How much are our oppion's formed by propaganda?

[TheDuckOfFlanders]

Well this is like a general discussion thread arround propaganda in these modern times.I have made some question's to answer if you like.And there is the poll afc.

a1: How much do you think have youre oppinion's been formed by educational enviroment?

a2: How much has social contact (discussion's etc.) formed youre oppion's.

a3: How much has life experience formed youre oppinion's.

a4: How much has youre local media formed youre oppinion's

b1: How much trust do you have in youre local media? (thing's they say ,and especialy thing's they don't say)

b2: Are you nastionalistic ,possibly patriotic? Is that a consequence of youre life enviroment?

b3: How do you feel about youre country's foureign policy? Do you think it's good ,maybe the best?

Maybe some other question's later ,but they are not mandatory within the discussion ,as long as it is within the topic.

 

[Simon Darkshade]

a1: My opinions have been influenced by my (extensive) education to the extent that I look at the world in a critical, realistic fashion that is assisted by a knowledge of facts, ideas, history, politics and human behaviour. Some insight into the fundamentals of the human condition is also a byproduct of a proper education, enhancing recognition of common sense, and sharpening the bull**** detector.

a2:I have met many different types of people across the world, and been to many places. I have discussed many different notions, ideas and events with them in this process. It has widened ones understanding, and comprehension of alternate ideas. My ideas though, are my own, and not a direct facsimile of those of any of the myriad circles I move in.

a3: Basically outlined above, but my youthful idealism has been tempered by realism, and an understanding of the harsh realities of the world, and how to work in it. I've basically become less extremist on a number of matters, and no longer think that I know everything. Common sense does tend to increase with age, but it is not an ironclad rule.

a4: I pay little attention to my local media, as they are quite parochial and infinitely silly. This fairly much sums up b1 as well. The national media is taken with a slightly smaller grain of salt, but a large one all the same.

b2: Yes I am nationalistic. Yes I am a patriot. Yes I believe in my country and love it. You put this as if it is a bad thing. It is a consequence of a growing awareness and understanding of ones national heritage, and the value of traditions and sacrifices made. I did not grow up in a particularly patriotic or nationalist family, and nor was my immediate environment of such a character. This development came from within, being influenced by history and heritage in a personal way, and from seeing the rest of the world, and subsequently loving and appreciating ones own country even more.

b3: I think it could be more nationalistic and assertive, and not so fawning and obsequesious towards our more recalcitrant and distasteful neighbours. I have outlined the extent of this elsewhere, but I do think that the currently bleeding heart Trotskyist, lefty commie ways of the current Liberal government need to be changed.

I am not influenced by the propaganda of others; I make my own, for my own future regime.

 

[Greadius]

a1: How much do you think have your opinion's been formed by educational environment? I'm a product of Florida public schools, and we're 47th worst (out of 50) in the nation. So, I suppose I am highly susceptible to propaganda. I’m an ignorant American

a2: How much has social contact (discussion's etc.) formed your opinions. My family discussed world events frequently. My German family is authoratarian, and my English family is, well, English My mother is a bleeding heart liberal, and I suppose she had the most influence on my opinions; if not for her I’d probably be a Republican

a3: How much has life experience formed youre opinions. I’m fairly well travelled for someone my age, and I’ve lived in a large spectrum of social and economic environments. I suppose that has the greatest influence, since I’ve often helded vague opinions which have been shattered by an experience.

a4: How much has your local media formed your opinions My local media is very limited. Generally I can’t imagine it having had a great influence since I rarely agree with any of the opinions I hear expressed.

b1: How much trust do you have in your local media? (thing's they say ,and especially thing's they don't say) I can’t imagine how they would benefit from lying to me. The local paper prints letters daily which lambast their stories or articles, so I doubt they’re blocking out viewpoints.

b2: Are you nationalistic ,possibly patriotic? Is that a consequence of your life environment? Are you suggesting that the media actively propogates a nationalist agenda? I don’t like the idea that balance is synonymous with equality. Sometimes the opposition is so weak in its intellectual validity that providing it ample time and attention is paramount to proping up the opposition. I would consider that agenda setting.
Yes, I’m a patriot.

b3: How do you feel about your country's foreign policy? Do you think it's good ,maybe the best? I feel just fine and dandy. I’d be much more isolationist and unilateral, but the current agenda is pretty moderate to the spectrum of public opinion. Switzerland’s foreign policy is the only one which I think I admire more.

 

[Zwelgje]

I have gone through university and I believe that I am able to form my own opinion. The question in the topic title is how much is your opinion formed by propaganda? I think it's really hard to determine whether an opinion you have is based upon propaganda or facts as facts on many issues are really hard to gather.

Example: everybody here on the forums seems to have a real strong opinion on the situation in Afghanistan. But how much do we really know about what's happening there? I'd say we know near to nothing about the situation there, all we hear comes from journalists and our government. Both sources are notorious for not giving objective information when it comes to situations like this, in the end all have their own agenda and are only willing to give us the information which supports their agenda.

All in all I would say that all our opinions are (at least partly) based upon propaganda as the facts we base our opinions on are part of the propaganda machine of either journalists or government.

 

[Ren]

Aussies (ad possibly others) will know of the media extravaganza surrounding One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. The amount of bullsh!t the media blew up about her was absolute crap. Not that they were lying, just exaggerating, and i'm sorry to say that now due to obviously fake fraud charges, she has been forced to resign from presidency of One Nation. And I expect to see people disagreeing with me, calling her racist and all that crap, but their brains have all been warped by the f*cking media, sorry but I am very passionate about this subject and I hate the way the mfking media shot her down Go ahead, delete my post, but I hope I get through to those people who read it first.

 

[Hitro]

I can only agree to civ1-addict, probably all of our opinions are based on some kind of propaganda. At least the opinions about thing that you don't experience yourself, therefore almost everything. You have to get information to form an opinion so the question has to be: where do I get it from?
And as you can't witness everything yourself you're automatically vulnerable to propaganda. Everybody is giving his or her view on a certain issue, a really objective view is not possible. So you always get somehow biased information, no matter whether it's from the media or just some other people you know. Of course there are differences considering the amount of bias, but if you define propaganda as a biased form of information I'd say the number of opinions formed by it is close to 100%.

There are basic values though, that at least some people might get on their own.

 

[Jimcat]

a1: How much do you think have youre oppinion's been formed by educational enviroment?

Well, at the very least, it taught me how to spell "opinion" and "environment" and how to use an apostrophe correctly. Seriously though, I think that my education gave me a good solid basis for understanding the world and how it works. Schools in the US vary widely -- we have some of the best and some of the worst. I was lucky enough to be educated in an above-average school system, with teachers and parents who helped and encouraged me to learn on my own when I wanted to know more than what the school taught.

a2: How much has social contact (discussion's etc.) formed youre oppion's.

I'd say a great deal. My father and I always read the newspaper over breakfast when I was in school, and we'd talk about current events. The people I make friends with are the type who are more interested in discussing politics or the economy than sports or television. So I get a lot of conversation on a day-to-day basis about what's going on in the world. Some of the people I talk to don't agree with me, but that keeps us on our toes and keeps our discussions interesting. (And the people I talk to are also proficient at spelling and grammar.)

a3: How much has life experience formed youre oppinion's.

Depends what you call life experience. I haven't lived through any revolutions, run for office, or been the victim of oppression (unless you count the Reagan Administration). I hadn't been outside the US (except for Canada, which doesn't really count) until I was 17. But I read a lot of books, magazines, and newspapers, I've met and talked to some political leaders, and I've voted in every election that I was eligible for. I also joined a union once, which gave me some firsthand experience of both the good and the bad things that unions do.

a4: How much has youre local media formed youre oppinion's

In this day and age, what is "local media"? I get most of my news these days from the Internet. Before that, I usually read the major newspaper of wherever I happened to live, plus several news magazines. If I'm particularly interested in an item, I'll try to read about it from more than one source, and do some background reading if it seems really significant or interesting.

I never watch TV news. That stuff is completely useless.

b1: How much trust do you have in youre local media? (thing's they say ,and especialy thing's they don't say)

As I mentioned above, I don't like to rely on a single news source. What one source considers relevant, another may not, and I hate feeling like I don't have all the facts.

b2: Are you nastionalistic ,possibly patriotic? Is that a consequence of youre life enviroment?

I'd consider myself reasonably patriotic. Not a gung-ho flag-waver, but I'm happy to live in the United States and I appreciate the benefits that this country gives to its citizens and the rest of the world.

Is it a consequence of my life environment? Well, as opposed to what? Brainwashing? Chemicals in the water? Alien mind-control rays? How could it not be a consequence of my life environment?

b3: How do you feel about youre country's foureign policy? Do you think it's good ,maybe the best?

Just because I like my country doesn't mean I agree with everything it does. I think that the United States has pursued a lot of bad policies throughout its history, both foreign and domestic. Sometimes I get very frustrated with our country's leadership. All I can do is speak out when I get the chance, and vote for people I think will do better (two privileges that a lot of Americans take for granted).

 

[Rowan]

Originally posted by ren
Aussies (ad possibly others) will know of the media extravaganza surrounding One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.

I'm with you all the way ,cobber!
[dance] [dance]

 

[ComradeDavo]

Good poll Duck, I feel really strongly about this issue.

a1: How much do you think have youre opinion's been formed by educational enviroment?

hmm......my education helped lead to my communist beliefs which i don't thknk was the schools intention

a2: How much has social contact (discussion's etc.) formed youre oppion's.

Quite a bit, they have helped to determine what people's general idea's are on anything and whether my ideas's are good/bad/stupid/great.

a3: How much has life experience formed youre oppinion's.

Very much, I come from a working class background and my family has never had much money and it is also very fragile (hate to say it but my family life is really bad and upsetting). These have somewhat driven me to the more 'extreme' kind of opinions which get me in oh so many interesting arguments on these forums.

a4: How much has youre local media formed youre oppinion's

Not very much, the only paper I pay much attention to is 'the Mirror' as it is the only 'popular' British paper which allows free speach amongst it's pages.

b1: How much trust do you have in youre local media? (thing's they say ,and especialy thing's they don't say)

I trust 'most' of the foreign news but most of what is printed on national news is just paper talk and spin.

b2: Are you nastionalistic ,possibly patriotic? Is that a consequence of youre life enviroment?

My environment attempted to teach me to love the Queen and England and to hate the Germans, French, Welsh and the Scottish. In reality I have the typical football supporters attidude (so I hate them when it comes to football but at other times I think there great) though I hate the Queen.

b3: How do you feel about youre country's foureign policy? Do you think it's good ,maybe the best?

I think it's real bad and just following America whilst attempting to make Tony Blair look good.

 

[Hitro]

Originally posted by Comrade Davo
b2: Are you nastionalistic ,possibly patriotic? Is that a consequence of youre life enviroment?

My environment attempted to teach me to love the Queen and England and to hate the Germans, French, Welsh and the Scottish. In reality I have the typical football supporters attidude (so I hate them when it comes to football but at other times I think there great) though I hate the Queen.

Very well said. Same for me (except for the Queen, for some reason nobody teached me to love her...)

 

[ComradeDavo]

Very well said. Same for me (except for the Queen, for some reason nobody teached me to love her...)

As for the Queen, it was the damn schools I tell ya! But then my Dad as always on about he disliked the Monarchy so it was a nicely counter-balanced.

 

[PinkyGen]

a1: How much do you think have youre oppinion's been formed by educational enviroment?
Definetly some influence, mostly in my history and government classes, though I don't accept everything my teachers say carte blanche.

a2: How much has social contact (discussion's etc.) formed youre oppion's.
Well, I guess most of my views came from my parents, as they were Democrats. Going to an upper class private school, I could be considered a left-wing nutter by voting for Gore. I wouldn't say my views completely match theirs.

a3: How much has life experience formed youre oppinion's.
Not much, as I am relatively young, and lived a somewhat sheltered existence from the quote "real world."

a4: How much has youre local media formed youre oppinion's
Not at all


b1: How much trust do you have in youre local media? (thing's they say ,and especialy thing's they don't say)
Well, the local media in my hometown of Cincinnati is laughable. I tend to trust the major network news somewhat more, such as CBS. I tend to trust them unless something sets off the warning bells. (though this has been affected by my educational experience, as I've learned that an upper-class bias exists in the news).
I also check out CNN.com, and NY Times.

b2: Are you nastionalistic ,possibly patriotic? Is that a consequence of youre life enviroment?
I am patriotic, as I like my country, and think it's one of the best in the world. I do not dislike the concept of nation-states.

b3: How do you feel about youre country's foureign policy? Do you think it's good ,maybe the best?
Our foreign policy isn't perfect, but generally acceptable.

As for my exposure to Propoganda, this just means I have been exposed to various crafted messages. Technically all messages, including this very own post, is propoganda. The term only became negative after Goebbel's Dept. of Propoganda.

 

[CurtSibling]

a1: How much do you think have youre oppinion's been formed by educational enviroment?

"My opinions have been formed in the School of Life."

a2: How much has social contact (discussion's etc.) formed youre oppion's.

"Some, I read and base my opinion on experience and not other's views."

a3: How much has life experience formed youre oppinion's.

"A lot, the only way to learn life's lessons is to live life."

a4: How much has youre local media formed youre oppinion's

"I spit on media, it is geared to sell things and addle people's
already tiny minds..."

b1: How much trust do you have in youre local media? (thing's they say ,and especialy thing's they don't say)

"I have little trust for the mass media for the above reasons..."

b2: Are you nastionalistic ,possibly patriotic? Is that a consequence of youre life enviroment?

"I am a proud Scot, A proud Brit, A proud European
and a proud Westerner. And a proud Human."

b3: How do you feel about youre country's foureign policy? Do you think it's good ,maybe the best?

"UK's policies are not the best, but not the worst.
No nation is "better" than others.
We all have something to offer the global family."

 

[Kefka]

I belive a lot of things that the news reports on but I always get skeptical when then they add opinions in there.
Sometime's when you watch the news ya gotta seperate the propaganda from the real news.


"Smart is knowing half of what you hear is a lie.
Brilliant is knowing which half to belive."

 

[Simon Darkshade]

Originally posted by CurtSibling
a1: How much do you think have youre oppinion's been formed by educational enviroment?

"My opinions have been formed in the School of Life."

"I have a degree from the University of Life, a Diploma from the School of Hard Knocks, and three gold stars from the Kindergarten of getting the sh1t kicked out of me."

 

[CurtSibling]

Originally posted by Simon Darkshade


"I have a degree from the University of Life, a Diploma from the School of Hard Knocks, and three gold stars from the Kindergarten of getting the sh1t kicked out of me."

You forgot;

"The nursery creche of Evil Dictatorship!"