1. Breaking Down the Political Messages - Five Fairness Fallacies
There is a lot of hidden messaging and programming coming from the left and right of the
political spectrum. We are living in “Spin City” where the message is easier to swallow and
minds harder to change and influence than ever. With upcoming elections in the United States
having such a huge potential impact to American and global futures we all need to pay attention
to what we say and quickly discern the true intent of what we hear.
The reason I say “quickly” is that we are bombarded by information from a variety of sources,
typically by ones that we “trust”. Trust can mean that the source passes by our cognitive “filters”
that normally detect lies and allow truth to pass in. Without detection of non-truth we can find
ourselves bathed in information that feels right but does not pass the scratch test if and when
logical examination is applied. Such is the messaging and political positioning of our day. Over
the past fifty years the science of psychology has gradually progressed to the point where
specialists can craft language and messaging that is designed to keep us on the straight and
narrow and reinforce our beliefs.
``Fairness is the disinformation tool in play at this time. I have outlined five fairness fallacies
below. It is the powerful emotional tool that is being used to reinforce personal beliefs and cause
listeners to dismiss rational argument about the economy.
The study of Cognitive Dissonance Reduction [1] is the key to all of this political “bafflegab”
In the years from the 1970’s to 1990’s Conservative think tanks evolved an impressive
simplification of conservative messaging and seemed to catch the left of center world off guard.
Ronald Reagan was perhaps one of the most skilled users of these tools and the conservative
message resounded in the USA.
The left side of the spectrum has brought the game back to the conservative messaging with
simple and appealing messages that are difficult to deconstruct. Studies and research of what
makes conservatives “tick” are abundant and the left or Liberal messaging is obviously using this
to great effect. The 2003 academic paper “Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition” [2] is
evidence of in depth analysis into the use of cognitive dissonance in political campaigns.
Continuous Reading: the Political Messages
Thank you
Ziad K Abdelnour