Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Why I Blog about Propaganda and Motorcycles

I already did a blog about why ride a motorcycle. Now a blog about why I write a blog.

Let's go back to Robert Pirsig, with "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". I love how in that book he wrote about motorcycling and quality. Not even at the same time, he could write purely about motorcycling, then jump to a completely different topic whose theme was philosophy, religion, or anything connected to quality, or more generally "values". When I started this blog, I noticed that the format of a blog was similar to the format of Pirsig's book. So I thought I would do some stuff about motorcycling, mixed with some stuff about propaganda.

I see propaganda today being a much bigger problem than quality was then. Maybe back in the seventies, quality was an issue, as the Japanese were just starting to show us what piles of junk our old motorcycles and cars were. But now all that's settled, even Harley Davidson and Triumph use the Japanese manufacturing process, and make reliable machines. But although we have beaten the quality control issues, propaganda today has made us almost incapable of running either a democracy or running a sustainable economic system.

Before we lose both our freedom and our economic system, we need to stamp out the most ignorant forms of propaganda. Those forms that incite hatred and fear, the propaganda that allows the "best and the brightest" to rig our financial systems to benefit only themselves, and be able to run it for a decade or so before its' total collapse. All without us having the slightest idea what was going on.

When I see some of the garbage (another word for propaganda) being written today, I am shocked. I know I could write better, funnier stuff that is actually true. For example, the utter crap being written by Pat Robertson about Jesus. I am not even a devout believer and I know way more than Pat Robertson does about Jesus. So why then does he make millions of dollars on Christian TV bilking little old ladies out of their life savings, and getting his idiotic message out to millions of people, while I don't make a dime writing a blog on the Internet. Actually it kind of makes sense. He owns the TV network, but I can write the truth because I don't need the lies to steal money from grannies.

Here is another example of garbage, since I was reading MacLean's at the dentist's office yesterday. Mark Steyn writes a column for MacLean's magazine which is pure junk. What does he know about Canadian history or about French Canadians? Born in Toronto, educated in England, living in New Hampshire (well at least you can see Quebec from New Hampshire.) But then he writes articles ridiculing French Canadians, and makes money doing it, while millions of English speaking Canadians love how funny and clever he is, and assume he knows what he's writing about. I can write funnier stuff than Mark Steyn, (actually this is already funnier) and at the same time I know a lot more about almost any subject you could name except maybe war which Mark and I both know nothing about. Granted, Mark is limited by his target audience at the Rush Limbaugh show to produce only crap, but still, why does he get paid to influence people while I get nothing? This has to change.

So instead of getting mad or writing a letter to MacLean's so they can delete it, I'm writing my own blog. One day my blog may knock MacLeans magazine out of circulation. There is a chance that my blog goes viral, at least as good a chance as winning a Toyota Venza by rolling up the rim on a Tim Horton's cup, which Mark Steyn wouldn't even know about since he lives in the USA. And I'll bet I can write a blog entry and post it on the Internet faster than Mark can roll up one rim at Tim Horton's.

33 comments:

  1. Well, for what it's worth ... I now read your blog more regularly than I read MacLeans!

    I suppose it's really tough to survive in the magazine business, but MacLeans' move so far right has alienated a lot of us readers that preferred MacLeans' earlier, more balanced, incarnations.

    Alright - Andrew Coyne, despite his biases, does sometimes argue valid points and he can be very articulate. But most of the op-ed pieces by the likes of Barbara Amiel and Mark Steyn simply make my gorge rise. And the rest of the magazine has become a little too much like People for my taste.

    And the next Steve Harper pisses and moans about the Canadian media being too liberal, I hope someone has the presence of mind to slip him a copy of MacLeans.

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  2. Barbara Amiel for some reason is not as annoying as Mark Steyn, though I resent being called a "pointy headed intellectual". Reading her column is more like listening to Marie Antoinette lecture me on the nutritional aspects of eating cake.

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  3. "I can write funnier stuff than Mark Steyn."

    You mean like the above sentence?

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  4. You have an odd idea of "funny".

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  5. "I can write funnier stuff than Mark Steyn, (actually this is already funnier) and at the same time I know a lot more about almost any subject you could name..."

    Um, no. Unless you meant in the ludicrous sense. And you might want to check the dictionary before you use "propaganda" again.

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  6. Are you suggesting I don't know the meaning of the word Propaganda? Here you go:
    Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist.
    —Garth S. Jowett and Victoria O'Donnell, Propaganda and Persuasion

    I know it's not really funny, but I never said I was funny, I said I was funnier than Mark Steyn. Check out his stuff to see what I mean.

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  7. Er, you are not funny...not at all.

    Peter Cook, P.J O'Rourke and Mark Steyn ARE funny, thus they are still massively SUCCESSFUL long-term and widely PAID for, and for very good reasons.

    Focus on a single point where Steyn is er, wrong and counter with evidence, instead of strawman cant and the usual jealous ad hominems of the unknown, uninteresting, untalented, dull and unproductive.

    Toodle ooh, comic genius.

    Colonel Robert Neville blogspot com.

    thepeoplescube com

    drsanity blogspot com

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  8. "Always trust what you read without question."

    Obviously you mean this sarcastically, but do you exempt your own writings?

    "Cheerfully provided by all those who know what is best for everyone, everywhere."

    Also sarcastic, but isn't this in fact what you are trying to do: give us the benefit of your knowledge of what is best?

    I'm not affirming or dissenting from what you say. It's just surprising that you seem to pre-condemn your own words.

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  9. "I can write the truth because I don't need the lies to steal money from grannies."

    Are you saying as a point of pride you can steal money from old grannies with out lying?

    I'm quite curious how you go about stealing from old grannies now.

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  10. Oops, you're right, that was a poorly worded sentence. Here is what I should have written "I can write the truth because I don't need to steal money from grannies"

    See, I love constructive criticism. It's a win-win situation.

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  11. You're right...you ARE funny. Just not in the way you intend. But I think much of your "funny" blog rants could one day end up coming out of the mouth of a character in a Christopher Guest movie.

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  12. "Focus on a single point where Steyn is er, wrong and counter with evidence"

    You must be really confident to give me the choice of any single point. So, to be fair, I randomly selected only the most recent entry on marksteynonline.com, which now happens to be a review of the Passion of the Christ. And guess what, I do not find a single point in the entire thing where I could truthfully say Mark is wrong.

    But my point is that he is writing propaganda. I have written many blogs on the general topic of propaganda. In my very first propaganda post I wrote

    "Propaganda avoids what is factually wrong for all its worth. The propaganda may be irrelevant, may be selective, may use flawed logic, and while not actually wrong, can at the same time also not be right."

    To see more, here is the link to that post. You can find others in the side bar index to this blog if you are interested in the topic.

    Propaganda Blog: My First Post

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  13. In the words of the late Henny Youngman:

    You have a ready wit. Tell me when it's ready.

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  14. "why does he get money to influence people and I get nothing?"

    um, justice?

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  15. I was in the middle of reading Aristotle's Posterior Analytics, when I saw Steyn's link. The beauty of your blog is we'll soon be able to see by your hitmeter and engorged PayPal account whether anyone else agrees with you.

    Avast matey.

    Perhaps MacLean's can get some bailout money to keep pirates like you at bay.

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  16. Regarding the anonymous comment:
    There is no system of justice that provides financial incentive for advocating mass murder.

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  17. Other than one poorly constructed sentence, you have good sentence structure. You use grammar well, also. The post started off somewhat interesting, but quickly lost steam, especialy when you resorted to personally attacking other, better writers. Good luck, maybe you will find funny.

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  18. Hey Bob: and that "single point" where Steyn is er, wrong is? You forgot to say. Big 'effing surprize. You're like a Pooter Character in Diary Of A Nobody. You don't see the actual joke is YOU not getting the joke.

    Steyn linking to you gets you undeserved traffic like a sideshow curiosity, while you linking to Steyn leaves you where you are.

    Toodle ooh. Hey, turn professional bore. Colonel Neville.

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  19. No traffic is undeserved.

    I did respond to your post about proving Mark Steyn wrong - it's there at 10:09 AM Apr. 10

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  20. A response to Anonymous "you resorted to personally attacking other, better writers":

    I admit that I called the stuff mark writes or says garbage, junk, crap and propaganda. But that is not a personal attack. Calling for mass murder is a personal attack. Mark needs to retract that statement matter how well written it may be.

    See what I think about the moral obligation of a citizen of a free country to speak out against hate literature in this blog:

    Propaganda Blog: Moral Obligations

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  21. In a recent survey, exactly 100% of respondents claimed to have a "good sense of humour."

    Just as 100% of respondents claimed they were "intelligent" and/or "creative."

    (Not to mention "better than average drivers" and "young-looking" for their age.)

    And of course, every blogger on the Internet is convinced he's better at it than Mark Steyn...

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  22. Well I am a better than average driver, so you may be on to something. But no way do I look young for my age. My wife is only 2 years younger and I regularly get called her father, or I get a senior citizen's ticket without asking for it while she get full fare.

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  23. For all your hilarity, you go back to anonymity in 5..4..3..2..

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  24. I can handle anonymity. I cannot handle being too cowardly to speak out for what is right.

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  25. You're not funny. You're ridiculous. There's a difference ...

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  26. There is nothing ridiculous about speaking up against hate propaganda. If you want to see ridiculous, check out my Chevrolet Segwayrado

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  27. Robert,
    I’m glad you’re attempting to demonstrate your support for free speech through your blog, though I’m not sure I understand why you’re taking on Mark Steyn in the same column. He’s arguing for exactly the same thing. Given your comments about hate literature, I don’t think you fully understand the concept of “free speech”. As Mark has written – and I paraphrase – …if you don’t believe in free speech for someone you loathe and despise, then you don’t believe in free speech at all.”

    Also, the definition you posted for “propaganda” could apply to any school’s text book – including those on mathematics. I’ll grant the term can have a broad range, see link to the Merriam-Webster on line dictionary, but this one is so broad as to be, essentially, useless.

    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/propaganda

    Sorry about the anonymous, but I don’t seem to have the right account.

    David

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  28. Free speech is a given for me, living in Canada. But originally in my blog I started out on the question: What if Free Speech was not a given. For example, in Nazi Germany Before WW II, what was the moral obligation of Germans to speak out against Nazi propaganda? But I ended up expanding the topic to cover propaganda in general, and the links are scattered. You jumped in to one of my last entries. So I decide to put all the links to my propaganda series together here. They are all of understandable on their own, if you prefer to pick and choose, but this is the context I wrote them in.

    Propaganda: Info Wars Intro
    Propaganda: Points 1&2
    Propaganda: The Myth of The Big Lie
    More On Lies
    Headlines
    Red Flags for Well Informed People
    Propaganda:TV Show 24
    Moral Obligations
    Propaganda: The Importance of Symbols
    Propaganda: Muslims
    Just War Theory
    Symbolism of the Moon Landing
    Propaganda: Control of Language
    Propaganda: Environmentalism
    Propaganda: Class Warfare
    Sarcasm and Irony
    Propaganda: Socialism
    Propaganda: Is Jesus Pro War
    Propaganda: The Cowboy
    Propaganda: Biker Gangs
    Propaganda: Truth or Tolerance
    This one (Why I blog about Motorcycles and Propaganda)
    Propaganda: Could Nazi Propaganda Work in Canada
    Propaganda: Language Problems

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  29. Hey there. The Hyacinth Girl had a pretty good post today (May 4th) about a tragic event in Iran that most of us never heard about. Might be worth a look.

    Hope you are doing well.

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  30. Woo-who-hulla-balu! You really kicked up a storm with those Mark Steyn comments!

    Don't take it to heart. Keep writing.

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  31. "Free speech is a given for me, living in Canada."

    Haha. This just shows how completely out of touch you are. Where have you been for the last couple years?

    But you are funny, in a Corky St. Clair sort of way.

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  32. Obviously a rhetorical question, as I have details on my trips in this blog, and my profile is available to the public. So why did you choose to keep a hidden profile?

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