Positive Labeling

In Marcia Ellen's recent post she reminds us all that King George isn't done with Social Security by a long shot. The social security story gives us a lot of examples of ways in which the media seek to manipulate us. Two particular tricks used in these stories.

One could be called "creating reality", a term coined by Michael Parenti, in which the media simply repeats, and thus amplifies, the standard lie: Social Security is going bankrupt. The lie is simply repeated verbatim ad naseum as if it were true. I discussed this in a recent post on the CIA and Osama.

The second method used is what Parenti refers to as "Positive Labeling." So George Bush is referred to as a "reformer" of Social Security. Reformer conjures up positive images of someone fixing something, making things better. In reality Bush is not a reformer at all. He's an abolitionist. What he wants to do is dismantle and abolish social security.

You can see this in the budget proposals that Marcia Ellen discussed in her post. For instance, by eliminating the death benefit--a measly $250--and the monthly survivor benefits to 16 and 17 year olds who drop out of high school he abolishes two the pillars that make social security much more than a mere retirement plan.

Social Security is our shared agreement that we're not going to let anybody in our country slip through the cracks and live out their golden years in dire poverty. Social Security is our guarantee to the young that if their mother or father might die while working we'll help take care of them.

The idiots will say, "Well you just have to plan for that on your own." But how do you plan on dying as a young construction worker at 21 with a newborn baby and a young wife to take care of? The sad reality is that a good number of Americans will die too early to ever plan for much and it is in our best interest to help nurture and raise these children as if they were our own.

But this is what the media touts as reform. It would be akin to Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses on the wall and declaring to all that they were all becoming Buddhists. That's not reforming Christianity; that is abolishing Christianity and embracing a new religion: Buddhism. Likewise, Bush is not seeking to reform Social Security. He is seeking to abolish it completely. All those trillions of dollars we sock away to help look out for one another could be out being risked on the global gambling casino known as Wall Street.

Martin Luther was a reformer in a true sense of the word. George Bush is an abolitionist. We all must be diligent in order to recognize these subtle techniques of manipulation. It's a very powerful tool. After all, who would want to oppose a reformer? A reformer by definition simply wants to fix what is broken, right? Social Security is busted and ol' G.W. just wants to fix it. Now be a good American and support him.

Positive labeling is just one of many methods of manipulation the media uses. You can see this in any number of news stories. The politician who is "tough on crime" or for "strong defense." The ultimate in positive labeling would be the "Pro-life" people. If you find something labeled in such a way that you cannot imagine any opposition, you are probably dealing with positive labeling. It's a way of narrowing and limiting discourse and we must all be diligent in recognizing such techniques of manipulation.

Some positive labels: reformer, free market, stability (seeking stability), strong defense, tough on crime.

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