“Lone Wolf” Terror and the PsyWar on American Public Opinion

“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society,” Edward Bernays observed almost a century ago. “Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.” Bernays’ insight reflects the view of corporate statists he regularly commissioned with.

Intertwined with complex public relations exercises, corporate news media’s role today has far less to do with informing the public than it does with maintaining a perpetual tension and anxiety throughout the body politic. Through such tension the citizenry will further gravitate toward or even consciously advocate for heightened police state measures now peddled a prerequisite for public safety.

Recent quantitative and historically-oriented studies by USA Today and the Congressional Research Service (CRS) on mass murder in the United States provide much food for thought especially since they suggest vast public misperceptions concerning massacre events that call out for further inquiry. More than ever, public opinion has been fueled by a corporate news media disproportionately sensationalizing certain mass murders while overlooking others that are at least as serious.

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