The historical past of World Struggle 1 continues to be eerily related immediately. In 1928, the leftwing British battle resister Arthur Ponsonby printed a e book titled Falsehood in Struggle-Time, Containing an Assortment of Lies Circulated All through the Nations In the course of the Nice Struggle. Its classes have huge relevance, that continues till immediately. In 2001, a leftwing Belgian thinker referred to as Ann Morelli codified the principle themes of the pro-war propaganda Ponsonby had recognized right into a 10-point checklist as follows:
- We don’t need battle.
- The enemy alone is to be blamed for the battle.
- The enemy is inherently evil, resembling the satan.
- We defend a noble trigger, not our personal curiosity.
- The enemy commits atrocities on goal; our mishaps are involuntary.
- The enemy makes use of unlawful weapons.
- We undergo small losses, these of the enemy are monumental.
- Artists and intellectuals again our trigger.
- Our trigger is holy, it has a sacred character.
- Whoever doubts our propaganda, is a traitor.
How startlingly well timed is that this immediately?
Ponsonby, by the way in which, is the man at proper, again of the picture above, which was taken on the 1938 assembly in Netherlands of the Worldwide Council of Struggle Resisters Worldwide. Be taught who the others had been, right here.
And right here at proper is Dr. Morelli, photographed with Angela Davis, in 2012.
In honor of Dr. Morelli’s work in creating the above, super-helpful checklist, I’ve created a recreation referred to as “Struggle Lies Bingo”, or “Morelli Bingo”, that I invite you to play with me when Pres. Biden delivers his Feb. 7, 2023 State of the Union deal with. (You can too play it with any group of pals, everytime you need.)
To make the bingo playing cards I needed to have an inventory of no less than 16 objects, that the game-maker then randomized onto grids for me, of which I ordered 20… So I needed to develop a few of Morelli’s authentic 10 propaganda tropes to generate the extra six. (Every one additionally needed to be saved quick.) I hope I did justice to her—and Arthur Ponsonby’s— intent.
The grids are all in this 50K PDF you could obtain.
I suppose if we’re going to play on Feb. 7, every participant ought to select one of many 20 grids, then put a giant examine on every merchandise because it will get voiced by the Prez. Shout “Bingo” once you get a whole line or column, or “Full home” once you get that. (Mark the time once you attain any of these scores and put up your profitable image onto Twitter or no matter…)
In fact, the principle level of this isn’t to play a recreation, however to develop into increasingly proficient in recognizing, calling out, and difficult pro-war propaganda each time it’s generated.
And I can not finish this put up with out giving a giant shoutout to David Swanson, a number one gentle in World Past Struggle and different antiwar organizations. Again in 2016, my firm Simply World Books did a re-issue of his highly effective e book Struggle Is A Lie. In that e book, he up to date a number of the sorts of observations that Ponsonby and Morelli had made concerning the nature of battle propaganda.
This can be very miserable that this work of propaganda debunking nonetheless must be completed, greater than 100 years after WW-1… Sigh.
(Additionally, if you happen to play Struggle Lies Bingo with a bunch of your mates, write & let me know the way it goes!)
