Friday, November 14, 2008
Is he really stupid?
The tables in the dining room at Ivy Bank Guest House are fairly large. If you want to be heard by the person opposite, you need to raise your voice a little. It's not easy to have a private conversation. So I couldn't help hearing the voices at the next table.
The elderly American gentleman was quoting someone as saying that George Bush Jnr just had to be the stupidist (or was it dumbest?) US president ever. He must have agreed with this assessment or he wouldn't have bothered repeating it.
I don't.
I think George Bush Jnr is very shrewd.
The stupid ones, in my opinion, are all those American citizens who voted for him eight years ago. They proved to be even more stupid when they put him in again four years later.
I remember reading when I was a younger man that the way to have power over people is to convince them there is something they should fear and present yourself as being able to control or defeat that which is feared. (Sorry, I don't remember who said this, just remember the concept.) Dictators have been using this principle for centuries. Adolf Hitler used it well. The Chinese government used it recently to convince Chinese people not to listen to what the rest of the world was saying about them.
It works in democracies too. Just convince a majority of voters that there's something out there to be afraid of and that you'll do what is necessarly to protect them and they'll vote for you. Sadly it seems that so often so many of the people are too stupid to realise that what they need to be protected from is their would-be protector.
You may not be able to fool all the people all the time but if you can fool enough of the people some of the time, you just might get to be president of the United States and ruler of the free world.
The elderly American gentleman was quoting someone as saying that George Bush Jnr just had to be the stupidist (or was it dumbest?) US president ever. He must have agreed with this assessment or he wouldn't have bothered repeating it.
I don't.
I think George Bush Jnr is very shrewd.
The stupid ones, in my opinion, are all those American citizens who voted for him eight years ago. They proved to be even more stupid when they put him in again four years later.
I remember reading when I was a younger man that the way to have power over people is to convince them there is something they should fear and present yourself as being able to control or defeat that which is feared. (Sorry, I don't remember who said this, just remember the concept.) Dictators have been using this principle for centuries. Adolf Hitler used it well. The Chinese government used it recently to convince Chinese people not to listen to what the rest of the world was saying about them.
It works in democracies too. Just convince a majority of voters that there's something out there to be afraid of and that you'll do what is necessarly to protect them and they'll vote for you. Sadly it seems that so often so many of the people are too stupid to realise that what they need to be protected from is their would-be protector.
You may not be able to fool all the people all the time but if you can fool enough of the people some of the time, you just might get to be president of the United States and ruler of the free world.
Labels: communication, fear, George Bush Jnr, politics, US
Comments:
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The politicians in India are doing it all the time. Big Time! They manage to create fear and rule over that fear while holding over the reins of control tightly.
Their vote bank is increasing while India is going to dogs (literally) every time the election is held.
Despite all those empty claims of being 'Incredible'- India is still floundering in the 'Dark Ages' and the politicians make sure that it never crosses the Hundred Years gap from rest of the world!
Nazia
Their vote bank is increasing while India is going to dogs (literally) every time the election is held.
Despite all those empty claims of being 'Incredible'- India is still floundering in the 'Dark Ages' and the politicians make sure that it never crosses the Hundred Years gap from rest of the world!
Nazia
I've found a site that gives another slant on this stuff. You can check it out here: http://www.under-one-roof.net/spiritual/patriotism.html
They have more interesting stuff on their other pages too.
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They have more interesting stuff on their other pages too.
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