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COLUMN: Time to abandon old propaganda messages
The column says Cold War-era fear tactics no longer fit today’s debates and should be replaced by clearer, more constructive public messaging.
- John Arendt, editor of the Summerland Review, observed a surge in the use of "Communist" to label political opponents, a form of criticism he had not encountered in more than three decades.
- This trend reminded Arendt of Nazi Eyes, a Canadian radio drama from more than 70 years ago that used propaganda to warn citizens about totalitarianism during the Second World War.
- Similar propaganda tactics appeared in the United States with I Was a Communist for the FBI, a fictionalized series based on Matt Cvetic's experiences and featuring Hollywood actors Orson Welles and Vincent Price.
- Such terminology belongs to history, as the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States ended decades ago with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
- Arendt argues that dusting off past terminology to address current issues does not make sense, since political disagreement is not equivalent to the specific historical meaning of Nazi or Communist.
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COLUMN: Time to abandon old propaganda messages
Some recent comments and messages have me wondering why anti-communist propaganda messages from the past are making a comeback. Over the last few months, I have seen the words “communist” and “communism” occurring more frequently than before. I first noticed it in spring, when someone I know referred to a prominent Canadian political figure as a communist. It shocked me, since I hadn’t heard that form of criticism used in more than three decades…
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Total News Sources4
Leaning Left3Leaning Right0Center0Last UpdatedBias Distribution100% Left
Bias Distribution
- 100% of the sources lean Left
100% Left
L 100%
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