Propaganda

Propaganda: information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view

My immediate reaction to the word "propaganda" is not a good one. Anyone who has ever read 1984 cringes at the sound of the word. The definition itself is not exactly a wonderful thing - "especially of a biased or misleading nature". The Oxford American Dictionary even starts the definition with the words "chiefly derogatory". I suppose some propaganda must be good, although it's also a matter of opinion. Obviously the people putting out the propaganda think it's a good idea.

The picture I chose as an example of propaganda might not really seem like the best representation of the thing. It is just the picture of some sort of army guy's jacket. It shows his pins and flags and stuff, and is seemingly harmless. But I feel like, if I was a young man, sixteen or seventeen years old, getting ready to go to college, and I saw this picture, along with subtle hinting about "Do what's right for your country" and "Support your troops" and all that stuff, I might feel obligated or moved to join the army. It's so subtle, sometimes not even recognizable. But even though you might think of propaganda as the old, comumunist, crazy thing that used to happen, it's still around today. It's very subtle.

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