Propaganda, Propaganda, Propaganda

“Yes, you all heard me loud and clear. The ST regularly forwards propaganda and very little else. Now if they are not happy. I am sure they can always ask their legal department to look into this matter. And maybe we will just let the courts decide whether I am right or them – but I have to stand by what I said.

As you can only believe the ST is an independent and objective source of news, IF it is not enmeshed with the interest of the party political hegemony in Singapore. What is often elided in this narrative between party political hegemony and the apparatus of mass assimilation is how the latter is premised solely on the idea of perpetuating the status quo ante – this it tries to do so by confecting the idea that the press is somehow a nation building platform. But that in itself also implies that such a entity would have every right to embellish, selectively report and to present facts in such a way where it ALWAYS favors the ruling party.

I think when we talk about Propaganda. We need to recognize this is a solvent that is extremely corrosive. It also happens to be very insidious. That is why when people ask me why I don’t read the Strait Times – I just tell them that just as I don’t regularly consume small doses of Potassium Cyanide. I make it a point to desist reading the ST as I value my brain above all else – you all need to understand. My brain is a temple of sorts. Once I can’t trust it 100%. Then I might as well pack up the whole show and my fear is that if I keep on consuming a diet of propaganda without really bothering to interogate it further. Then at some point this may even impair my ability to string an accurate judgement of events along with how I should stand concerning the objects that I regularly take an interest in. That if you must know is how propaganda works – it’s really like finger nails growing or a slow debilitating illness that chips away at your well being - you don’t realize it’s too long till it begins to catch and trip you up. Wonder no more why increasingly we are beginning to see a new generation of political and business leaders who seem to use all the right words to say very little except what has already been said once upon a time. These people have nothing original, worthy or even imaginative to forward/ All they are really doing to repeating what was once said somewhere - it’s really a very slow and gradual process like slow acting poison. And it’s something that I am always mindful of.

Neither do I believe that journalist are necessarily evil people either. I think what must be factored into this whole equation of understanding a nation building press is that it comes along with many set pieces and rationales that actually feed into the whole idea of purpose, goals and roles for anyone who works in such an organization – what one needs to appreciate is it’s a slow process of chelating, where the individual first joins an organization with a set of preconceived ideas. But as time goes by, those ideas can only morph and assume a form where even propaganda it’self is seen as social acceptable and normal – but my point is this sort of transition is an acquired taste. The fact that journalist who work in such an organization may well be palpably socially adept, emotionally balanced and even have the same set of goals as you and me is not in question.

What is in question is how such a rationale of running the day to day operations of a nation building is often seen these days as so normal that there are actually some people out there who would like every blogger in blogoland to assume this model of delivering news – and that is a very big problem.

A very big problem indeed.

Darkness 2012″

Captured recently somewhere in the corridors of the Imperium just off Liberation Square in the capital city of the Brotherhood, Primus Aldentes Prime, intercepted by Minerva class deep space Star cruiser KDD Alabama, KDD San Francisco and signal vessel KDD Rizal, somewhere in the Bilbao Azimuth Phi System just off the Carphatian Asteroid Belt. Please note the Brotherhood is currently on FULL MEASURED RESPONSE mode - ultra silent, no electronic signature mode – The Interspacing Mercantile Guild.

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Dotty: Tell me, if you don’t read the ST. Then how do you stay connected to local events and happenings?

Darkness: Missy Dotty, I have absolutely no problems with staying connected to local events and happenings. Absolutely no problem at all……Do you want me to show you?

Dotty: Yes, I would like that very much Darkness.