The historical past of World Warfare 1 continues to be eerily related at this time. In 1928, the leftwing British warfare resister Arthur Ponsonby revealed a ebook titled Falsehood in Warfare-Time, Containing an Assortment of Lies Circulated All through the Nations Throughout the Nice Warfare. Its classes have huge relevance, that continues till at this time. In 2001, a leftwing Belgian thinker referred to as Ann Morelli codified the primary themes of the pro-war propaganda Ponsonby had recognized right into a 10-point listing as follows:
- We don’t need warfare.
- The enemy alone is to be blamed for the warfare.
- The enemy is inherently evil, resembling the satan.
- We defend a noble trigger, not our personal curiosity.
- The enemy commits atrocities on function; our mishaps are involuntary.
- The enemy makes use of unlawful weapons.
- We undergo small losses, these of the enemy are huge.
- 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 at this time?
Ponsonby, by the best way, is the man at proper, again of the photograph above, which was taken on the 1938 assembly in Netherlands of the Worldwide Council of Warfare Resisters Worldwide. Study who the others have 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 listing, I’ve created a sport referred to as “Warfare 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 tackle. (It’s also possible to play it with any group of associates, everytime you need.)
To make the bingo playing cards I needed to have a listing of at the very least 16 gadgets, that the game-maker then randomized onto grids for me, of which I ordered 20… So I needed to broaden a few of Morelli’s unique 10 propaganda tropes to generate the extra six. (Every one additionally needed to be stored brief.) I hope I did justice to her—and Arthur Ponsonby’s— intent.
The grids are all in this 50K PDF you can obtain.
I assume if we’re going to play on Feb. 7, every participant ought to select one of many 20 grids, then put an enormous test on every merchandise because it will get voiced by the Prez. Shout “Bingo” if you get an entire line or column, or “Full home” if you get that. (Mark the time if you attain any of these scores and put up your successful image onto Twitter or no matter…)
In fact, the primary level of this isn’t to play a sport, however to develop into increasingly more proficient in recognizing, calling out, and difficult pro-war propaganda each time it’s generated.
And I can’t finish this put up with out giving an enormous shoutout to David Swanson, a number one gentle in World Past Warfare and different antiwar organizations. Again in 2016, my firm Simply World Books did a re-issue of his highly effective ebook Warfare Is A Lie. In that ebook, he up to date plenty of the sorts of observations that Ponsonby and Morelli had made concerning the nature of warfare propaganda.
This can be very miserable that this work of propaganda debunking nonetheless must be accomplished, greater than 100 years after WW-1… Sigh.
(Additionally, if you happen to play Warfare Lies Bingo with a bunch of your pals, write & let me know the way it goes!)
