotional charge. The very idea of implying rape was incredibly shocking for the time. I can only imagine the murder of absolute innocence carried a rather robust emotional sting as well. Showing Mae putting on her stockings was also over the top for the tender sensibilities of the time. The very idea of putting Jimmy in Blanche's bed had to have sent more than one person to the ground in an attack of the "vapors". For its time, it was truly emotional dynamite.

The juxtaposition of the "innocence" of youth and the "evil" of the pushers is used to outrage. Because of this, and so many other emotional elements built into it, Reefer Madness is very clearly a piece of propaganda. There is death, sex, rape, murder, and suicide. Clearly, all of these things were specifically designed to outrage, offend, and otherwise emotionally manipulate the "decent" people who watched it at the time it was originally produced.

In other words, it was clearly made to get its target audience to join the movement to marijuana prohibition. While there is no way to know since I existed as dormant cells within my parents' genitalia at the time it was originally released, I am quite sure that those who smoked weed at the time found it as amusing as those millions who came afterward. Did they also find it as alarming?

We Must Remain Vigilant

Propaganda is a very complex issue, and it employs a myriad of methodology to do its work. Some is in your face, and very easy to see. Some is much more subtle, and can get missed in the shuffle. It is our duty as citizens to keep our eyes and ears open. We have shown that we are too willing to shirk this duty...usually because there might be some unpleasantness associated with taking action.

This is part of the problem that now faces our country. For far too long, far too many people bought into the propaganda machine. So blinded were many, in fact, they clearly ignored outright lies and all evidence that contradicted the propaganda being shot at us from all directions. Now we are reaping the whirlwind for shirking our civic duty by allowing ourselves to be the victims of the Great American Propaganda Machine.

We must remain vigilant. Those in power who have been driving the juggernaut of propaganda are still in their respective offices. Swill O'Really and Faux Snewz are still on the air. Therefore, you can be sure that the propaganda machine is still running. It may not be hitting on all cylinders, but a V-8 engine will remain running when it's only hitting on four.

Our constitutional freedoms are at stake. One need only look at the rise of the (un)Patriot(ic) Act and the Military Commissions act to know those currently in power have no respect for either the constitution or our freedoms granted in it. If we don't keep our eyes and ears open, the damage that has been dealt to the constitution will only get worse. If that happens, the next freedom to be lost may be yours, or yours OR YOURS!

Blessed be!
Pappy

(1)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reefer_Madness
(2)http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/propaganda

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