PROPAGANDA AND
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
Media and Public Affairs | Robert Mann, Series Editor
PROPAGANDA AND
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
Edited by NANCY SNOW
Louisiana State University Press
Baton Rouge
Published by Louisiana State University Press
Copyright 2014 by Louisiana State University Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
LSU Press Paperback Original
First printing
Designer: Barbara Neely Bourgoyne
Typefaces: GarageGothic, display; Miller, text
Printer and binder: Maple Press
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Propaganda and American democracy / edited by Nancy Snow.
pages cm. (Media and public affairs)
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-8071-5414-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-8071-5415-1 (pdf) ISBN 978-0-8071-5416-8 (epub) ISBN 978-0-8071-5417-5 (mobi) 1. Propaganda United States. 2. Propaganda, American. 3. United StatesPolitics and government. I. Snow, Nancy.
HM1231.P75 2013
303.3'750973dc23
2013028475
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
To Philip M. Taylor, Propaganda Scholar Extraordinaire
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank the man at the helm of this ship, Robert Mann, who invited me to tackle this subject as moderator of the 2012 Breaux Symposium at Louisiana State University. Bob holds many academic titles, but it is his commitment to scholarly and teaching excellence in political and persuasive communication that humbles my efforts here. Emily Tiller Wascom was extremely helpful with all her assistance, patience, and feedback as we corresponded from California to Louisiana, across two time zones, in preparation for the symposium. Both Bob and Emily made this project a joy. I also want to thank LSU Press, Alisa Plant in particular, for the opportunity to make this volume part of the presss outstanding series on media and public affairs.
Finally, I wish to acknowledge all of the contributors, many of whom I knew only through their works that had so influenced my own understanding of propaganda in a democratic society. All are highly regarded in their respective fields, and our Breaux Symposium gathering in March 2012 allowed us to meet in person to exchange ideas and hold conversation in a setting that is rare in the academy today. We listened and learned from one another in a spirit of intellectual enthusiasm that revived and renewed an interest in and dedication to propaganda studies in the United States.
PROPAGANDA AND
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
INTRODUCTION
NANCY SNOW
T his edited volume grew out of a spirited discussion that brought together some of North Americas leading minds on propaganda in a democracy. The 2012 Breaux Symposium at Louisiana State University, Thats the Way It Is: Media Propaganda and Its Impact on American Democracy, was designed to address a subject that is often alluded to in media and political conversation but mostly missing as a serious subject of inquiry in academic research and teaching.
The study of propaganda is well received overseas. For a variety of reasons, we tend to shirk it here in America, most probably due to our devotion to the idea that democracies are all about facts and the unvarnished truth. At the waters edge, propaganda in general and American propaganda in particular are closely monitored and discussed. Many of my international counterparts, both inside and outside the academy, are quick to ask why the United States doesnt have propaganda studies departments or propaganda research institutes. To these global citizens, the United States is a major purveyor of propaganda worldwide. Im often inclined to think of Jeremiah 5:21: Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not, more commonly expressed as There is none so blind as he who will not see. We can continue to mistakenly link propaganda to just negative communication or what strictly despotic regimes do, but it will be at our own understanding deficit.
For this symposium we did something rather unprecedented for a group of scholars that is used to the formality of conference presentations. We faced each other around a table in order to elicit more engagement and exchange of ideas. What we discovered is that while we differ a bit on how we define propaganda uses and abuses, we have much more in common that unites us: we believe that the study of propagandas role in American society is highly neglected and yet exceedingly needed in building a more discerning, critically conscious citizen. As editor of this volume and one who has worked at two foreign affairs agencies of the federal government, the U.S. Information Agency and the State Department, I strongly believe there is a national security dimension to the study of propaganda in American democracy. Citizens in a democracy need to be informed about the tools of persuasion and social influence that shape and manipulate their thoughts and actions. Without such tools, democratic nations are vulnerable to the social diseases of ignorance and misunderstanding that are consequences of an undeveloped critical consciousness and which, in turn, lead to strife, violence, and war.
It is no accident that our propaganda symposium occurred during a presidential campaign season. We the people dont necessarily point to a presidential contest as our best exemplar of George Washingtons apocryphal outburst about lies and cherry trees. Rather, we live in a political age when fact-checkers are often dismissed as driven by personal or political bias. The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, which has been tracking press reputation and credibility since 1985, reported in 2011 that 66 percent of Americans consider news stories to be often inaccurate, while 77 percent of Americans believe that mainstream news organizations tend to favor one political side over another. The press is deemed elitist and out of touch: 88 percent of Americans agree with the statement that powerful people and organizations often influence news organizations. Conversely, when Americans are asked about their individual news sources, the percentage saying that such sources are biased or inaccurate drops precipitously, to fewer than 30 percent. Fully 62 percent say that their own main news sources are accurate. What these statistics present is a landscape of America where perceived sources for accuracy and independence are few. In a presidential election year, much less any year, are we now just tuning in to voices and pundits with whom we agree? Are we reading columnists whose opinions are our own in order to just reinforce our own truths? If thats our reality, then no amount of fact checking from organizations like FactCheck.org or PolitiFact.com is going to make a difference with many of us. This is why political consultants often advise their candidates to go for broke with campaign ads that come under attack. Instead of pulling an ad, more often we see campaigns redouble their efforts and attack the fact-checkers as too biased. In politics, effectiveness in getting ones message across trumps accuracy every time. Increasingly in this democracy where free speech reigns supreme, we all seem entitled not only to our own opinions but also to our own set of facts. This is all the more reason why such a book about the uses and abuses of propaganda is before you.
