Examining how propaganda infiltrates the American cultural perspective

My last article spoke to the inappropriate relationship between our government and the media. I want to take the time now to illustrate how deceptive and misleading the media can be in shaping the American cultural perspective. A recent interview which aired on 60 minutes between CBS correspondent Scott Pelley and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad illustrates just how ineffective the mainstream media is in this country. With a biased mindset and a misinformed understanding of history to call on, Scott Pelley illustrates exactly how not to go about conducting an interview, insulting not only the Iranian President, but also the intelligence of Americans in general. The link below will redirect you to an actual transcript of the interview along with a visual feed of the program.

http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/2007/09/ahmadinejad-60-minutes-interview-full.html

It must first be noted that 60 minutes is an editorial program, and as such, Pelley has an agenda to fill. There is nothing wrong with that, but there must be facts to support the opinion, and facts are more than accusations or references to further propaganda. Consider how Pelley opens the interview, not included in the transcript, but included in the video from the link above.

"The President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad knows how to infuriate the western world, and he did it again last week when he asked to visit ground zero..."

Talk about stacking the cards towards a particular end. Pelley begins by aggressively introducing Ahmadinejad, administering the rest of the interview with the same standoffish air.

Pelley continues: "Sir, what were you thinking? The World Trade Center site is the most sensitive place in the American heart, and you must have known that visiting there would be insulting to many, many Americans."

Ahmadinejad: "Why should it be insulting?"

Pelley: "Well, sir, you're the head of government of an Islamist state that the United States government says is a major exporter of terrorism around the world."

Ahmadinejad: "Well, I wouldn't say that what the American government says is the prerequisite here. Something happened there which led to other events. Many innocent people were killed there. Some of those people were American citizens obviously. We obviously are very much against any terrorist action and any killing. And also we are very much against any plots to sow the seeds of discord among nations. Usually you go to these sites to pay your respects. And also to perhaps air your views about the root causes of such incidents. I think that when I do that, I will be paying, as I said earlier, my respect to the American nation."

Pelley: "But the American people, sir, believe that your country is a terrorist nation, exporting terrorism in the world. You must have known that visiting the World Trade Center site would infuriate many Americans, as if to be mocking the American people."

Ahmadinejad: "Well, I'm amazed. How can you speak for the whole of the American nation?"

Pelley: "Well, the American nation . . ."

Ahmadinejad: ". . . you are representing a media and you're a reporter. The American nation is made up of 300 million people. There are different points of view over there. I would like to think that the points of view of the American people is very close to the points of view of the Iranian people. The American people are very much against and opposed what certain American officials are saying and their points of view. And they're also, the way that the people have voted in the American elections is very telling. And we are criticizing such behavior on the part of the American government. We believe that if anyone just allows himself to accuse others, there will be no possibility for peace and friendship."

Look at the tactics that Pelley is using, something that Ahmadinejad brings to attention. Pelley is framing his questions as if his assertions were fact and respective of the whole of our country's opinion, offering no proof that what he says is true other than unsubstantiated allegations, citing a claim by the United States government as fact, as if our government has any ground to stand on when making allegations. This is how propaganda spreads, sending people sprinting towards the bandwagons, gravitating towards what they deem to be the accepted cultural sentiment, rather than towards the reality of the situation. Look at the audacity of Scott Pelley's response to Ahmadinejad's critique in the phrasing of his question, as if his sentiment represents the sentiment of all in this country:

Ahmadinejad: "Well, I'm amazed. How can you speak for the whole of the American nation?"

Pelley: "Well, the American nation . . ."

Consider the following paragraphs and the unsubstantiated accusations Pelley continues to level at Ahmadinejad.

Pelley: "Mr. President, American men and women are being killed by your weapons in Iraq. You know this."

Ahmadinejad: "No, no, no."

Pelley: "Why are those weapons there?"

Ahmadinejad: "Who's saying that?"

Pelley: "The American Army has captured Iranian missiles in Iraq. The critical elements of the explosively formed penetrator bombs that are killing so many people are coming from Iran. There's no doubt about that anymore. The denials are no longer credible, sir."

Ahmadinejad: "Very good. If I may. Are you an American politician? Am I to look at you as an American politician or a reporter? This is what the American officials are claiming. Well, we don't need to arrest many people to prove that Americans are occupying Iraq or produce fabricated documents. If you go to the streets of Baghdad, you will see American helicopters and tanks and Humvees, so on and so forth. So the Iraqi people are just defending themselves. I think the way out for the American official from this problem that it has created for itself shouldn't be in accusing Iraq, Iran, rather. You need to understand the realities of the region and also respect the Iraqi people. The Iraqi people, like other people, want to have security, want to have peace, want to be free. When they see that soldiers come into their houses, they react. So if the American government does accept this reality, this truth, everything will change. If they accuse us 1,000 times, the truth will not change. They need to accept the truth and also the wishes of the Iraqi people. That is a way out of this deadlock."

Pelley: "Mr. President, I want to be very direct and very clear. Many Americans believe that you have American blood on your hands. Are you saying that it is not the policy of this government to send weapons into Iraq? Sir, forgive me, you're smiling, but this is a very serious matter to America."

Ahmadinejad: "Well, it's serious for us as well. I daresay it's serious for everyone. I'm just amazed as the representative of the media, why do you insist on the untrue accusations leveled by your government? This doesn't solve anything. It seems to me it's laughable for someone to turn a blind eye to the truth and accuse others. It doesn't help. And the reason that I'm smiling, again, it's because that the picture is so clear. But American officials refuse to see it. And I think that as a member of the media, your responsibility here is to talk about the truth and back home to force your officials to appreciate the truth and take the correct decision. The problem in Iraq doesn't have anything to do with the Iraqi people. For that matter the killing of American troops doesn't have anything to do with the Iraqi people. And as we have security, things will be better. And we don't want to see a single soldier killed. The solutions we are putting on the table are very humane. And, again, we are asking for very basic things from the American officials, to respect the wishes of the Iraqi people and also their rights. A dictator has been toppled and WMDs have not been found. Once they say that they are going to leave the Iraq, the Iraqi people will live if that's so to speak. If they persist on the same course for 50 years and arrest diplomats, so on and so forth, this will not help with the situation. And if you repeat the mistakes of the past, nothing will get resolved."

This piece of dialogue directly follows Ahmadinejad's dismissal of the allegations that Pelley is making, but Pelley continues on with the echo chamber effect, repeating the same accusations over and over again. This is a technique known as argumentum ad nauseam, or the continued repetition of something until it is taken as fact. Still this doesn't slow Pelley down, despite several valid points made by Ahmadinejad in regards to our government's foreign policy and unfounded reactionary aggressiveness. If you are going to accuse the leader of a foreign nation, it needs to be done on the basis of evidence, not on blind accusations. Don't forget, our government claimed to know for sure of the existence of Weapons of Mass Destruction, and we all know how that turned out.

Due to the length of this interview and the amount of points I wish to make, I've decided to break this down into two separate postings. I want to point out the war that certain media outlets in the United States are waging on our nation and on the rest of the Middle Eastern world, biasing reports towards the aggressive nature of our imperialistic government's views, due to the subsequent effects of special interests and the elite wealth created by capitalism over the media. Pelley has argued with little evidence other than assertions and presented opinion as fact numerous times. It is important to recognize the source of our ignorance if we are going to overcome ignorance as a society. More evidence for this claim will be provided in the next post.