The Power of Propaganda
Merriam-Webster defines propaganda as the “spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.” It has been used to promote or publicize a political cause, or a particular point of view. It is often associated with the psychological mechanisms of influencing and altering the attitude of a population toward a specific cause, position, or political agenda in an effort to form a consensus to a standard set of belief patterns. It is not impartial and is often used by selecting facts only that encourage an emotion rather than a rational response to the information presented. In the book of Obadiah, which happens to be the smallest book in the Old Testament, …show more content…
He is rallying the remnant that survived with a vision for unity against a shared enemy. With his gift of oratory, he can craft his words carefully to make his poetry sound like its God’s idea for war against Edom. Obadiah has ten distinct predictions in his narrative. Seventeen of the twenty-one verses (81%) of the contents are predictive. They fall into three categories. First, he made a pronouncement against Edom, secondly, there was a prediction regarding the Nations, and thirdly, there was a promise to Israel. He also employees a common usage of “Thus says the Lord” (twice) to show authority, but neither are rooted in the Torah. He is also calling his constituents back to a physical place (Mount Zion), not to an ethical transformation. Obadiah makes no reference to Judah’s destruction due to their idolatry and alliances with other nations that God explicitly warned them against. His reference to thieves by night (v5) seems to give the reader the impression that Israel and Judah were the victims in this destruction. Obadiah spins the narrative that Edom was complicit because they did nothing to help, and/or avert their destruction. Edom was not the issue. The reason that Israel and Judah were destroyed and placed in exile was due to their idolatry. They refused to listen to the voice of the prophets and their warnings that destruction was …show more content…
The right-wing had long been wary of liberal, progressive policies like child labor laws and women's suffrage, which they viewed as socialism or communism. This was especially true of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. As far as the right was concerned, "New Dealism,” was heavily influenced by communism, and by the end of WWII it had ruled American society for a dozen years. During the McCarthyism era, much of the danger they saw was about vaguely defined "communist influence" rather than direct accusations of being Soviet spies. In fact, throughout the entire history of post-war McCarthyism, not a single government official was convicted of spying. But that didn’t really matter to many Republicans. During the Roosevelt Era they had been completely shut out of power. Not only did Democrats rule the White House, they had controlled both houses of congress since 1933 . The To be labeled a communist, or even a communist sympathizer could mean losing your job, being imprisoned, or black balled from ever having a job in a particular
Merriam-Webster defines propaganda as the “spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.” It has been used to promote or publicize a political cause, or a particular point of view. It is often associated with the psychological mechanisms of influencing and altering the attitude of a population toward a specific cause, position, or political agenda in an effort to form a consensus to a standard set of belief patterns. It is not impartial and is often used by selecting facts only that encourage an emotion rather than a rational response to the information presented. In the book of Obadiah, which happens to be the smallest book in the Old Testament, …show more content…
He is rallying the remnant that survived with a vision for unity against a shared enemy. With his gift of oratory, he can craft his words carefully to make his poetry sound like its God’s idea for war against Edom. Obadiah has ten distinct predictions in his narrative. Seventeen of the twenty-one verses (81%) of the contents are predictive. They fall into three categories. First, he made a pronouncement against Edom, secondly, there was a prediction regarding the Nations, and thirdly, there was a promise to Israel. He also employees a common usage of “Thus says the Lord” (twice) to show authority, but neither are rooted in the Torah. He is also calling his constituents back to a physical place (Mount Zion), not to an ethical transformation. Obadiah makes no reference to Judah’s destruction due to their idolatry and alliances with other nations that God explicitly warned them against. His reference to thieves by night (v5) seems to give the reader the impression that Israel and Judah were the victims in this destruction. Obadiah spins the narrative that Edom was complicit because they did nothing to help, and/or avert their destruction. Edom was not the issue. The reason that Israel and Judah were destroyed and placed in exile was due to their idolatry. They refused to listen to the voice of the prophets and their warnings that destruction was …show more content…
The right-wing had long been wary of liberal, progressive policies like child labor laws and women's suffrage, which they viewed as socialism or communism. This was especially true of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. As far as the right was concerned, "New Dealism,” was heavily influenced by communism, and by the end of WWII it had ruled American society for a dozen years. During the McCarthyism era, much of the danger they saw was about vaguely defined "communist influence" rather than direct accusations of being Soviet spies. In fact, throughout the entire history of post-war McCarthyism, not a single government official was convicted of spying. But that didn’t really matter to many Republicans. During the Roosevelt Era they had been completely shut out of power. Not only did Democrats rule the White House, they had controlled both houses of congress since 1933 . The To be labeled a communist, or even a communist sympathizer could mean losing your job, being imprisoned, or black balled from ever having a job in a particular