Mike Barnicle Quotes

When politicians use fear, they are playing into the enemy's hand.

The game of politics is to make you afraid so that you don’t think.

By exploiting envy and fear, politicians can portray themselves as the saviors and protectors of the public — doing and saying whatever is necessary to gain the support needed to remain in power.

Trump, in the crinkling of an eye, senses better than anyone the insecurity of people, that nobody knows whether anything is good or bad until they are told, and he is quite willing to tell them immediately.

The propagandist's purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human.

What is terrifying is the ability, through mass brainwashing or propaganda, to change normal human instinct, which does not necessarily contain very much hatred.

The delusion of the people is necessary to the dominant party. I see the extent to which that delusion has been already carried, and I see there is no length to which it may not be pushed by a party in possession of the revenues and the legal authorities of the United States

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

Of course the people don't want war... It is the leaders...who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along...all you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.

One of the big themes - if not the big theme - of 'Mockingjay - Part 1' is the battle of the airwaves. I don't think teenagers really understand the role propaganda has in our lives in terms of politics, advertising, and the general manipulation of imagery.

There's never been an era absent of demagogues.

The media, the corporations, the politicians…have all done such a good job of scaring the American public, it’s come to the point where they don’t need to give any reason at all.

Fear is the politicians dance partner.

Preaching doom and gloom has been beneficial to the political class. They use it to gain more power and control.

All terrorism is theater.

Propaganda is amazing. People can be led to believe anything.

Democracy allows rhetoric, false empathy and emotion to pummel rational thinking - so it's no wonder so many politicians thrive in it.

Machiavelli had some cold tricks for people who wanted to be demagogues and wanted to take over the world.

Propaganda invariably serves the long-term interests of some elite.

If you watch the news, you see politicians use human vulnerabilities to get in and earn people's trust.

Propaganda is to a democracy what violence is to a dictatorship.

You see in times of crisis that extremist forces, populist forces, have a better ground to oversimplify things and to manipulate feelings. Feelings of fear.

If you think you can slander a woman into loving you, or a man into voting for you, try it till you are satisfied.

Right now, politics follows the rules of talk radio - using conflict, tension, fear, and resentment to find new recruits.

Politicians are masters of the art of deception.