Fake news, witch hunt, deep state, slippery slope, Obamacare, Benghazi.
We despise this propaganda tactic. Say the same lie over and over again thinking people can be hypnotized into believing it. It’s a shame when people use this tactic and a shame when people fall for it. But keep saying deep state and fake news without parentheses’ in every sentence you can. Make it normal. Keep repeating it in every conversation. Write it in your tweets so people have a visual of it. Bring up the words every time you can. I’ve seen these words said and written randomly, not even fitting in the sentence. Keep saying deep state a thousand times and people start truly thinking about it and many start to truly believe that all our intelligence agencies are conspiring against this one man. And now believe there is only one source you can trust. (The one that says he’s right). Folks truly start to believe a complete and absolute lie with this tactic. It absolutely works.
I know on me, too. I have thought about witch hunts and deep state more in the last year than I ever have my whole life and I don’t even believe it! So this tactic makes us, at least, think about it. For some, even consider it. And many others, it’s hook, line, and sinker. This tactic works.
Most reasonable people despise this tactic. It assumes we’re stupid and gullible. It takes no creativity to come up with. It is so simple to implement. It’s child-like, very boring, only cavemen use it. But it works.
Yes, even on us. How many of us know where it is or even how to spell Benghazi? (I had to look it up) But we all know Hillary had something to do with it. We all heard this lie spoken over and over. Three years of Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi. (Congress actually withheld security funding) But say this lie over and over and it becomes fact. All of us are susceptible to this tactic. How many of us believe the Affordable Care Act is actually called Obamacare? We hear the same thing over and over and we start to believe it as fact. It’s a human trait. Let’s face it. This tactic works.
I know I don’t want to dumb us down. I know simplify is almost a bad word. But this tactic works so well with a lie, what would happen if we used it with a truth? What would happen if we used this tactic with the Truth We Hold? Say our Truth out loud and often. Connect it with all that you can. Maybe even randomly, out of the blue, say “all are created equal is America’s Founding Principle.” Over and over again. Bring up our Unalienable Right to Life with every report of a shooting. Bring up America’s Equal Principle when Justice is bought by the haves or taken from the have-nots. Mention this Principle when the Rights of the Individual are taken when we ban Muslims “until we figure this thing out” or label immigrants as “murderers and rapists”. Where did their Individual Rights go? Our Founding Principle fits perfectly right there and there and there.
Say our Truth over and over. All are created equal is America’s Founding Principle. We’ve seen what happens with this tactic using lies. What is it called with this tactic and our Truth? Is this manipulation? Is it “sinking to their level”? Both I despise. Torture to me is 18 seconds of a soap opera. Using primal emotions and tendencies to achieve your goal, this is not something I even wish to see, let alone do. I believe it demeans all involved. I believe we are better than that.
But it works. It works great even with a lie. We’ve seen the effects all through history. Lies told over and over can engulf whole countries, entire worlds. This tactic is truly powerful. It can even overcome our humanity.
What would happen if we came from the opposite direction? What could we engulf with the Truth we hold? And we said our Truth over and over. All are created equal is America’s Founding Principle. What would happen if we just reminded our friends and family, our co-workers, our representatives and media platforms of this Truth? And they reminded folks they touch, of this Truth which they heard or had seen in a tweet.
What would happen if we heard of this as much as we do about fake news and witch hunt? If nothing else, we would think about it more, maybe more than in our entire life also. What would happen if we thought about equal, unalienable Rights more, because we heard the words said, and saw the words written there and there and there?
Has anyone tried this tactic with the Truth? I can’t think of any one thing Democrats say over and over. Democrats don’t have a slippery slope, didn’t come up with death panels or throwing Grandma off a cliff. Those town halls were filled with angry Grandmas all believing they were next. Say it over and over and people believe it or at least start to consider it. Say it over and over and pro-choice becomes pro-abortion. Say it over and over and humane immigration laws becomes open borders. Say it over and over and eventually we can believe all of our intelligence agencies and 90% of our news outlets are conspiring against this poor man. This tactic works.
This tactic is still very real. Democrats and Independents have got to wake up to this reality. We have to fight back. With simple tools if we must. An honest hammer is stronger than any lie. I know it’s just a simple hammer, no new design, no new, interesting tricks or gadgets to it. But it still works as it always has. A hammer, whether it’s used to build or destroy, is still a simple hammer. And it still works.
Let’s use this tool to hammer out our Truth. Great things can come from simple carpenters. Keep hammering nail after nail. Say it, write it, tweet and text it, post it and send it e-mail. Let’s try our Truth said over and over. I’ve found it doesn’t get boring. Fact is, the more I think about it, the more exciting it becomes. The more I wonder why, the more brilliant this sentence becomes. The more I look at it, the more challenging its goal becomes to me. The potential of this sentence becomes exhilarating.
People without much Hope, please find this. Believe me, I know. I, too, have imagined a step beyond the cliff and felt no Hope at all. This feels completely opposite. It’s like I’ve found a Hope I’d forgotten about. A Hope that was waiting for me. This sentence can defeat despair, can bring purpose to a Life. It truly can give Hope thought lost. Especially when we know we’re not alone and that we’re not starting from scratch. This quest embarked upon quite some time ago by a country born to give Hope. Our country’s glorious heritage is the struggle for this goal. Many patriots have gone before and have handed this torch to us. Their fight is our fight. We are not alone. We can join this most inclusive club. You’ll find noble purpose at your side and Hope still very much alive. You’ll find a peace you too may have forgotten or maybe never even known.
But we can’t wait for some new invention. Something shiny and creative and never used before. Right now we have this simple hammer. And it still works. There is no shame in using it. We have America’s Founding Truth. There is no shame in saying it. Simply, honestly, I find no shame in that.
So I will say it over and over. I wonder what we can build with a simple hammer and the Truth We Hold.