Someone sent me this photo last year, I don’t remember who, but I remember how much I laughed when I saw it.

I love this as a prime example of modern propaganda.

The card on the bulletin board reads:
During the 3-1/2 years of World War 2 that started with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and ended with the Surrender of Germany and Japan in 1945, the U.S. produced 22 aircraft carriers, 8 battleships, 48 cruisers, 349 destroyers, 420 destroyer escorts, 203 submarines, 34 million tons of merchant ships, 100,000 fighter aircraft, 98,000 bombers, 24,000 transport aircraft, 58,000 training aircraft, 93,000 tanks, 257,000 artillery pieces, 105,000 mortars, 3,000,000 machine guns, and 2,500,000 military trucks.
We put 16.1 million men in uniform in the various armed services, invaded Africa, invaded Sicily and Italy, won the battle for the Atlantic, planned and executed D-Day, marched across the Pacific and Europe, developed the atomic bomb and ultimately conquered Japan and Germany.
It’s worth noting, that during the almost exact amount of time, the Obama administration couldn’t build a functioning web site.

As a Canadian I think the US government blew it when it introduced its national health care program. They didn’t have the guts to try and replicate the Canadian system, which works pretty well for the most part, and wound up with a political disaster that was epitomized by the non-functioning website. People who wanted health care couldn’t get it because they couldn’t sign up for it.

This picture came to mind with our discussion yesterday on propaganda, because to me it is a perfect example of how messages are used to manipulate us.

If, like me, you laughed when you read what was printed on the card and agreed with the sentiment, then they have managed to make you believe something that isn’t true, even if only for a short time. Did you notice that?

“Obamacare” as the system is popularly known, whether you like it or not, was a major overhaul of the American health care system. I think it was implemented much too hastily and that Americans will be dealing with glitches in the system for years as a result, but I will concede it was a bold attempt. To get all the players on board to agree to this new system, however flawed, was a major achievement. It was far more complicated than just building a website; that might have taken a day. Forget the health infrastructure behind the website; you are very skillfully manipulated and your focus directed on what didn’t work.

You are also being manipulated in being asked to make what is really an unrealistic comparison with another time. The powers of government greatly expand in wartime. Things get done regardless of the cost or the legal niceties involved. I have no doubt a lot of time and effort went into creating Obamacare, but I don’t think it can be fairly compared to the fight against tyranny that was the Second World War. But you aren’t supposed to think about that when you see the picture; you are supposed to think that the current government is nowhere near as efficient as the one in power 70 years ago (which by the way was the same political party).

For older viewers I think there is also a subtle undertext here. The soldiers who fought that war are sometimes referred to as “the greatest generation.” My guess is that the intention is to remind people that the leaders and government workers of today just can’t compare in quality to the ones 70 years ago.

This is subtle manipulation. I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out it originated with someone in the Republican Party officially tasked with undermining support for the Democrats. I don’t think anyone would admit to changing their mind about how they would vote in the next election based on the words in this photo, but it is something small that over time I can see being very effective.

Propaganda continues today, both political and commercial, inundating our lives like never before. It seems every time you think about it there are new and increasingly subtle ways marketers attempt to manipulate us. We need to be vigilant, learn to recognize their methods for what they are and react accordingly.