[MadIvan]

Things could be worse, I could be an Englishman living in England.

I beg your pardon?

Do not take this prat as being representative of all of us.

Regards, Ivan

[BJClinton]

Do not take this prat as being representative of all of us.

Ditto for that aggie being representative of Texans.

[familyop]

"Do not take this prat as being representative of all of us."

Hello, Ivan. As is the case in most countries, most of our rabble, although relatively well educated, only pay scant attention to analytical political information. ...slogans and "sound bites."

So we propagandize, whether with honest parabolic or dishonest parabolic speech to eventually get the attention of the masses. Most people won't listen to or retain much more than what appears to be tabloid material. To make a point to the general populace, we spew rhetoric in one direction or the other, as readers love generalizations.

You should (or maybe shouldn't) hear what expatriate Englishmen in the inlands (away from the coastal sodomitical places) of the USA have to say. Their words are most often something like, "England sucks!" Englishmen who migrate to the northeastern parts or the west coast of the USA, on the other hand, have likewise things to say about conservatives, here but positive things to say about contemporary European culture, as do their neighbors. So you see, most people, here and there, struggle with their own personal pursuits and ignore the bulk of what they see as intellectual noise (that is, complicated, logical analyses).

So we feed them generalizations with which they may laugh and criticize others--their favorite pastimes.

I've been studying the histories of propaganda specifically for approximately ten years, but those among us who can find kinder, gentler rhetoric that the masses will certainly digest are far and above myself in knowledge of methods.

[Not A Snowbird]

Present company excluded, of course!

[AggieCPA]

No offense intended.