Propaganda 2011

prop·a·gan·da

1. information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.

 

2.  the deliberate spreading of such information, rumors, etc.

 

3. the particular doctrines or principles propagated by an organization or movement.

 

"Propaganda" is usually applied to political matters. But with this definition, wouldn't most of what we encounter be considered propaganda?

 

All the advertisements on TV, on billboards, on the bus, on the train; the magazines with their "miracle weight loss" guides and the fads of the season. The internet that has EVERYTHING you're looking for. They all have some sort of direction, or message they want to get to people who see them. 

I would have to say that even the things we are taught to be "good" or "bad", that is also a form of propaganda. There's the common logic (?) we're all expected to know and understand, but I feel that these basic ideas we are taught shape the way we see other more complex, and perhaps more controversial topics of the world, which is the more direct and obvious form of propaganda. 

So pretty much, everything is propaganda in its own way. 

Just want to put it out there: I despise politics.