ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR… AND IN THE REPORTING OF WAR

In the information age, fed by the expanse of the internet we have ways to escape the conditioning that elites use to mold our minds. Do we take them? Or are we STILL subject to the same old spin from above?

There are those who manage to wear their rose-tinted spectacles their whole lives long. Most of us however know that there are many vicissitudes which can affect and alloy even true love. When it comes to war they say that the truth is the first casualty as any war starts. If we look back at wars of the past we will also find that this fact very definitely covers the reporting of those wars also.

When a nation goes into war mode its news media is expected to support not only the troops but also the narratives their state employs to effect that support and as a secondary effect to bolster morale among the general population and keep them onside. This is a very understandable phenomenon during wartime. National goals are emphasised. The military essentially can do no wrong as far as reporting is concerned, just as the enemy can do nothing right.

With the above being true you might think that all would be clear across the board, that the news of the war is never objective and is always partial toward the home nation and its stated national interests. However, it can be seen by comments made across the internet that many among the populations of the West conceive the news they are receiving on the conflict between Ukraine and Russia can be taken at face value. 

In times of war politicians and media elites suspend all normal rules regarding honesty in communications. This was seen in all of the regime change wars initiated by the western powers in recent years. Time after time statements making claims about enemies of various targeted states were false. It might have been expected that the revelations on the fabrications foisted on western populations by western political and media elites may have created an enormous army of skeptics. That it did not can be seen by the remaining high level of gullibility concerning the conflict in Ukraine.

Perhaps it is the sheer volume of pro-Ukrainian, anti-Russian material across the internet and mass media, delivered over the term of the conflict and, in the case of Vladimir Putin, for decades before, that has had a deeply conditioning effect and it is this effect that has created so many believers for this material. Repeating accusations over and over, leaving out qualifying terms such as ‘possible’, ‘claimed’, and ‘reported’ and ignoring that there is insufficient evidence to make such claims. Due to the different jurisdictions involved there is no redress before the law for the targets of these claims.

In addition to the above, there is still wide acceptance and respect for western institutions such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) which is clearly now acting as an arm of western states who are prosecuting the conflict in Ukraine on behalf of the Ukrainian regime. This further muddies the water and, in combination with western politicians and media baldly and repeatedly accusing Russia and the Russian authorities of various illegal acts without any evidence or any attempt to provide a holistic picture of events it becomes relatively easy to see why many have been persuaded to drop any skepticism they may previously have had.

War brings out the worst in all of us. Rationality disappears to a large extent, replaced by a jingoistic and highly tribal emotional response. We want our team to win and we will not brook hearing anything positive about those opposing us. This desire is used to the absolute limit by both the political and media elites to generate the hatred and loathing that must always accompany war if it is to be fought at its maximum effect. This being said, the consequences for the intellects involved in terms of continued rationality both as the war continues and after it has ceased are likely to be considerable. 

All wars produce casualties and this holds true not only for those directly fighting within them, but also for the populations of the nations involved who are subjected to, at a minimum constant conditioning and, more seriously outright, sustained propaganda. The after effects of war can be dire. Politicians and media elites may degrade the sphere of communication to such a degree that it never quite recovers. Such I believe is the arena of lies the western world is now completely embroiled within that the distortion, deception and blatant conditioning will damage it and its people for decades to come.