Friday, March 18, 2022

Some People Told Me - Why Do People Believe the Big Lie?

An immediate alarm bell, a warning flare goes up, whenever a pundit or talking head begins a report with “some people told me.”   Which people?   When?   What exactly was said and in what context?  But more importantly, do these people even exist?  In almost every instance I suspect not.  If you can’t cite a specific source, if the information is second hand and only attributed to “some people,” this tells me whatever is to follow is more than likely a crock of unadulterated bullshit.  I’m sorry, but let’s call it what it is.  This is nothing more than an example of “fire-hosing,” a propaganda technique in which a large number of messages are broadcast rapidly, repetitively, and continuously without regard for truth or consistency.  And people are eating it up whether it be true or not.

During the four long years of the former White House interregnum, and throughout the past year, the so-called “Big Lie” has largely been attributed to the words of, the evidence provided by “some people.”  But no one seems to know who they are.  And yet the media keeps reporting these false narratives, perhaps because they cannot conceive of anyone who might have the impudence to distort the truth so egregiously.  Yet it happens all the time.  The American landscape seems to be full of people who believe these “some people” who exist only in the minds of those who wish to lie and distort.  And what if such a claim is proven to be untrue?  Normally this would be considered embarrassing and a sign of weakness.  This is no longer the case.  These “some people” and their spokespersons double-down on untrue claims to save face and personal credibility.

It is our own fault that we are not more discriminating about what we choose to believe.  Many prefer to think they are correct rather than admit they are wrong or have been duped by the unscrupulous.  It has been shown time and again that repeating or amplifying false claims, even to refute them, makes people more likely to believe it.  We would be far better off to value uncertainty and intellectual humility and curiosity. Those values help us ask questions without the expectation of hard/fast answers.

Why haven’t we learned our lesson and demonstrated the fortitude to ignore these claims and call them what they are?  Perpetuating them comes with costs.  Case in point . . . the January 6th Capitol insurrection and attempted coup.  A year has passed, and the Big Lie is just as prevalent today as it was then.  Why?  Because the media is playing right into the hands of the perpetrators.  Dr. Matt Blanchard, a clinical psychologist at New York University, has studied how we deal with what is purported to be true . . . what “some people” have claimed is the truth.   People won’t so much believe something, yet they do seem willing to accept certain information or facts provisionally because it fits their frame of mind and helps them identify with others.  Or it might help one vent some rage.  What is believed “is always predicated on usefulness."  After a time, the presumed truth is accepted as fact.   

The Nazis were adept at perpetuating its Big Lie – claiming Germany’s ills were attributed to the Jews and their “stab-in-the-back” treachery – in order to exploit and manipulate people solely to appeal to ingrained historical anti-Semitism to gain their support.  Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, freely admitted that the perpetuation of the lie is not dependent on the intelligence of those who created it, but rather on the “thick-headedness” and stupidity of those to ignorant to recognize it for what it really is.  There is no reason to fear appearing impudent or ridiculous.   Just stick to the story and folks will believe it to be the truth.  Timothy Snyder, a historian who specializes in the study of fascism, wrote in The New York Times last year that one of the major components of the Big Lie is that it is immediately attributed to the side it is directed against.  This is exactly what Adolf Hitler did in his Mein Kampf, and it is what we are seeing today in this country.

Frequent and tautological repetition is also key as its success is dependent on indoctrination from all angles.  It becomes its own primary evidence.  Repeat something enough it becomes truth.  Who is responsible for this truth?   More often than not it is “some people.”   No one seems to need any more proof than that.  It’s time to insist on those advancing the claims of “some people” to put up – show us the evidence – or shut up!

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