For a number of years I have been amazed at the similarity of opinion across the United States on almost every single subject out there. For some time I have held the notion the common views are a result of peer pressure because in America you are free to have an opinion, as long as your opinion is the same as everyone else's. This is what Alexis de Tocqueville wrote after traveling the US in the 1800's. I will place a caveat here. I own the book, but I have not read the whole thing. By and large Tocqueville was spot on with his assessment of America, but I do not think his assessment explains the controlled similarity of viewpoints today.
I am regularly stunned to hear people say the same things in a near robotic state on the same handful of topics. Lately I have noticed people visibly glitch when I interject with a question of the narratrive they have been trained to keep. They just stop and look at me, unable to process whatever it is I said, then they continue on with the controlled narrative. It is freaky. This disturbs me on a near daily basis. I even read Edward Bernays looking to find the source of the common ground. I think I have it. People in their 40's and older have one shared experience, a lifelong reliance upon the television "news" channels for information. The thing is, the owners of the "news" channels are widely known and there are only a handful of them and this is why the "news" is the same coast to coast and the "news" relies on the same handful of phrases every hour of every day. If you pay attention you will hear the "news" rattle off the same topics and statements every single day endlessly. It is eerie.
I want to give "Legalman" credit for some of this. He calls the catchphrases widely in use Barnum Statements. These Barnum Statements have no real meaning, but they elicit an emotional response to a pretend meaning like people have a common understanding of whatever the term is, even though they do not. I do not know if he would agree with my description of what he calls Barnum Statements, but it is close enough I reckon.
So what are some of these statements that permeate the online, print, and television media. Let's just call these the statements and phrases used to brainwash people into compliance to create a common viewpoint.
- America's Greatest Ally in the Middle East. Anytime someone mentions the modern state of Israel, they will almost inevitably call them the greatest ally of America. The problem is, what is the substance of this claim? There is nothing to it. It is a bald faced lie. Israel is anything but an ally of the US, but because the "news" repeats this phrase every day ad nauseum and it endlessly enters peoples brains, they believe it is true. Even though it does not hold up to even a cursory examination. With ally's like Israel, who needs enemies?
- The Only Democracy in the Middle East. Again, this statement is not factually accurate either. The modern state of Israel certainly has voting, but there is not equal representation and some folks might as well not even exist. Many people even call the modern state of Israel an Apartheid State because of the different treatment of people living there. But if you say it enough, people believe it and they repeat it and they do.
- How about the six million + number of Jews killed in gas chambers and other means by the Nazis in WWII. This number is so sacred no one is allowed to question it. It does not matter that it cannot be true. You are not allowed to question it and if you even hint at questioning the number you are called an anti-semite and holocaust denier. The Holocaust is mentioned every single day on every single news channel as an undeniable fact without question. You cannot even bring up extenuating circumstances or alternate scenarios or explanations or you will get cancelled in a quick minute and never be allowed to show your face in public again. No one denies the camps existed, but there is plenty to question after that fact is agreed upon.
- At the same time and on the flip side, every single world leader who does anything the "media" does not like is compared to Hitler. Look at every single conflict since WWII ended. The side the "media" did not like is labeled "as bad as Hitler." It does not matter that there is no substance behind the accusations and most of the time the accusations used to justify a war of aggression against this new Hitler are fabricated lies. If you are deemed the enemy, then you must be Hitler.
- I shudder at the thought of the lack of critical thinking involved with NASA and its lies, 9/11, January 6th, the Boston Bombing, and every other topic the "media" tells us the "truth" on we are not allowed to question. Things like the JFK assassination, Pearl Harbor, the Federal Reserve, Waco, Ruby Ridge, Oklahoma City, the USS Liberty, the USS Maine, Torpedos in Vietnam and so many more things delivered as facts that are anything but. You cannot be allowed to question or think about them on your own. You are given your opinion and that is the only authorized one to have and I hear people repeat them every single day without ever questioning the narrative they have been given.
Now lets look at some real Barnum Statements as described by Legalman.
- Freedom. What is it and how do you define it? Just saying it in the "media" without any real background upon what it means elicits an emotional response, but it does not mean anything. In the US you are free to do anything, as long as it agrees with the majority and complies with their view. You can burn down cities with your freedom if it complies with the "media." However if you disagree your butt will be arrested, beaten, bankrupted, and even shot dead very quickly. So what is freedom then? It must be the ability to comply and agree with whatever the "media" wants you to agree and comply with, but we know that is not what goes through people's minds when they hear the word.
- Liberty. What in tarnation is Liberty? It pretty much follows the same line as freedom with the same results.
- Voting. Somehow picking one person from the presented options is sacred and if you do not pick one then you are not supposed to complain because you did not take part. This is the dumbest reasoning in the world, but it's what goes in America! It does not matter that the options hate you and are bought and paid for and will do whatever the people who put them on the ballot say for them to do. You gotta pick one of them because it is your sacred right and duty.
- The Constitution. Oh man do politicians love to talk about the Constitution and oh man do people who watch the "news" love to debate what the Constitution allows and does not allow. I realized in about 2006 walking through the dust and poppy fields of Afghanistan the Constitution was garbage and that if the Constitution and the law were real and meant anything, then the Supreme Court and its judges would always vote 9-0. The Constitution has allowed every single horrible thing to happen and it has been powerless to stop politicians, judges, and government from doing whatever they want anytime they want. The Constution is worthless and I never signed it and neither did you, so how could a group of dudes 300 years ago sign for me? They can't and they didn't.
- Checks and Balances. This is so ingrained people believe it. Of course it does not actually exist outside of the minds of people, but since it gets stated as one of the designed of the three branches people believe it. I hear about checks and balances in government all the time, but no one ever mentions how government has its fat, drug addled hands tipping the scale. But if you hear it enough, people believe it and say it themselves.
I know why Americans of every stripe have almost the same identical opinion about everything. Their televisions, news papers, and text books all say the same thing and it does not matter it is not true. Americans will line up for an injection because the government told them to. They will stay home and/or wear idiotic masks because the government told them to. Americans will add "I Support" whatever the next best thing is because their government and its "media" tells them exactly what they need to support. This is freedom.
The most "informed" and by that I mean the most exposed to the media and the television and the lies lack the capacity to see how they have been duped. In a conversation they can be led through the facts and will agree with the truth, but before they have even exhaled a single breath they will repeat one of the above lies verbatim and the truth will be gone. The truth cannot stand against their decades of training to believe the lies and that is a fact born out of experience.