Just read an article about false and manipulated memories on Slate.
The findings were pretty surprising, but the IMPLICATIONS are downright scary. It's pratctially a Blueprint for how the RW Media (which is to say, ALL of the media) operate.
And the WORST offender, BY FAR, is Glenn Beck and revisionist historical rants. I think this lays out why we cannot risk letting Glenn Beck re-wrtie history. He's dangerous, and so is Fox, and so is the Right-Wing, Conservtaive bias that infects practically EVERY level of the media to varying degrees. And this article does a great job of showing why.
The experiment itself isn't particularly disturbing--Slate rigged the results by making all of their phony images "essentially true," as they put it. They only fessed up to this on four of the five, but the last one--Obama's non-existent handshake with Ahmadinijad--can fairly be put in the same category, as Obama said, for a few years, he wanted a more diplomatic, less militaristic approach to dealing with Iran (in practice, he's been pretty much more of the same, but people remember the rhetoric).
ReplyDeleteThe Slate results are more like what you get with movie-watchers who remember seeing Gweneth Paltrow's head in the box at the end of SE7EN (there isn't a single such shot in the movie), or remember THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE as a bloodbath (there's barely any onscreen bloodshed in the movie).
A real experiment would depart widely from reality. Use scenarios that are the direct opposite of the truth. There are more examples of that (provided by the political right) than you can shake a stick at. The manipulation of reality by the right is much more insidious--and effective--than this.
Beck is only one of the most visible spokesmen for historical revisionism. It has been a cottage industry on the right for a few decades, now, producing a vast amount of literature--the disgraceful work of the Texas state school board in "revising" that state's curriculum standards is a veritable compendium of this.
Classic,
ReplyDeleteI also wonder how much EGO is involved - people don't want to admit that they might have missed something important, or that they're misinforemd. Me? I couldn't care less to find out someone knows something I don't. It doesn't bothe rme in the slightest. (I visit your blog, after all!) And I actually saw that Obama/Amadeenajad photo out of context and immediately thought, "Wow, that's a d pretty ecent photshop job!" I KNEW that was bogus. And I also would have thought something was up with the Hillary-Rev. Wright ad. Lieberman's vote? Shoot, I'd have had no problem admitting that I had no IDEA how any one, individual Senator voted at teh time. Crazy things happen and that was not exactly something I was keeping careful track of.
These are just examples, but I'm forced to wonder if these perticipants REALLY remembered these thigns (whatever THAT means!) or just wanted to appear intellgient, so they convinced themselves they remembered them and ended up accomplishing the exact opposite! LOL
I am optimistic that given enough time, Glenn Beck will onyl exposed the right's fraudulent revisionism for the wing-nut foolishness that it is. Let's face it, the more people hear him speak, the more they realize what a kook he is. Not exactly the knid of guy that you want involved with any kind of long-term, public yet insidious plan. Know what I mean? The public's association of historical revisionism with Beck will only hurt the effort, in the LONG run. In the Short run? Like in Texas? Yeah... There will be some damage, and some battles lost. But it takes HARD WORK to maintain a lie, and very little effort to keep the truth alive. Because the truth is self maintaining, and the evidence of the truth will always be there for all to see. A LIE can be exhausting to maintain for any long period of time. The truth of history survived Nazi Germany and Communist Russia and Islamist Iran and coutless Wars, etc... it will certainly outlive a few whack-jobs in Texas.
In the meantime though? Like I said... SCARY STUFF. (And anyone who thinks they sound well-informed when quoting Glenn Beck scares the hell out of me!)
Thanks for commenting.
The truth will, ultimately win out? Maybe, but in the long term we're all dead, aren't we?
ReplyDeleteHow many brokenhearted mothers and fathers died in Derry, in the 38 years it took for the British to finally admit that their children had been unjustly killed? For years, the History Channel ran a documentary about terrorism in the 70's and 80's. In the section about the IRA there was footage from Bloody Sunday, showing Fr. Brady waving a white handkerchief as he and some others tried to get one of the victims out of the line of fire. The narration meant to, and did, give the impression that the IRA was doing the shooting, when nothing could have been further from the truth. But those images will be more powerful than the truth for many people, for years to come.
I'm not so sanguine as you about Texas. The deletion of Thomas Jefferson is particularly troubling, because it is part of a concerted campaign by the Dominionist, Christianist Right to demolish the single most important pillar of our political system, the separation of Church and State. Anyone who doubts that importance should look to the above paragraph, and David Cameron's statement. What played itself out (and is still doing so, in feeble gasps) in Northern Ireland was the final throes of Europe's religious wars--the inevitable result of established state religion.
Con,
ReplyDeleteI'm with you all down the line, except that I don't think I'd describe my feeling towards the Texas Schoolbook disaster as "sanguine." My optimism may be misplaced (though I'll keep it all the same) but when I speak of the "truth" I'm speaking very broadly - not about any ONE instance. But yes, I do believe that eventually the truth will win out, as it takles far mor effort to maintain the lie. OK, fine we may be DEAD by then. But we'll likely be dead before Global Warming impacts our daily lives as well, and yet I still believe that it's signifciant.
In the long view? I DO believe taht Religion will, in it's death throes, over-reach and finally be put in it's place in most parts of this country and in the world. In Texas? No, prob not. Everything's bigger in Texas, and soon that will include the ignorance of thier HS Graduates. I'm utterly APPALLED at what's going on down there. But there's only so much crazy a people can take before the tides go the other way. And while I have no illusions that the tide is against us at the moment, and the assets of the Right are vast, I still say that they ARE overreaching, and that within a few years there WILL be some blowback over it.
So I'll hang onto to my optimism.
My wife, OTOH, often says that one day, we'll be hinding Gays in our basement. To that I can only answer, "No, because I'll be hiding dead facsists there!"
Thanks for your comment.
Don't hold your breath, waiting for religion to go belly-up. It seems to be hard-wired into (most of) our DNA.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I'm reminded of a guy I knew in the Service. He'd flown Jolly Green Giants in Vietnam, and that was DANGEROUS duty. When off duty he was a hard living guy, and, giving the way he lived, he thought it hypocritical to pray for help when the tracers were coming at him, so he never did. "I said a lot of thank yous when we touched down, though." If there is a god, and he or she has any decency at all, I figure he'd like that.
Con,
ReplyDeleteAgain, I don't disagree with you. I don't think it will EVER truly go "belly-up" either. Even should one day every human being on earth share the belief that there really is no God, I still think that many of us will continue on with those rituals we find rewarding. (Wouldn't you still put up a Christmans tree? I know I would.)
By "put in it's place" I mean that it be returned to where it truly blongs: A deeply personal belief, slightly different for each person, and respected by all specifically because it IS kept out of our laws, out of our schools and out of our faces. There will alwasy be things we can't explain, know or proove. And that's the domain of religion - something that we must mutually respect for, by keep our own to ourselves. When religion is QUIET it can do great good. When it's LOUD it can almost never do ANY good.
Texas, obviously, is going in the wrong direction. (When are they NOT?) But the WORLD? Our SPECIES? On average it is becoming more secular and more rational. The media may like to celebrate the kooks but every study perfomred and any objective look at humanity as a whole, shows a steady march towards science and rational thought despite the conservtaives, religious whackos (of ALL stripes), magical thinkers, charlatans and hucksters who would work against that progress.
I'd love to see us "get there" tomorrow, and I'll never understand the mindset of the evangelicals (even after dating one once, if you can believe it!) but I am some what contented by the fact that we ARE making progress (slaw as it may be) and my BELIEF that this progress is, in fact, both inevitable and irreversible.
Thanks again for you coments.