• tiredturtle@lemmy.ml
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          8 months ago

          You misunderstood. I’m taking your word as is.

          Government propaganda is good to realize!

          Let’s say we have a basket of apples. The world’s most powerful apples. And they all look rotten and diseased, we know the reasons which make them rotten, it’s peer reviewed and considered a fact.

          So then we make a leap of faith. What if despite evvvvvvveeeerrrything, this one apple is actually pure and holy. And only a few know this for sure and they’re not letting anyone else know the proof.

          That’s very wonderful but, kinda sketchy at the same time?

            • tiredturtle@lemmy.ml
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              8 months ago

              It’s not a metaphor relating to those. You can substitute the apple for anything you like, the fruit is not a relevant object. It just carries similar properties. They can be called ‘Notexistilandia’, ‘United Territories of Nowhereon’ or ‘Countrystan’. Whatever helps.

              You’re very close with Chomsky and people not knowing!

              What I mean is that the mystical prophecies of one true holy and pure — despite the evidence, like we’ve discussed, rely much on faith, instead of (and sometimes contrary) to knowledge. And general populations “knowledge”, fooled, propagandized is just that — much closer to faith.

              More Chomsky:

              I think irrational belief is a dangerous phenomenon, and I try to consciously avoid irrational belief. On the other hand, I certainly recognize that it’s a major phenomenon for people in general, and you can understand why it would be. It does, apparently, provide personal sustenance, but also bonds of association and solidarity and a means for expressing elements of one’s personality that are often very valuable elements. To many people it does that. In my view, there’s nothing wrong with that. My view could be wrong, of course, but my position is that we should not succumb to irrational belief.

              Idealistic nationalist supremacy is just a form of religion.