I want everyone to imagine their favorite history class when they were young. What were you learning about? Can you remember your reaction to this lesson today?
As people in America, we are absolutely trained to receive propaganda more easily and efficiently. We are receptive to government messages, powers of authority and events which are glorified for American benefit.
In discussions, people may not point fingers at the United States when first thinking of propaganda. China, North Korea and Russia might also come to mind when thinking about populations which face high levels of government propaganda.
Absolutely, the countries listed above promote propaganda too. American people may not realize that we are equally as comparable to several of those countries, thanks to the level of propaganda we are fed through mainstream information systems. The American individualistic mindset and our right to the First Amendment of The Constitution makes this thought seem unfathomable.
Not only are we taught that the United States is the peacemaker of the world, we are often taught that this is our responsibility to intervene across the globe. Historically, atrocities caused during a disagreement or casualties between other countries can be attributed to the United States’ appearance during that time.
Propaganda, historically displayed as posters during WWI, WWII, the Vietnam War and The War on Terror, had a devastating impact on international affairs – resulting in thousands of deaths which were labeled “avoidable.”
American history provides a monolithic view of our country. We are not taught of the systemic hatred and injustice which the United States was built on. We are a country built on slavery, genocide and misogynistic and patriarchal narratives. We are a society which threatens or silences anyone who is perceived as “different.”
In history class, the realities of our country’s relationship to slavery, genocides of indigenous communities, institutionalization of disabled and LGBTQIA+ people, colonization of nations, poor treatment of women, and environmental atrocities have often been shoved under the rug to highlight whatever white man was most popular during the era of such atrocities.
White-washing of historical and fictional characters adds another tightening notch to the leash of American history lessons. Students are unable to question their professors if they’re learning subjects for the first time; who are they to question the authority figure of the teacher or the school programming?
Since Trump has taken office, we have seen the removal of women’s health information, the Spanish language and LGBTQIA+ resources, including memorial pages for Nex Benedict and Matthew Sheperd, from the official White House website. This is only the start of a fundamentally flawed way of living.
Free speech does not include hate speech. The Constitution, along with the pages listed above, was removed from the White House website with blatant purpose. The government does not want “We The People” to know our rights. The powers at be want to fulfill the able-bodied, white, complacent 1950s nuclear family American ideal without saying a word.
The rising trend of banning books as a “form of protection” is one of the most clear forms of propaganda we can see today. Banning books is nothing more than the censorship of freely accessible information that doesn’t align with the government’s wishes.
The point is that we have to accept the information we believe is correct, whether through written or visual formats. We need to keep working, especially through mutual aid efforts, to benefit our neighbors and ourselves. We need to stay alive so we can record or report in however many years of what we lived through in a time which seems impossible – a time when our ideas, ideologies and morals were challenged and silenced. We need to wake up.
