Preparing for the Jan. 6 Hearings
Propaganda points to look for, and a compendium of my writings on Jan. 6
Welcome back to Lucid! And a big hello to new subscribers. Mark your calendars for our next Q&A, this Friday, June 10, 1-2pmET. You'll receive a link to register for the Zoom gathering on Friday morning. Registration is free. We'll talk about the Jan. 6 hearings (the initial presentation is scheduled for 8pm on June 9), and anything else you'd like to discuss regarding threats to democracy in the US and worldwide. I look forward to seeing you there.
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Among the aims of Lucid is to make us aware of propaganda that is meant to fog our brains, distract us from the real story, and elicit feelings of anger at the designated enemy du jour.
As we near the hearings, the enemies for the Republican conspirators and their allies are the Biden administration, Democrats, and the bipartisan House investigation.
And so, on cue, we are seeing Fox News reports of the return of caravans of migrants trying to cross the border, and Antifa and Hunter Biden were trending yesterday on Twitter. Propaganda is most effective when it builds on existing reference points and triggers like these that depict Democrats --and democracy-- as producing anarchy, chaos, and crime.
And watch for the Jan. 6 committee to be cast as a Communist/Socialist inquisition force. That's why far-right ideologue Nick Short tweeted about "show trials." This goes with the "phony talking point," as I call it in my September 2021 essay, of Biden as a incipient leftist dictator.
If you see other tired propaganda points being used as the hearings start, feel free to leave a comment about them - or identify new talking points. There will be many.
Nothing is more threatening to criminals than an investigation.
Here, for your convenience, are some of my writings about Jan. 6, starting with my CNN op-ed written the night of Jan. 6, 2021, which concludes: "Today the mask is finally off and Americans can see the true ideology of Trump and his allies: power, to be held onto any at cost."
My piece on shock events and coup attempts: where will Jan. 6 lead America?
How jailing investigators is a time-tested authoritarian strategy.
Where Jan. 6 fits into the GOP and Trump's right-wing counterrevolutionary plan.
What happens when coups fail and coup planning becomes public.
My interview with counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance about Jan. 6 as a White insurgency.
And my interview with Guardian reporter Hugo Lowell, who worries that the pace of DOJ justice may be too slow.
Stay well, and stay lucid.
Ruth
Thank you, Ms. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, for your awesome advocacy and truthful voice against the forces of autocracy, hate, and oppression! The world needs you!
Thanks for posting Ruth. For me politics now in the U.S. is a propaganda war. One political party no longer has a coherent governing philosophy or set of policy prescriptions. It no loner believes in the rule of law or basic democratic principles. The Republican party is no longer a conservative party in any sense of the word. There are some principled courageous people left over from what was the Republican party, who still believe in our founding democratic principles like Liz Cheney or Mitt Romney etc. credit them for history. But now the Republicans have clearly become a autocratic party headed by an authoritarian leader cult.
So as I watch the hearings, I bear in mind the deeply polarized partisan political landscape we live in and the great media divides that drive and control how we interpret information. So, in the battle for political power, Its less about truth than about where one resides within what media universe. From this point of view, I am not sure how may minds will actually be changed. However, I do think the hearings serve a very important function in our democracy at this critical time because it reaffirms the rule of law and accountability not only for the public record but for history as well.
Bottom line: Trump, his aids and congress people in government committed conspiracy and sedition to over throw the government of the United States of America.