This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Is it Too Early in the Morning for This?

how we have moved from logic to political spin in the American press

...is it too early in the morning for this?

One of my college advisors told me having taken to philosophy so intently that for the rest of my life I would be a reflexive thinker. In truth living life has caused me to think ahead as well as to reflect on what has occurred and why. While I personally can delight in the most arcane of philosophical and literary nuances, I find I lose some of my “audience” when I wander down in spidery fashion into the “delights” of metaphysics.

Even so, I would like to take those along with me for a quick discussion of how philosophy has been very helpful in my post-academic life. Most important is the use of logical reasoning. Here’s my first controversial statement: we are awash in illogical thinking in the present zeitgeist. We have shifted from the logical to the political, from rational argument to slogans based on what used to be called Madison Ave advertising techniques. 

Find out what's happening in Swampscottwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We are told nowadays that we need to sell ourselves. In the seminal work, The Selling of the President, 1968, the author Joe McGuiness brought forward how Richard Nixon had been ‘repackaged’ through the use of advertising techniques. On the cover of his book was a picture of Nixon on a package of cigarettes back when advertising same was a flourishing and profitable concern. Nixon, who had been a controversial candidate for president in 1960 and California governor in 1962, had a very bad press image.

Then came the ‘new’ Nixon, mature, knowledgeable, strong and a very liberal version of conservative. The past images of him on television with his wife explaining to the nation that he had not profited from his time in politics or near tears explaining to the press that they would not have Richard Nixon to ‘kick around’ any more were passe and an unpleasant memory.  To be fair, Hubert Humphrey, Nixon’s Democratic opponent in the 1968 presidential election had also hired an advertising agency. Obviously, his was not as helpful to him in the infamous “summer of ’68” when then Mayor Richard Daley let loose the riot police  with tear gas on the protesters and press at the Democratic Convention in Chicago. 

Find out what's happening in Swampscottwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This jaunt down history lane sets a beginning of the deliberate use of media by politicians to sell their image instead of their political philosophy and projected policies. So much has this been inculcated in the minds of politicians, that Osama Bin Laden would use dye to color his beard in later life to project an image of strength and to instill an image that despite all the hardships of life, that he continued on to insert an image much the same as he had from his first introduction to America in 2001. 

The truly cynical use of image politics began with the Reagan candidacy. It was during the latter nine or so years of his in public life as nominee and president that the use of the terms photo op, media management and spin first made their way into the public consciousness of the electorate. Soon, we would be conscious of the pictures taken which would focus the public attention on the image associated with Reagan’s presidency, cleverly diminishing the whole sale giving to the wealthy, the corporations and Wall Street the hard earned taxes of the middle and working class. 

Now, those who still watch the news on television regularly, are daily inundated with the politically partisan spin on the what has now become a 24 hour news cycle. Politicians spend as much time considering the effect of what they do to their statistical ratings as considering the wisdom of what they decide. More and more the ability of ordinary, or in some cases, extraordinary Americans to personally manage the information projecting from television and computer screens, facebook, twitter et al where the people directly involved are presenting their spin personally to those who have subscribed to the politician’s website and other ‘pages’ in various places within the media spectrum. 

We can observe a mechanized effort to completely overwhelm the news sources with both important and trivial bits of information to allow the politicians and other leaders to obfuscate further the details of their machinations. The idea of the truth “hiding in plain sight” is an apt description of the gushing of the content into our media world. 

For someone like myself who can enjoy the hunt for the truth behind the facade, it is obviously interesting and fulfilling when I find out how and what really happened. For most of Americans, this state of affairs leaves them following their trusted talking head, of whatever political bent. Unfortunately, since controversy builds ratings, much of the manner of reporting from these pundits is presented as who is right or wrong, victor or vanquished. In the end, the actual story is far more interesting. But that reality has to be shaped before the public is informed. 

Hopefully, we can learn together what lies behind the spin, and look at ourselves and our world as it is. It is not so scary in the end. 

Steve Iannaccone

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?