Propaganda

In the essay about propaganda, that we have to read for the class on this Thursday the author explained different techniques of how to use propaganda. The author defined the term “propaganda,” named issues where it is used, how it is used and by whom it is used. This essay was really interesting for me because I could find a lot of techniques that the author described in the movies of Michael Moore that I have to review. Moore uses these techniques to influence and to convince his spectator for a higher goal – make the United States a better place on earth. In my view, it is borderline to use propaganda because it is such a heavily convincing tool. There is no law that prohibits propaganda because we have freedom of speech and opinion but it is not easy to handle all this propaganda that tries to influence us every day. I think that one has to differentiate between “good” and “bad” propaganda. People like Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, and Michael Moore use/d propaganda for a “good” goal but there were/are also tyrants, dictators and radical religious groups such as Adolf Hitler, Sadam Hussein, and Al Quaida who abuse/d this powerful tool. One cannot prevent to be influenced by other people or organizations but it is our duty to keep our eyes open. It is not always a bad thing to be influenced by others but we have to use our own mind to decide what is right and what is wrong.