The crazy things I like to read about, Pt. 2
One way to activate the religious impulse is through the calculated use of intimidation and fear. The mechanism is familiar enough and needs little elaboration. A generalized adversary is posited -Satan, for example, the Antichrist, Communism, Terrorists. This adversary is then made to appear more and more pervasive, more and more monstrous in its proportions, more and more threatening to all that one holds dear -the family, the quality of life, the homeland. Having generated sufficient panic, one needs only offer oneself or one's own institution as a bulwark, a rampart, a refuge, a haven of safety. The so-called "lessons of history" should have taught us by now to see through such devices. And yet their continued efficacy is demonstrated by even a casual glance at today's world. We live in a world of labels and slogans, most of which denote either a supposed dire adversary or a supposed bastion of salvation from it.
At the same time, there are more subtle stratagems. Politicians, for example, will often make appeals to reason or common sense -or what often purports to be reason or common sense. They will also, as everyone knows, be profligate in making promises. Such promises are pitched specifically to people's expectations and needs, and often have little or no likelihood of fulfillment. But by making such a promise, one is implicitly acknowledging these expectations and needs. And this recognition, frequently enough, is in itself sufficient. The promise need not necessarily be kept. Indeed, it is generally accepted as liable to breakage, and one will not usually be called to account for breaking it. The recognition of needs and expectations which it implies is deemed an adequate token of good intent. So disillusioned have we become that a mere token of good intent will not only appease us, but furnish us with a repository of trust.
It is a truism today that modern politics relies heavily on the media. What this means in practice is that modern politics depends on its ability to use the media's potential for advertising. During the last half a century, it has become increasingly apparent that the acquisition of trust is very much a matter of promotion, publicity, and public relations. Politics, policies and politicians are now presented in the same fashion as commodities. In other words, they must be "sold." To this end, all the techniques of advertising are skillfully deployed, including numerous techniques of psychological manipulation.
- excerpted from The Messianic Legacy, by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln
At the same time, there are more subtle stratagems. Politicians, for example, will often make appeals to reason or common sense -or what often purports to be reason or common sense. They will also, as everyone knows, be profligate in making promises. Such promises are pitched specifically to people's expectations and needs, and often have little or no likelihood of fulfillment. But by making such a promise, one is implicitly acknowledging these expectations and needs. And this recognition, frequently enough, is in itself sufficient. The promise need not necessarily be kept. Indeed, it is generally accepted as liable to breakage, and one will not usually be called to account for breaking it. The recognition of needs and expectations which it implies is deemed an adequate token of good intent. So disillusioned have we become that a mere token of good intent will not only appease us, but furnish us with a repository of trust.
It is a truism today that modern politics relies heavily on the media. What this means in practice is that modern politics depends on its ability to use the media's potential for advertising. During the last half a century, it has become increasingly apparent that the acquisition of trust is very much a matter of promotion, publicity, and public relations. Politics, policies and politicians are now presented in the same fashion as commodities. In other words, they must be "sold." To this end, all the techniques of advertising are skillfully deployed, including numerous techniques of psychological manipulation.
- excerpted from The Messianic Legacy, by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln
posted by nicholas reed at 1:04 AM
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