By Mark Taliano
Hanna Arendt describes a peculiar dynamic of mob mentality in her classic The Origins Of Totalitarianism that resonates with the world today.
‘Shock & Awe’ in Iraq, circa a decade ago. Where are those ‘weapons of mass destruction’ now?
She explains that “one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire their leaders for their superior tactical cleverness.”
This seemingly cyclical assumption is enslaving us today, and our inability to extract ourselves from its oppressive chains, and desert out “leaders”, is enabling some of the most heinous crimes committed by humanity.
Even worse, the act of manufacturing and perpetuating lies is now being entrenched in legislation. Susanne Posel explains in “How the NDAA Allows US Government To Use Propaganda Against Americans” : “ The US government has unbound the legal regulations against using propaganda against foreign audiences and American citizens. The intention is to sway public opinion by using television, radio, newspapers, and social media targeting the American and foreign people in controlled psy-ops.”
The seamless interface between Canadian and American media, already reinforced by concentrated media ownership, now further empowers corporate media to undemocratically advance agendas that do not align with the public interest.
This, then reinforces the necessity to question corporate media narratives, especially in matters that may impact national and international policy initiatives.
The dangers inherent in blind acceptance of corporate media narratives are illustrated by the catastrophic and on-going tragedy of the illegal invasion of Iraq.
Prior to the illegal invasion of Iraq, for example, the lie that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction was repeated regularly, and eventually believed by many, despite evidence to the contrary.
Interestingly, a study by two non-profit journalism groups claims that Bush and his aides made 935 false statements in the run-up to the war in Iraq.
The gullibility of the masses eventually devolved into apathetic cynicism as the truth eventually emerged and the Big Lie was exposed. There were no weapons of mass destruction.
The lies and deceptions were a pretext for an invasion that has so far massacred about one million “excess” people, and the carnage continues to this day.
Apparently, the masses are still caught up in the “gullible then cynical cycle” though, because the leaders have not been deserted, and the wars are continuing.
Leaders in this sense are not only the war-mongering politicians who rule through deception, but also their agencies, foremost being corporate media. Nevertheless, the “official narratives” are still believed, despite the shameless pervasiveness of lies and deceptions
The vice-like grip of fictional narratives are also enabled by the omission, erasure or re-creation of historical context.
For example, the masses are more apt to believe the “western” narrative of events in Ukraine if they don’t already understand the historical context coups and regime changes as regularly practiced by the U.S empire to illegally impose its will throughout the world.
The empire has installed hideous proxy regimes throughout the world for decades, so that it can control and enslave peoples and economies, even as it hides its barbarism beneath the false banners of “freedom” and “democracy”.
Beneath the fiction is a military strategy of “divide and ruin” which destroys countries globally. Currently, for example, the US and its proxies are overtly destroying Iraq, Syria, and Libya. Additionally, they are internally poisoning Honduras, not only through its orchestration the illegal 2009 coup, but also with its continued support for subsequent criminal dictatorships.
Given this history, why would people believe the official narrative about the Ukraine? Only the cycle of gullibility followed by cynicism can explain it. The very credible narrative that an illegal, western orchestrated coup installed a neo-nazi infiltrated regime that is dividing and ruining Ukraine is rejected despite historical context and alternate media narratives. Once the truth emerges and is widely accepted, however, the masses will once again take refuge in cynicism, and the cycle will repeats itself ad nauseum.
This toxic dynamic reinforces the importance of questioning official narratives, now more than ever, for the sake of justice and humanity. The search for truth, and the refusal to blindly accept official narratives, will help us to discover the “news behind the news” and the “money behind the lies” as first steps in paying respect and tribute to victims, at home and abroad.
Mark Taliano is a Niagara, Ontario resident and regular contributor of news and analysis to Niagara At Large.
(Niagara At Large invites you to join in the conversation by sharing your views on the content of this post below. For reasons of transparency and promoting civil dialogue, NAL only posts comments from individuals who share their first and last name with their views.)
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“Operation Iraqi Freedom” – The biggest joke since Monty Python’s killer joke!
Thank heaven we didn’t go the first time but with Harper at the helm who knows what might happen. I suggest he enlists & sends his son first if he sends anyone. That might make him reconsider.
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Way to go, Mark. And many thanks for posting this piece, Doug. Needs to be said.
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I am seventy eight closing in on seventy nine and during my lifetime I had respect for ONLY ONE “REPUBLICAN” President…….. that being Dwight Eisenhower whose warnings were completely ignored by both “CORPORATE PARTIES” which confirms what Ralph Nader once said it matters NOT which party you vote for,DEMOCRAT or REPUBLICAN, They are both CORPORATE PARTIES and they will adhere to whatever the CORPORATE ESTABLISHMENT wants. The war in Iraq was a game to Bush, Chaney, Rumsfeld and Blair and the death of so many was to them Collateral Damage….IT STILL GOES ON TO THIS DAY,,,DEATH AND DESTRUCTION and the world looks on to…. the Ukraine, to Iraq, to Syria, to Honduras, to Venezuela, and to a host of other countries mired in deceit, lies and brothers killing brothers where A Creed of Greed and Entitlement rules …A very devastating commentary to the 21st century and to the “Book of Revelations”.
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The only weapons of mass destruction continue to be the massive indoctrination of human minds to carry out hate-incited deeds of destruction. To combat this epidemic, conventional warfare is of very little use anymore, and the fight is now everywhere, because we’ve invited them in, bags and baggage. Ideally, it’s always better to confront the enemy on his home turf, where the mess can be left. But in this worldwide conflict, there is no order or rationale, as terrorism and organized sabotage is the norm. After 9-11, a catastrophic day wrought with conspiracy theories, it’s a no-holds-barred free-for-all. New example – What ever became of the missing Malaysian jetliner?? It can’t just disappear in this day and age. Probably it becomes the next projectile in a terrorist target run. There are no rules of engagement or disengagement, but so-called Free World interests and values have to be defended. To ignore it is to give in, because “it” is not going away. There just have to be better ways to promote education and real life values other than by “aggression” or acting like “the heavy”. This is the main psychological mistake being made by the U.S. as the world’s current Number 1 superpower. Everyone wants to take a shot at them, and they keep chipping away, with acts of war and economic stress and attrition. I’d rather try to support them, in most things, because if they go down, we go down. I don’t think the answer is as simple as the spiteful and juvenile suggestion of “getting PM Harper to enlist and send his son in first”. Neither is it prudent for us to point the finger at a noble effort by a country whose families lost a lot and ridicule them for being wrong. Good will always will over evil, but it always comes at a cost.
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When the World War 2, was over the Western powers kept the police and other law enforcement officials in control, we did the same with Japan, The George W. Bush government sent Ambassador Bremer to Iraq , his orders where dismantle the police and army ASAP, what happened next the ammunition dumps were all raided by thieves and spread to Al-Queda and others, the result American and British were being killed by those very weapons. The President was clueless that there are all kinds of Muslims and sects , like Catholics and Protestants in the west, who did not get along with each other, the Muslims had the same dislike of infidels.or non believers. Now that whole region is in one hell of a mess.We will see a huge killing of peoples in that area , because of a stupid foreign policy, enacted by a greedy and corrupt government , the whole world at the United Nations was lied too. Colin Powell, split after he found out that he was used as a patsy by the Bush Administration.
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