What Makes Someone a Good Politician?
Everyone who enters politics should have the desire to change, conform, and influence their town, state or nation. A good politician is looking out for the common citizens and not looking out for their own social standing. The job of the public, is to assess the candidates and choose who they feel is more passionate about the issues and will do a better job in the position. A political should be respected and should try to influence the public to follow their political views and policies. A politician should appeal to the public and their charisma and speaking abilities should influence the views the citizens. A politician should be patriotic and should be extremely passionate about protecting the rights of the common people, not themselves.
Underlying Influences on Political Views
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude or views of a community towards a cause or position so as to benefit oneself. This form of communication is presents information primarily to influence an audience, not to provide impartial political facts. Like yellow journalism, propaganda tends to pick and choose what is told to the media and often tries to get an extreme emotional response to what is being displayed. Garth Jowett and Victoria O'Donnell have provided a concise, workable definition of the term: "Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist." More comprehensive is the description by Richard Alan Nelson: "Propaganda is neutrally defined as a systematic form of purposeful persuasion that attempts to influence the emotions, attitudes, opinions, and actions of specified target audiences for ideological, political or commercial purposes through the controlled transmission of one-sided messages (which may or may not be factual) via mass and direct media channels.
Techniques
Appeal to authority: Tries to get the authority and prominent figures to support a position idea, argument, or way of doing things.
Bandwagon: Bandwagon attempts to persuade the target audience to do a certain thing because everyone else is doing it. This technique reinforces people's natural desire to be on the winning side and be just like everybody else. This technique is used to convince the audience that a program is a mass movement and that it is in their best interest to join. "Inevitable victory" invites those not already on following to join those already on the bandwagon, or on the road to victory and triumph. Those already, or partially, on the bandwagon are reassured that staying aboard is the best course of action because more and more people continue to join.
Glittering generalities: Glittering generalities are emotionally touching words that touch a person on the inside. They appeal to such emotions such as love of country, desire for peace, and freedom. Like most techniques, they ask for approval without giving real support and reason. Although the words are broad and vague, they always suggest virtuous and humanistic beliefs.
Transfer: This technique is used to take the blame from one member of a conflict and give it to another.
Slogans: A slogan is a brief striking phrase. A slogan is a clever phrase that unknowingly, a person is persuaded by.
Virtue words: These are words that tend to display a positive image when attached to a person or issue. Peace, happiness, security, wise leadership, freedom, etc.
Bandwagon: Bandwagon attempts to persuade the target audience to do a certain thing because everyone else is doing it. This technique reinforces people's natural desire to be on the winning side and be just like everybody else. This technique is used to convince the audience that a program is a mass movement and that it is in their best interest to join. "Inevitable victory" invites those not already on following to join those already on the bandwagon, or on the road to victory and triumph. Those already, or partially, on the bandwagon are reassured that staying aboard is the best course of action because more and more people continue to join.
Glittering generalities: Glittering generalities are emotionally touching words that touch a person on the inside. They appeal to such emotions such as love of country, desire for peace, and freedom. Like most techniques, they ask for approval without giving real support and reason. Although the words are broad and vague, they always suggest virtuous and humanistic beliefs.
Transfer: This technique is used to take the blame from one member of a conflict and give it to another.
Slogans: A slogan is a brief striking phrase. A slogan is a clever phrase that unknowingly, a person is persuaded by.
Virtue words: These are words that tend to display a positive image when attached to a person or issue. Peace, happiness, security, wise leadership, freedom, etc.
Political propaganda sometimes gives you half of the truth, altered truth or stretched truth. With is you never know if what your hearing or seeing is true. A colorful image or a funny video clip is more likely to get hold our attention than an opportunity to sit and listen to someone stating their political views.
In retrospect political propaganda can greatly benefit a nation by influencing them to take a stand, join a good cause, or help their country. Cartoons like Rosie the Riveter, can inspire citizens to join the war effort and benefit their country.
In retrospect political propaganda can greatly benefit a nation by influencing them to take a stand, join a good cause, or help their country. Cartoons like Rosie the Riveter, can inspire citizens to join the war effort and benefit their country.
Oversimplification: Generalities are used to provide simple answers to complex and intricate social, political, economic, or military problems.
Common man: The "common man" approach tries to convince the audience that the propagandist's positions reflect the views of the common people. It is designed to win the confidence of the audience by communicating in a similar manner and relating to the audience. Propagandists use ordinary language and mannerisms in attempting to identify their point of view with that of the average person. Common man technique is trying to show the position of the "Average Joe".
Testimonial: Testimonials are quotations cited to support or reject a given policy, action, program, or personality. The reputation or the role (expert, respected public figure, etc.) of the individual giving the statement can be exploited in order to prove a point and take a certain position. The form of propaganda is used to persuade the public to accept the authority's opinions and beliefs as its own and put trust into what the authority is saying.
Stereotyping This technique tries to create prejudices in an audience by labeling the object being attacked by the propagandists as something the target audience fears or dislikes.
Scapegoating: Putting the blame on an individual or group that isn't really responsible. This alleviates feelings of guilt from responsible parties and distracts them from there needs to fix the problem.
Common man: The "common man" approach tries to convince the audience that the propagandist's positions reflect the views of the common people. It is designed to win the confidence of the audience by communicating in a similar manner and relating to the audience. Propagandists use ordinary language and mannerisms in attempting to identify their point of view with that of the average person. Common man technique is trying to show the position of the "Average Joe".
Testimonial: Testimonials are quotations cited to support or reject a given policy, action, program, or personality. The reputation or the role (expert, respected public figure, etc.) of the individual giving the statement can be exploited in order to prove a point and take a certain position. The form of propaganda is used to persuade the public to accept the authority's opinions and beliefs as its own and put trust into what the authority is saying.
Stereotyping This technique tries to create prejudices in an audience by labeling the object being attacked by the propagandists as something the target audience fears or dislikes.
Scapegoating: Putting the blame on an individual or group that isn't really responsible. This alleviates feelings of guilt from responsible parties and distracts them from there needs to fix the problem.
The media plays a crucial role on informing and swaying the opinions of voters on political candidates and campaigns. While the public does demand information from the media, there is an underlying cyncism in the American culture due to media bias. The media basically decides on what terms a person should vote for a candidate and what issues the voters should care about. The media has a way of communicating with the voters and getting them engaged in what they are being told. If an idea is brought up on a popular television show or by a well liked celebrity, people are influenced in favor of the idea and assume that it is the right thing. The media has a way of influencing which areas of the campaign the public should be concerned with. People's political opinion are completely swayed by the media and a lot of the time they are voting for a candidate for all the wrong reasons. In the 2008 Presidential Election between Barack Obama and John McCain, many Obama voters supported him due to the color of his skin. This is what is called reverse discrimination. Because there had never been an African American president, people were excited at how far the nation had come since the times of slavery. Many African American people voted based on their own personal bias, not having any idea what Obama's policies were. Factors including popularity, media endorsement, persuasive advertising, and many more are very much taken into account while many americans are voting and they are not really voting based on what they should be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Propaganda
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Propaganda
