Randal Marlin Quotes

In a general way, a major goal of the propagandist is to seek some kind of authoritative backing for the belief he or she is propagating.

Exposure as a propagandist is fatal to the would-be persuader.

If war is glorified, it tends to eclipse the policies it is meant to serve.

Small town people assume you are a friend if you simply remember their names.

Aristotle writes that persuasion is based on three things: the ethos, or personal character of the speaker; the pathos, or getting the audience into the right kind of emotional receptivity; and the logos, or the argument itself, carried out by abbreviated syllogisms, or something like deductive syllogisms, and by the use of example.

Down to the present day the luminous image of democracy has often served as a pretext for the most undemocratic actions.

When we consider propaganda as the attempt to shape the thoughts and feelings of others, in ways conforming to the aims of the communicator, we find a vast array of different examples throughout history.

We live in a time when complex ethical questions are easily subordinated to the demands of efficiency, profit maximization, and maintenance or furthering of political power.

The specific media my change, but the principles of human nature have remained fairly constant over the millenia.

To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, an alert citizenry today should take the trouble to learn how easy it can be for a powerful minority to manipulate information to win the support-or the indifference-of the majority towards an action.

Once we recognize the power of propaganda, we need to ask whether its exercise is consistent with those democratic ideals to which lip-service is commonly accorded.

There are many special interests skilful at manipulating circumstances and communications in such a way as to benefit their own ends and not necessarily the public good.