America 's methods of mind control or better put, manufacturing consent through efficient and careful use of media, must be the envy of every tyrannical dictator ruling the most oppressive regimes in the world.
Edward Bernays [1], regarded by many as "father of public relations" and as a member of the Committee on Public Information (CPI or Creel Committee) who helped U.S. President Woodrow Wilson organize publicity on behalf of U.S. objectives during World War I, once said "If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, it is possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing it." He called this scientific technique of opinion molding the "engineering of consent".
Shaping of one's attitude, beliefs, and personality without that person's knowledge or consent works by gradually exerting increasing control through a variety of techniques which includes repetition and herding. The first one is relatively easy to detect. For example, pick any news story about the current Iranian president and you'll quickly note that he is in most instances introduced as " Iran's hard-line president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad"[2]. Has anyone ever heard of Mr. Bush being described as America's 'preemptive strike' president?
Another example is the emphasis on and blaming most acts of terror around the world as being committed by "Islamic Fundamentalists"[3] or "Islamic Radicals"[4]. As if Moslems have secured legal patents on use of fundamentalism and radicalism.
Control by herding works by diverting attention of the target audience or even honest news reporters from an event considered "damaging", to a diversionary one that is considered less damaging or even helpful. It is called control by herding because those being controlled are not being forced to do what they do. In fact, most don't even realize they're being controlled at all and ridicule others who may happen to recognize it, as conspiracy theorists. It is usually done by creating a pre-arranged event to coincide with one that may be perceived as damaging. The catastrophic ongoing Iraqi fiasco is a perfect example. Of course there are times that a pre-arranged event is not executed according to the plan, as was with the botched case of presenting evidence [5] that Iran was behind the killing of Americans in Iraq.
There has been countless number of such staged events in the last six years which many believe [6] began with the attacks broadcasted live on billions of TV screens around the world on 9/11/2001. That event alone conveniently served as the emotional smokescreen allowing the Bush administration to rush the pre-written, oxymoronic USA Patriot Act I [7] through a visibly shaken Congress thus bypassing any debate or close examination of that ghastly and constitutionally challengeable legislation by any members of Congress or their constituents—the American public. It also ushered in the new era of "you're either with us or with the terrorists" [8] paving the way for implementing again a pre-written plan [9] for effective control of the world's energy resources.
Since the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991, absence of a real threat has been the greatest fear of every U.S. government administration. The first Bush regime desperately looked for a new enemy first portrayed in Manuel Noriega, the Panamanian tyrant formerly on CIA payroll, and then once ally Saddam Hussein as threats to world peace. Today with the American warships positioned in the Persian Gulf its Iran's Ahmadinejad and the no-good mullahs. Meanwhile, an endless "war on terror" continues against unnamed "terrorists" in Iraq and Afghanistan.
With an immense military budget exceeding $600 billion, war appears to be the best business for the big corporations and the thousands of private defense contractors, but bad for a public that must bear those hefty costs yet remained convinced and compliant through the best methods of mind control money can buy.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays
[2] http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14595681/
[3] http://islamic-fundamentalism.info/
[4] http://www.washtimes.com/national/20051007-120157-2959r.htm
[5] http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=36547
[6] http://www.wanttoknow.info/050908insidejob911
[7] http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html
[8] http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html
