Propaganda

Propaganda by Bill Wilson

Propaganda is defined as "chiefly derogatory information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view." In America, propaganda was always supposed be properly identified. For example, the First Amendment of the Constitution expressly guarantees the news media's freedom. This means that government cannot suppress free speech. This freedom is should be used to hold the government accountable. When the news media takes the position of a political party, it no longer is exercising its freedom, but is held captive to the spirit of propaganda, causing government and politicians to be far less accountable and far more powerful.

 

When I was in Journalism school, we did a lot of analyzing of news stories to be able to recognize bias. Back then, we used Pravda and Tass--the official "news" outlets of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. They were the most clever propagandists of the time. For example, one story was about an international race between a Russian and an American. The America won the race by quite a distance. The headline in the Communist papers went like this: "Russia second, American next to last in international race." You see how truth can be distorted by propaganda. The government has its own point of view and its own propaganda. Unlike the Soviet Union, America's media was and is free to report the truth.

 

When a society drifts away from God, it also has no bearing of truth. Some of the most godless people are in the highest places of both government and media. They believe truth is relative and that the ends justifies the means. Without God, there can be no truth. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me." Without Jesus it is extremely difficult to even discern truth because he is the truth. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:3,4, "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not..." Jesus also said in Matthew 24:4, "Take heed that no man deceive you."

 

Herein is a two-fold problem. Americans are being fed deception by the news media which by and large cannot know truth because it has no foundation in Christ. Therefore, good citizenship as Americans requires that we do not believe what we hear from the media and seek the truth on our own. Moreover, we are called by Christ to make disciples. Romans 10:13,14 says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" We as Christians must do a better job in making disciples, otherwise the truth will never be known.