Planet TV Show
Episode 204 – Editorial about the propaganda film “Obsession.”
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I received a DVD in the mail several days ago supposedly containing a preview of a documentary film (at the value of $19.95) titled “Obsession.”
The film does not state that it comes from a political perspective. In fact, it says it comes from a non-partisan group that is only interested in disseminating information regarding national security issues. However, on the inside cover it states,
“The threat of Radical Islam is the most important issue facing us today. But it’s a topic that neither the presidential candidates, nor the media are discussing openly. It’s our responsibility to ensure we can all make an informed vote in November.”
First, this is not even close to fact. There are over 1.06 million current stories regarding radical Islam on the web right now. It is being discussed openly everywhere, by everyone. And I’ve heard more than enough from both candidates about the subject, as well. So I was intrigued at what perspective the documentary would take.
After looking at both the trailer and the film, it is clear that this is not a documentary any more than the films from director Michael Moore. For a movie to be a documentary, it has to show all sides of the issue. Even if one side of the issue is horrendously wrong, you must even-handedly cover all of the aspects from all sides of the issue. If it does not do that, then it is not correctly called a documentary. This is called propaganda. The film equates the modern radical Islamic movement to the Nazi movement of WWII. But any modern documentary on the Nazis of WWII that does not adequately convey the oppressive and vindictive nature of the economic and political punishment inflicted on Germany by prevailing European governments as backlash after WWI, and how that created the environment where the German people were ripe for a Nazi and fascist movement to take hold, would not be a documentary. It would be propaganda. Showing what led to the Nazis does not support Nazi belief. It informs and creates context. Both are requisite for understanding. One without the other is gossip – or propaganda.
This film is propaganda and that’s all it is.
This type of film is exactly the same tool that the Nazis used to spread their message of fear and hate. And it is exactly the types of tools that the radical extremist are using to spread their message of lies and fear. Someone spent a lot of money to distribute this film to me and about 28 million others in the United States. 28 million copies sent in mail and newspapers. That is a lot of money. And it really perturbs me that they used a non-partisan cover group to push this film, that clearly cannot benefit anyone other than John McCain. If you wanted to come out and say, “This is a threat and this is a threat that only John McCain can defend against,” then you should have said that on film and on the packaging. You should not have said that this was non partisan. It clearly cannot benefit anyone except John McCain. Logically thinking if you’re saying that this would be of equal benefit to both of the candidates, then why mention that it would benefit a politically informed decision on your vote. It cannot benefit anyone else but John McCain and it perturbs me that they are using propaganda of the worst kind (the fear and hate kind) to attempt to persuade the American public by the use of fear that McCain is the right candidate for President. It absolutely appalls me, and you have lost any respect you may have gotten from one military man to another. This is as bad as the swift-boat attacks on John Kerry. Americans do not need to be afraid. Any effort to say that the American public should be afraid is nothing more than an effort to control people by the use of fear and hatred. This film is pure propaganda. It is not meant to inform you. It is meant to make you afraid. I am not afraid. I am infuriated. What bothers me most is that many (maybe most) Americans will become afraid. When did Americans become such cowards. Our country was founded by men who said, “Give me Liberty, or give me Death.” Today the average knuckle-head American is willing to sacrifice anything, including the Constitution, to pretend they are safe from something they have less chance of experiencing than being struck by lightening.
John McCain’s camp is going to say that they had nothing to do with this, but I don’t care. If these are the people who are supporting you, then you are as evil as they are. The people who are pushing this propaganda on the American public are evil. They are as evil as the subject they’re discussing. Two evils do not make a justice. Two evils should not elect a president, either.
Americans should not act like cowards. Radical Islamic extremism is a problem. I agree with that assessment completely. But radical Islam is not the only radical extremism at play here. Any group that will use this type of fear mongering and hatred generating propaganda is also a radical extremist. Radical Christian Extremist are just as wrong (and out of the main-stream) as any other radical extremist group. And radical Islam does not represent any more of a threat than the two dozen or so serious threats that our country has to deal with on a regular basis. And in fact, compared to the number of people that are actually affected by this particular threat (on a regular basis) they represent a very small threat. One that we have always been able to handle. One that we would have been able to handle even prior to 9-11, had anyone been paying attention. And had we not dismantled the organizations and intelligence networks that were necessary to keep us safe after the fall of the Soviet Union. No one side is innocent in this affair, but this particular presidential campaign of John McCain (the one based on fear and hatred) is something that I’m now sick of. I’m done with it and I think the American people are done with it, too. Seven years of being frightened to death by the Executive branch of our government is enough. I’m tired of people telling me I should be afraid. I AM NOT AFRAID, and any average intelligent American should know that they should not be afraid, either. This film is propaganda – the worst kind of propaganda because it claims to be a non-partisan political message. That’s bullshit.
I am an intelligence analyst. This is nothing but propaganda. I make a living by identifying and analyzing propaganda. Just one quick cursory look at the packaging, the material, the trailer and the content tells me that this is not anything other than propaganda. And it is the same type of propaganda that the other side is using. But the bottom line proof is in the amount of money spent to distribute the film. 28 million copies is “not trivial” as we scientist like to say. In the world I work in, you start with the money. But the non-profit refuses to disclose the money publicly. Fine. This is what I do. Nobody puts that kind of money into “just educating the public about a danger.” Nobody other than the government (and we’re not including that possibility because it would only count against McCain). Somebody had to get something for this kind of expenditure. Even if you believe that there could be some group that only desires to spread information about a national security danger, then it becomes even less likely that the group would be non-partisan. If the group truly believes the threat is as important as it is, then they would commit their support (and the massive amount of money spent on this “film” and its distribution) to the candidate that will address that danger. They would not try to make you afraid. This is a cheap Hollywood stunt at its worst.
McCain, you should be ashamed of yourself. I’m ashamed of you.
To paraphrase a line from a movie about the integrity of the Presidential office,
“You’ve lost more than my respect. You’ve lost any chance you ever had of getting my vote.”
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