Reality versus Propaganda

The world of propaganda is one of repetition, whether the product being sold is a new car or a lifestyle change. The essential thing is to keep hammering at the message, in varying formats, until you wear down the listener and viewer's psyche. As people who are inundated with political, medical, and corporate propaganda, we are wise to be aware of this primary means of getting us to believe the advertisers' message.

(Fear is another tool of propaganda -- unsettling us so that we can't reason effectively. Combine fear with constant repetition and you have a populace that reacts, as opposes to rationalizes. Think back over the "news" you've heard in the last 25 years, and ask yourself, "How much of the message is fear? And how much of that fear message is constantly repeated?")

It's important to recognize that, regardless of how many times a message is repeated, this does not increase its validity or truth. Indeed, the more we hear a message, the more we should question its veracity, since obvious facts, such as, "The grass is green," or, "Cookies are sweet," don't have to be thrown at us in political speeches and documentaries and scientific pronouncements and Twitter blurbs. And they most certainly don't require carrot or stick.

One subtle, and not-so-subtle, message we receive is that the digital world is a wonderful, completely equal alternative to face to face, physical interaction. We've heard this a lot over the last 18 months and counting as we're told that we need to shut ourselves in our dark rooms, where it's safe, and interact with our friends and families via Zoom, or face time on the phone, or text, or email. "Hold up the Christmas present as you're opening it, honey, so I can see it!"

It's not the same. And putting a smile on it and insisting that it is doesn't belie the lie -- there is no substitute, no replacement, no digital equivalent to hugging someone, shaking hands, being in the same room and looking at one another's faces as we talk, physically interacting. Anyone who has lived far from a loved one for a long time would, in a heartbeat, drop the phone for the real thing.

The artwork, Out Sailing, celebrates this reality of reality -- this friendship and interaction of real people with one another. At the end of the day, when each man thinks over the experience, he will remember the talking, the laughing, the teasing and joking, the being together on a warm sunny day, out in the water where the air feels free.

The digital world has its place, and we as people who wish to live free must keep it in its place. It's fast, convenient, and enables us to keep in touch with people who are physically distanced from us. But it is not a substitute for real, genuine, NORMAL, face to face physical interaction, and any message that it is so is . . . propaganda.