There is a saying that it’s easier to fool someone than to convince someone that they have been fooled.
There is another saying that it’s easier to convince people of a huge lie than a small one.
Once our thinking is built on a foundation of lies or half truths we have a hard time discerning truth. How do we know?
There is another concept I’ve encountered that goes something like this, “Those who control the present, control the past. Those who control the past, control the future.”
Schools throughout the world teach history. Rarely will the curriculums from one country to another align. Sometimes different regions of a country have different history. Information about the past is transmitted to the next generations via curriculum for a variety of reasons. Many Christian homeschoolers carefully choose curricula that will support their Biblical world view. As a resident, turned citizen, of South Africa from 1983 to 2013, I heard a lot of discussion about educational curriculum in light of the profound changes the country experienced. Many past events were revised with a new understanding in light of the release of Nelson Mandela from prison and his election as President of the country that had once considered him a dangerous terrorist.
Rarely is history as clear as we’d like to be able to teach our children. Many of us grew up hearing lots of dates and facts in history class and lost interest in the topic. The intrigues of nation against nation and political rise and fall doesn’t captivate very many. Learning early on that history is boring, we put our attention and energy into areas that are more captivating.
As a retired homeschool mom [all five have long since graduated], I’ve grown to be very intrigued by history and explored a variety of different sources. The reality of the role of propaganda throughout history is undeniable, yet none of us wants to admit we have been a victim of propaganda! Could much of our early education and exposure to media have been part of a tactic to influence or control my thinking? We pride ourselves on our independent thought, yet how independent is my understanding of world affairs both past and present?
One thing I have learned in light of recent crazy events, God’s word is a great place to place my trust. The old testament accounts sound amazingly similar to what we are witnessing first hand today. God’s word is true. God is trustworthy. As I view current events in light of God’s eternal truths, I have more understanding. I also have confidence in our all powerful God!
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities: All things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Colossians 1:15-17
God is still in control. All things are working for His purpose and for our ultimate good.
I found this lecture/interview with Professor Mark Crispin Miller from NYU quite profound. He is a student and teacher of propaganda throughout history. He makes some pretty startling statements in this 30 minute interview.
Or if you prefer, here is a link to the audio only. https://ratical.org/PandemicParallaxView/mp3s/Perspectives-on-the-Pandemic-2020-A-Propaganda-Masterpiece-Prof-Mark-Crispin-Miller-Episode17.mp3
Here are the highlights:
Mark Cripsin Miller: “It seems to me that the year 2020 and the first half of 2021 have comprised a global propaganda spectacle of unprecedented scale and sophistication. I for one believe that we were subjected to a series of carefully planned psychological operations over the course of 2020 and just beyond. I think it started with the roll-out of the virus. This particular instance of fear-mongering is the most persuasive, the most compelling, the most devastating kind of fear-mongering that’s ever really been used in the history of propaganda and that’s really saying something. We’ve seen the fear propaganda move from the Hun to Communism to Terrorism but now it makes the crucial move to the thing itself. The thing with which previous enemies have been compared. The evocation of The Virus Is All Around Us was enough to turn the wits of millions of highly educated people. It’s a very easy matter to get people to do what you want. Just convince them they’re under attack and that anyone who argues with that claim is putting them at risk.”
“Propaganda is the executive arm of the invisible government,” wrote Edward Bernays [in 1929], the father of modern propaganda. In part one of Episode 17, Mark Crispin Miller, professor of Media Studies at New York University, discusses the propaganda onslaught that defined the year 2020, when what was dismissed one week is confirmed the next, and why questioning official narratives “necessarily means taking ‘conspiracy theory’ seriously.”
We can feel uneasy and unsettled when faced with such information. Sometimes we prefer to bury our heads in the sand and pretend our fantasy picture of the world is accurate! Understanding that there is something not quite right about the narrative we’ve been presented can actually open up our faith and cause us to grow as we seek to know God and call on Him to guide us as we navigate life with a new understanding. God is faithful. He is calling His children to trust Him. He is still at work building His Kingdom. We need to re-evaluate our tightly held ideas about the world and re-examine everything in light of God’s unfailing truth.
Ultimately we can no longer live in a fantasy world. The adage, “What you don’t know doesn’t hurt you,” is changed to “What you do know won’t hurt you.”
Becky Hastings collects information on health and tries her best to discover and share truth. “By God’s grace, through Jesus Christ, I was saved, blessed with a husband of 40 years, and have five precious babies all grown up. I now get to delight as nine grandchildren grow! Together we can help each other discover a healthy path in this crazy upside down world.“