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This man, a veteran journalist, held a position of importance in one of the lie-factories operated by the Roosevelt regime to keep the boobs pepped up with enthusiasm for sending their sons or their husbands to a senseless slaughter. At one policy conference, this man objected to a proposed lie on the grounds that it was so absurd that it would destroy public confidence, with the result that Americans would soon cease to believe anything that the agency manufactured. There was a great deal of debate over that question in this policy conference until it was ended by the agency's great expert in such matters. He was a man who, by the way, for some reason or other, had left Germany a few years before and come to bless the United States with his presence. This expert, being a bit ruffled by the debate, finally took his elegant little cigar from his mouth and said decisively, 'Ve spit in ze faces of the American schwine!' And that settled it. The master had spoken.

Revilo P. Oliver#4

PoliticsMediaPropagandaWarTrust

About this quote

What does it mean?
The author describes a journalist who worked for a government agency he calls a lie-factory, arguing that excessive deception harms public trust. A German-born expert dismisses concerns with a decisive statement implying forceful propaganda is necessary.
In plain terms
Too many lies can make people stop believing anything, even if the government wants them to be enthusiastic.
What can you take from it?
Public trust breaks when deception becomes too obvious.

Where it applies

  • policy meetings
  • media criticism
  • war reporting

Putting it to work

  • critiquing media outlets
  • analyzing propaganda techniques

Questions to consider

  • How does excessive propaganda affect public trust?
  • When does deception become counterproductive?

Another view

The quote relies on unverified claims about the agency and its staff.

More from Revilo P. Oliver

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  2. The decay of our culture since 1941 can be measured by the fact that academic historians today are no longer interested in historical truth or interested in it…

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  3. Not long ago the head of what should be a strictly scientific department in one of the major universities commented on the odd (and ominous) phenomenon that pe…

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