Every decision we hear that those who present different views on the key issue of war and peace beyond our south-eastern border are practicing “propaganda”.
What is this expected propaganda? Of course, according to most political-media classes and mainstream media – non-Polish, enemy. It's Russian. However, the abuse of the title word is another case of utilizing different terms not according to their vocabulary. This is 1 more evidence of functional illiteracy, to which a crucial part of Polish (and not only) elites endure as a consequence of the progressive process of imbecilization. The Latin origin of this concept comes from the word propaganda – spread, spread something. Until recently, the Congregation for the Propaganda Fide was functioning in the Roman Catholic Church. No 1 had any peculiar pretense about it.
Each group, institution, and even an individual has a set of views on certain matters. It may be the consequence of a professed worldview, ideology, or simply an article of its interests. The public debate in the democratic strategy is precisely about this anticipation of spreading any views, announcing any opinions. In a word, all publicist, politician, clergyman, philosopher deals in a kind of classically understood propaganda. He promotes what he believes and believes is essential to the community in which he lives. If he urged anyone to take actions manifestly contrary to his good and business, he would no longer usage propaganda but manipulation. However, the uncovering of manipulation requires proof that individual deliberately directs us and urges us to act harmfully to us, and for the broadcaster this manipulation beneficially.
This translates into present conditions, it is not hard to see that those promoting peace and ending war in our neighbourhood express certain views resulting from their knowing of the highest values of collective life (for the nation specified a value, more crucial than everyone else, is biological survival), ethics (recognition of the superior value of human life), and yet – yes – of their own interest (most of us already feel the purely material costs of the ongoing armed conflict). They thus full rationally advance peace. frequently it is simply a peace rejected by both sides of the conflict (also Russia), which, at least at this stage, do not show much interest in solving the conflict by diplomatic methods. possibly it is in their interests, according to the principles and way of knowing the world. The Polish viewpoint should be different. We should be a country most curious in ending war, stopping escalation and staying distant from any form of commitment on either side.
The promotion of peace is so identical to the practice of Polish propaganda, in the most positive, classical sense of the word. It seems logical. It is besides hard to realize what motives are directed by those who want to proceed the war, to escalate the conflict behind the city. Let us not attribute evil intentions to all – there is surely a large group of people among them who believe in the mythical “victory triumph of Ukraine” or the imagined West treated by them as “power of good and light.” There are besides those for whom the main engine of thought processes is banal, blind hatred of 1 side of the conflict. There are most likely besides people who worship war who practice a kind of worship of death. However, erstwhile calls to increase the strength of the conflict and its enlargement sound from the mouth of people who have, as such, discernment in global relations, geopolitical processes and the past of Europe, we can presume that we are dealing with manipulation, that is, consciously calling for Poles to support not only adverse but possibly suicidal steps for them. The question remains whether there are any external payers of these dangerous manipulations.
Let us so cultivate with a clear conscience the propaganda of peace, or propaganda of Polish interests. A peace propagandist compared to a manipulative and instigator of war sounds proud.
Mateusz Piskorski
Think Poland, No. 25-26 (16-23.06.2024)
