Many are talking about how Taylor Swift is so involved and featured in Big Media and National Football League’s game coverage lately.

In 2023, the Super Bowl was watched by over 115 million viewers in the United States, making it not only the most watched Super Bowl in history, but also the most popular TV program of all time in the U.S. 

The after game commentary didn’t proceed without controversy. Do you remember?

Vivek Ramaswamy, who recently endorsed Donald Trump after he bowed out for his run as the GOP presidential nominee, was one of the first in 2024 to offer opinion about Swift’s special connection to the Super Bowl on X:

When we post an article about PROPAGANDA, I notice the readership counts are usually lower than our normal politics and news offerings.

However, the comments (across all venues: Gab, Gettr, Facebook, Telegram,  WordPress, etc.) seem more comprehensive and in-depth.

The topic appears to resonate with a special kind of person—those with a certain capacity and compassion to dig deeper under the surface.

I was first introduced to the book ‘Propaganda’ by Edward Bernays as required reading by Journalism Professor Bob Glaves’ advanced Public Relations class at Texas State University in the mid 1970s. Bernays was the Father of Public Relations.

Not until reader and friend Kyle Kiel mentioned it in a post some time ago had I thought about that book.

Professor Glaves and author Bernays opened a whole new world. When learning Bernays was the nephew of Sigmund Freud (I was a psychology minor) my interest was peaked.

Looking back, I didn’t realize how important this would be. As a private investigator, I developed and presented information used by attorneys in court.

Working as an executive at H-E-B Food/Drugs in Texas and Mexico was an exciting experience in the psychology of business, retailing, persuasion, and motivation: teams, decision makers, customers, vendors…

Through H-E-B, and as a founder/President of an international retail facilities management association (PRSM, now known as CONNEX-FM), I was blessed with awesome opportunities (Disney University, Southwest Airlines collaboration, Paco Underhill, etc.) to learn and practice the art/science of public and customer relations.

Key points:

• It’s all about creating images in the minds and hearts of multitudes by deeply understanding how people work.

• Symbols are important to reach their emotional habits and mental cliches.

• Elections, opinions, wants, desires, selections are free and open competition of ideas. But those who know how (and are good at) to get public acceptance are the real people in power–especially of group thought.

Selling convincing people your idea/product is good, but finding out who already influences a group you want to reach is more important. “Influencer Marketing” is done by charismatic hero, spokesperson, entertainer, sports figure, motivator, etc.).

BUT….all this said, some of these ideas can be concerning when you consider how easy it is to manipulate “group think.” This is what was particularly frightening to Kyle and others I’ve talked with over the years.

It’s worth exploring.

Kyle, from Peoria, Arizona offered more elaboration:

As a Jew, he was mortified that his writings and theories became, unknowing to him, Josef Goebels’, Propoganda Minister for the Third Reich, background driver for Propoganda-zing for Hitler’s attempt at World domination.

Invoking histrionics, some stop with FDR, as the starting point, when Social Agendas are discussed.

Let’s trip back to (President Woodrow Wilson and his invoking the Committee on Public Information to provide members of the public with information about the war effort and the censorship of anti-war material. The CPI became the US government’s propaganda and publicity agency.

One of his “star” propaganda spinners was Edward Bernays. He just happened to be the man who wrote the book Goebels used, as Propaganda Minister for the Reich, to almost take over rule of the entire World.

You may ask why the work of the committee on public information during World War I is considered propaganda; because it was designed to influence public opinion by appealing on people’s emotion and presenting a single side of the story the Progressives. Hmmm, go figure. Without MSNBCNNBCBS.

Sound familiar?

I invite you to read about Edward Bernay’s background and, especially, his book Propaganda. He consulted & worked in every Administration to do exactly what his gift was, BULLSH*T the population. He was at play until his death during the Clinton Administration.

In my mind, until one comes to understanding how the overwhelming power grab of the Presidency (Wilson contributions), the intention of Wilson to enlarge Federal Government’s role in Administration (because “we’re” too stupid to get it), and how Propaganda has CHANGED everything and almost put the Reich in control of the World, ANY CONVERSATION about Trump being “in it for himself” is specious.

Bernays was hailed as the Father of Modern Marketing.

A good example of how his ideas were applied, is if  you’re old enough to remember the days when inserting subliminal messages in the filmstrip of a movie was outlawed, subliminal messaging was his application. He theorized that if a film clip had several, imperceptible to the conscious mind, clips in a movie suggesting, “popcorn, mmm good,” popcorn sales increased.

If one reads his stuff, it’s written in a “constructive” use dialogue. Goebels saw the nefarious value.

Another reader, Karl Schafer-Junger, from Frisco, Texas, responded:

I also have a Journalism degree from Iowa. And a communications m.a. from Michigan State…with an emphasis on interpersonal, small group, and mass mediated persuasion strategies. Your post brings back memories.

Subliminal Seduction was a huge book back in the day…looking for penises in the ice cubes of scotch magazine ads, and other things. And, McLuhan’s The Medium Is The Message. McLuhan was so obtuse it was hard to understand. But – he used lots of pictures:).

☆☆☆☆☆

IN GOD WE TRUST

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