We see propaganda dozens of times everyday. When we are driving down the highway, looking through our mail or just watching TV. Most of the time, it is just an advertisement to buy the hottest new car or the iPhone, but sometimes propaganda can be used to persuade people to do or not do something. That is the kind of propaganda that I feel is beneficial.
The government loves to use advertisements to inform Americans on issues. For example, there are always commercials on TV or in magazines that talk about the danger of smoking tobacco. Most of the time the main type of propaganda used is fear. These advertisements depict people talking about the negative physical effects smoking has had on their lives and why the habit should never be started. The commercials are often uncomfortable for the viewers and gives them a sense of fear about smoking. Similar propaganda is used for texting and driving and other issues that are causing deaths throughout the country.
I believe that propaganda is useful in times of emergency as well. Throughout World War I & II, the government used bandwagon, plain folks and testimonials to get people to fulfill their duties during times of conflict. They promoted women to enter the work force, people to buy war bonds, and just get young men to fight overseas. Nothing the government said was false, but they did a great job of getting its citizens to unify and work to make sure the war went as smooth as possible.
All in all, most of the time, propaganda is not usually very beneficial. When political campaigns use logical fallacies or glittering generalities they are just doing so to hurt their opponent and that is not good to society. As long as the advertisement is actually for a good cause and does not try to trick its viewers, I believe that it's beneficial.
I have never thought about the anti-smoking ads being propaganda until now. I like how you used examples that can be seen in everyday life. Propaganda can definitely be beneficial when it comes to persuading people to do the right thing (aka not text/drink and drive etc.).
ReplyDeleteDo you think the problem is that political campaigners are using propaganda to persuade the American citizens, or is it that they do so just to make their opponent look bad? If it is just to make their opponent look bad, then I don't think it makes propaganda such a bad thing because it is usually obvious when a campaigner is saying something that is not true or doesn't make sense. But overall, I agree that the propaganda we see everyday can be to our benefit, like your example of the advertisements warning people of the consequences of texting and driving.
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