MISINFORMATION IS IRRITATING AND DANGEROUS
By Roland Hinkson
Seventy years ago, I was honorably discharged from the US Army, and I still recall much of the USSR propaganda during and after my enlistment. I couldn’t understand how anyone could believe the stream of absurdities being broadcast worldwide. Fortunately, I lived in the “good ole USA.” In those days our media’s goal was to find out what was happening and to report that information to others, with an explanation. Back then, most of the media believed that it was their duty to be watchdogs against governmental tyranny and other corruption. I still believe so. And now I feel a duty to speak out in behalf of the America in which I grew up.
A write-in-guest, Aghast, wrote to Ms. Allison Perry, a commentator in the Watch newspaper, asking Perry for her “take” on President Trump’s meeting with Russian Premier Putin. This simple question triggered an outburst of hate, fallacies and misinformation.
In her commentary, Perry exploded with this: “This man [President Trump] has proven time and time again that he is pure, bloated, nacho-flavored evil, with a lie that insults the intelligence of all but the most delusional and stupid of his 100 percent delusional and utterly moronic followers, … every single one of you still supporting or defending him is an idiot. Fox News anchors/analysts/ mindless-propaganda-spewers/vapid-Satan’s-spawn or whatever you want to call them, for the first time I’ve witnessed since the joke of an election that put this waste of human genes into office, have not all rushed to defend Trump’s statements in Helsinki.”
So, as one of the “moronic idiots” let me make my pathetic point. I believe that a good scholar’s purpose is to always identify and unmask fallacies in arguments. I argue that former Communist activist, Saul Alinsky (Hillary Clinton’s mentor), the author of “12 Rules for Radicals,” is what Ms. Perry is faithfully adhering to and that her Commentary is an excellent example of how Alinsky would apply those “Rules.”
This isn’t an editorial on the socialist/communist Left; it merely touches on Alinsky’s rules. For the sake of space, I’ll just list a limited few of his rules. Alinsky advises his followers thusly:
“RULE 3: Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty. Many organizations under attack are blind-sided by seemingly irrelevant arguments that they are then forced to address.
“RULE 5: Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. There is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions … to create anger and fear.
“RULE 8: Keep the pressure on. Never let up. Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new. ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK from all sides, never giving the reeling organization a chance to rest, regroup, recover and re-strategize.
“RULE 12: Go after people and not institutions; ‘direct personalized criticism and ridicule works.’”
These “rules” don’t reveal TRUTH. They are and have been the tools the communists use to overthrow governments and replace them with socialism/communism.
Of Saul Alinsky ’s numerous, fallacious arguments, one can readily see that he emphasizes the Ad Hominem Arguments – personal attack or poisoning the well. He liberally uses the fallacy “of attempting to refute an argument by attacking the opposition’s personal character or reputation.”
Observe how faithfully Ms. Perry continues to apply Alinsky’s Rules in her Commentary,” as published under the title, “Treasonous Trump,” July 19, 2018, in the Watch (owned by Telluride Newspapers, Inc.). She accuses President Trump of “racism, misogyny, torture of children and their parents,” that President Trump has “done literally not one good thing for the people he pledged to help, working-class Americans.” “Trump,” she screams, “is too g__damn stupid to understand the magnitude of what he said — or didn’t — in Helsinki.” She declares that he callously dismantles “anything that could be good for the country. … How has he done this?” she asks, “By pissing all over the Constitution, throwing it on the floor, spitting on it, and then picking it back up and wiping his ass with it.” His actions, she says, “have undermined our country financially. He has done nothing to help our debt, nothing to create jobs, and absolutely nothing to help the middle and working classes.”
Ridicule”, Alinsky said,” is man’s most potent weapon. … Keep the pressure on . . . ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK from all sides.” Remember RULE 3: “Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty.”
Remember Joseph Goebbels, Adolph Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda, who said, “If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it. If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes truth. If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. If you repeat a lie long enough, it becomes TRUTH.” By observing national politics, we certainly can see this Alinsky philosophy in action.
Wow! We, the “delusional and utterly moronic followers” of President Donald J. Trump, deserve to reap what we’ve sown. For helping a non-politician businessman to clean the “swamp,” are we the “useful idiots” that former Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin referred to. Or could the idiots be those who unwittingly follow Pied Piper Saul Alinsky down the road of the failed policies of socialism/communism?
Contrary to Ms. Perry’s radicalisms, President Trump has amazed America by his extraordinary achievements. Matching his rhetoric against his performance is a “no-brainer.” President Trump is truly the man of the hour.