Propaganda Happens...But Clearly It Was Just an Accident

Before I can write further on this topic, you’ll need to view a video. Don’t worry.  No boring history or heavy concepts. In fact, it’s downright fluffy and entertaining—filled with attractive faces you’ll recognize from the television, film, and music industries. You don’t even need to visit another site. I’ve brought the video right to you. Come on. It’ll be fun…and oh so inspiring.

OK, OK, I admit I was being sarcastic when I said it would be fun. I’m sorry. If watching this sheer offal resulted in you having experienced anything beyond a dry gag reflex, go ahead and brush your teeth. I’ll wait for you.

Now then, pressing on…

Over the last week, in particular, I’ve seen this Oprah-produced video floated on a lot of conservative blogs. Everyone is up in arms about it—as well they should be. But what I haven’t seen is anyone breaking this baby down to explain in any depth why it’s not just creepy but also downright manipulative, offensive, and wrong. Nor have I seen anything that provides a visual citation for this monstrosity.

Allow me.

Let’s begin with a little definition so that we’re all clear.

Propaganda: ² the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person  (Merriam-Webster)

There can be no doubt that this video fits well within the above-stated parameters.

It begins with a well-known Harry S. Truman quote: “They say that the job of the president is the loneliest one in the world.” Standing on their own, Truman’s insightful words give us a healthy dose of appreciation and respect for the enormous difficulties of the office. But the manner in which the video employs this citation crosses a line. Not only is Truman’s name kept so small you can barely read it, but the quote appears alongside a large, clear image of Barack Obama.  The video is not talking about the office of president; it is encouraging an emotional identification with a sitting president.  If it stopped right there, the video would already be treading an extremely fine line.

But, oh, there’s so much more.

As the music in the background begins to crescendo, the video announces, “We want you to know…you’re not alone!” tugging mercilessly at the heartstrings of anyone whose more rational neurons might be on the fritz.

Barack Obama’s clear, unwavering voice then urges us on to patriotism, responsibility, and team spirit. But by whose definition…?  Considering what we’ve already seen, there’s no need to wonder for more than about two nano-seconds.

A parade of “beautiful people” ensues, each anxious to share a pledge to do something super-neato-cool, nearly all of it part of a far-left agenda—or, alternatively, designed to muffle any alarm bells by making it sound like that agenda isn’t as disturbing as it really is. It’s all very “progressive” and “love-your-neighbor-almost-as-much-as-you-love-the-planet.” So “feel-good” and cutesy. And—despite the light-and-airy aesthetic it employs—very, very dark.

Nearly three and a half minutes of listening to Progressive schlock is bad enough. Understanding that I’m supposed to get on-board with it because otherwise I will let down poor, lonely, brave Barack Obama (who wanted the damned job, so cry me a friggin’ river, you bunch of Hollywood pablum-spewing dullards) is worse. But at this juncture the video makes a move so clear and so bold that the needle on the propaganda meter hits the floor at the far edge of the red zone—and stays there till the bitter end.

At the three minute and sixteen second mark, Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers appears for the second time. He’s already made an ass of himself, talking some nonsense about pledging allegiance to “the funk of the United Funk of Funkadelica.” Clearly someone ran that old Steve Martin experiment on this guy and taught him how to talk wrong. One only wonders that he doesn’t follow that line up with, “May I mambo dogface to the banana patch.” But no, for his second number, he plays this charming little ditty: “I pledge to be of service to [kissing his own right bicep] Barack…[then kissing his left bicep] Obama,” as if his arms are somehow the holy ring of the anointed one himself.

This one moment, if nothing else, should shred any remaining doubt that might inexplicably have been lingering in anyone’s mind. This advertisement aims to advance a cult of personality. More than that, it strives to transfer the allegiance of its viewers from the republic of the United States of America to the man currently charged (God help us) with leading it. And that, my friends, is not acceptable. Not from this group of celebrity cronies. Not from producer Oprah Winfrey. Not from this administration. Not from any other administration. Period.

The president is a servant of the people, not the other way around.

Now the celebs go in for the hard sell… “What’s your pledge?” a string of these goons repeats. “I know you got a pledge!” exclaims boy-toy Ashton Kutcher. The pressure is on. You can practically hear them whispering, “C’mon!  All the cool kids are doin’ it…”

And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Demi Moore underscores Kiedis’ insane declaration, asserting: “I pledge to be a servant to our president,” followed by her dingbat husband affirming, “and to all mankind.” Ah yes, that’s right… We’re all marching faithfully behind our fearless leader into the post-national world. He’s going to help us learn to be good citizens of the universe. Because, gee, a sovereign America is just such a silly, outdated concept.

The camera pans back onto a Hollywood Squares grid from which a robotic chorus of voices chants, ”…because together we can…together we are…”

The camera pans back further and further as the chorus continues, “…and together we will be the change that we seek” until finally the squares all become tiny parts of yet another image of Barack Obama. If you haven’t already fainted as a result of the overwhelming inspiration, you should now have fully connected the big dots that have been drawn: If we just support this exceptional man by getting behind his awesome agenda, all our problems will miraculously be solved!

This last camera trick is not in fact new. It is simply a video spin on a very old idea. I give you Exhibit B: a poster from 1934, showing Benito Mussolini as the people. 

Mussolini beams bravely and benevolently, his uniform comprised of a milling throng of Italians.  The message is clear.  And it turned out to be poisonous.

We do all agree, yes, that Mussolini was a dictator?  A bad guy?  That his fascist leadership not only put Italy on the wrong side of World War II but also nearly destroyed the country?  And yet, one literally cannot ignore that the “I Pledge” video borrows from this precise fascist propaganda poster. If history is any gauge, and it bloody well ought to be, we have entered very dangerous territory. 

Barack Obama is no more a man of the people than Benito Mussolini was. Nor does he know what’s good for them any better than the Italian dictator. I, for one, will never pledge allegiance to this president or any other, however much I may respect the office. I reserve my fidelity for entities distinctly less mortal—like God and the Constitution that has so far guaranteed me freedom in a shackle-filled world. 

It is one thing for me as an adult to view the “I Pledge” video. It is quite another to show it to children. And teachers have shown it. Eagletown Elementary in Farmington, Utah was caught off guard just a few days ago when parents raised a legitimate stink over the video’s content. And if it was shown in one classroom in a country of this size, it seems more than probable that it’s been shown in others that have managed to escape notice.

It’s not simply that children don’t yet have the critical thinking skills that adults [purportedly] do. It’s that liberal progressivism has aggravated this natural reality by repeatedly exposing children to garbage and undermining their ability to see or smell beyond the stinky, fomenting compost heap of social engineering. Progressives have, in fact, had a choke hold on U.S. educational policy, materials, and teachers for decades. From John Dewey to the present day, this political ideology has worked its tentacles deeper and wider into the bowels (and I can’t think of a more apt word, at this point) of our public educational system. It has endeavored to shape and train up young minds because, quite frankly, it’s easier and more lasting than trying to persuade an adult.

Should anyone doubt that the far Left views our classrooms as a battlefield and that it has striven to achieve and maintain the upper hand there, I give you the words of one of the University of Illinois-Chicago’s bright, shining stars:

“Education is never neutral. It always has a value, a position, a politics. Education either reinforces or challenges the existing social order, and school is always a contested space."    --William Ayers 

Thanks for pointing that out, Bill, in your 2006 speech before Hugo Chavez at the World Economic Forum, at the end of which you so innocuously proclaimed, “Viva Presidente Chavez!  Viva la Revolucion Bolivariana!" etc, etc… 

And the proof that the Left and far Left have been running the educational show in the U.S. for decades?  Where would you like to start…? 

The values clarification exercises in my eighth-grade social studies class, during which I was encouraged to amorally debate whether it was better to throw a doctor, an old lady, or a pimply teen-ager over the side of a boat?

The non-competitive, feel-good, “everyone’s a winner” nonsense that fosters a now-rampant entitlement mentality?

The super-fun “whole language” approach to reading and writing that correlates to skyrocketing dyslexia and other life-long learning disabilities in the U.S.?

The preponderance of politically correct history textbooks that conveniently fail to mention the radical Muslim faith of the terrorists that bombed the Twin Towers and the Pentagon on 9/11?

The posters now appearing in classrooms that encourage children to pledge allegiance to the EARTH?

Or how about the abysmally low ranking of American education in comparison to nations ahead of whom, with all of our extensive resources, we should be sprinting?

Reading, writing, and arithmetic have not exactly been a Progressive priority...

No, Oprah’s little “I Pledge” video showing up in a classroom is far from an isolated problem.  It has simply become a flashpoint—at least I hope it has. Not just for the kind of schlock that is rampant in public education, but for the ultimate goals of that schlock. The liberal Progressives have forged a grade-A path to sociopolitical transformation straight through the minds of children.

And when the Progressives are not shoving their toxic methods and agendas down the throats of kids in the classroom, they’ve found ways to do it through afterschool and weekend television programming such as that as discussed by Michelle Malkin here. Even Sesame Street has done its share to further the Left’s cause, cute as those darned little muppets are.

Then there are the teachers raised in this mind-dumbing system…

Despite the clear pressure she places on her students through fear of derision, this woman’s own indoctrination has apparently made her blissfully unaware of her bias and bullying. I’m not an alarmist. I’m not saying that every kid is going to turn out like her. I didn’t, hallelujah—thanks in large measure to parents who modeled critical thinking and three fortunate secondary years outside the public system. But, it’s impossible not to understand that people like her are the goal. Zombies for the cause.  Milling masses trained to agree, follow, and shame others into doing the same. Likeminded lemmings gathered not under the banner of founding principles but rather beneath the thumb of a dictator.

But hey, no worries. For those who’ve already sampled and appreciated the bouquet of the poisoned Kool-Aid, you can just keep medicating yourselves with the same, time-honored, and terribly reassuring Progressive line: “No, no, no… The 'I Pledge' video wasn’t propaganda; it was just a well-intentioned mistake.” Drink long, drink deep.

*Correction made on September 19th, 2009: University of Chicago was changed to University of Illinois-Chicago where William Ayers actually teaches. Apologies for any inconvenience caused by my failure to note the error earlier.

Posted: Wednesday - September 09, 2009 at 12:58 PM