Bog # 8: Propaganda

Propaganda is seen in two different ways. The bad way "ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause" and the good way "the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person". Most people would consider the word to be a bad due to the real word situations in which the word was used.

The word propaganda goes back long before world war 1 as we may commonly freer to it as. Propaganda started in Athens. Citizen groups were formed by the Greeks and included people with different religious and political ideas which is how propaganda and counter propaganda formed. What started propaganda among the the citizen groups was lack of common interest when forming these groups.

In the 16th century propaganda more like we use it today was organized by Philip II of Spain and Queen Elizabeth of England during the Spanish Armada during the 1588.

Even though we American's commonly know the term from World War 1 Europeans know the term from the missionary activities of the Roman Catholic Church. 

Both World War 1 and 2 are the worlds most well-known use of propaganda. From the newspapers to the radio to the movies to books any and everything was used to create propaganda during this time. 

More modern forms of propaganda can be seen during the segregation era and the Black Lives Matter protests. Protests and marches are both forms of propaganda as they speak ideas and information by stepping up and speaking out. During the segregation movement Rosa Parks politely refusing to sit in the back of the bus can be propaganda as she furthered her view on why she thought it wisen;t right for her to have to sit on the back of the bus. The Marches during the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 used propaganda as people were sitting on highways trying to cause major change as well as posters being put up and held during the marches. 

Propaganda is done on a large scale whether it is state wide, country wide or world wide Propaganda can quickly form to be something big. When the police officer killed George Floyd it quickly went from Minneapolis, Minnesota to the entire United States with the help of the media publicizing the event. People say that the new is considered propaganda but in the United States the news is inly trying to tell the truth as much as it can while in North Korea it could be seen as propaganda. 

Propaganda mostly occurs in Young Adults and middle aged adults. Children aren't going to take part in any propaganda because they are taught in school that propaganda is bad and not to do it. Older adults over the age of 50 aren't going to take part in propaganda because some say they are too old for this kind of stuff and lived through other propaganda where they had the chance to speak up and out. Mostly young and middle adults are taking part in propaganda because they are the people who are going to shape the future of the world. 

As I've seen in the the world anyone who stands out and is "different" from the rest of us most likely going to be involved in propaganda. LGBTQ+ groups have been singled out and made fun of resulting in propaganda, Mexicans with the boarder crisis have been singled out and so have Black and colored people and even disabled people too. Society has a stigma on people who aren't the same as them resulting in propaganda.

As we can see propaganda comes in many forms. Within our history Propaganda has been seen in Dr. Seuss books, Popeye, Disney Movies and so much more that you can not escape it.