Propaganda.
Art, or something more sinister?
Propaganda is an attempt to convince people of something. It is a very popular method of combat in the Mess, used to gain converts, shatter reputations, improve opinions, and otherwise convince people of things.
It is both horrible and disgusting, and the most humane method of changing perceptions. You can choose to ignore propaganda. But it's insidious, and leaks in on its own, whether or not you want it to.
(A tautology indeed)
To clarify that: You can choose to believe it, or not believe it. But how many times have you caught yourself humming jingles or picking on the latest military ad campaign?
- Ah, but is it a matter of which part of you is making the choice? Most sentient minds are multilayered; a large number of them are still built on a foundation of glandular, survival-based biology that's very easy to exploit. Propaganda, advertising, meme warfare in general, all thrive by cutting the highest parts of a brain out of the deal, appealing directly to irrational and unconscious drives. Memetic war relies on choice, but it relies on skillful mastery of where the choice is targeted.
- But that raises interesting questions. For one thing, what sort of beings, with what sort of brain structures, would be more resistant to propaganda. Can, for instance, System be propagandized? Can Theeka? Can Hydra? For another, can things be done to immunize the brain against propaganda? Of course, the answer's yes, at least for earthly forms of propaganda. Knowing you're being propagandized, and remembering to think critically despite the pretty lights and sounds, goes a long way towards making you not believe the words of that jingle, even if you still hum it. But that raises a third question: could there be a science of "metapropaganda," tailor made to insinuate itself into brains that would normally be resistant, sort of a cognitive psych for hackers? Could even a megamind fall prey to a sophisticated enough art-hack? -- OR
- But then you must ask: Would you WANT them to? --Besax
Edit as appropriate.
Factions that make liberal use of propaganda:
People that make liberal use of propaganda: