He said it in his jail cell during an interview.......The quote offered above was part of a conversation Gilbert held with a dejected Hermann Goering in his cell on the evening of 18 April 1946, as the trials were halted for a three-day Easter recess "Why, of course, the people don't want war," Goering shrugged. "Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship." "There is one difference," I pointed out. "In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars." "Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. 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 way in any country."
Yeah, you're right. But in my defense I'll say that I'm naturally more skeptical about hot chicks that seem to like me, than I am about information coming from an entity that has the resources a government does. Hell, that information may be made to look like it's coming from somewhere else entirely.
You think the Goering quote is relevant and applicable because you believe the only enemy we have is an illusion we created. Iâm sure you also believe Bush did 9/11 to ârally the masses.â Talk about a sucker born every minute⦠Whole cultures are based on hysterical conspiracy theories. I guess you are one of them. Furthermore, our government does not control media, unlike Nazi Germany. Our government is elected. Our media is not. So if you want to apply Goeringâs quote correctly, itâs the media, not government, that creates the illusions and perpetuates the propaganda: "Of course the people want to protect their national interests and defend their country. But after all, it's the propaganda from media that influences policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the makers of propaganda. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them there is no enemy and that we are creating unjust wars, and denounce those who try to defend the country as fascist war hawks, and exposing the country to greater danger." In addition, When most journalists believe the same things and possess the same closed-minded prejudice (seething hatred of Bush, hatred U.S. foreign policy, etc.), I donât see that being much different than a state-run media dishing out propaganda. Freedom of Press demands a professional institution that educates free thinking professionals. Journalists donât think freely. They donât even know how to think freely. If they were truly educated about the âuniverseâ in their universities, there would be a healthy distribution of thoughts, beliefs and ideas. As a result, the professional practice and ethics in Journalism would avoid the persistence of undermining our national interests in the face of our enemy just to get Bush. Fortunately, itâs the freedom of Press, Speech, and public common sense that will eventually fix Journalism and why talk radio and Fox news have been legitimized mainly because both venues spend a lot of time pointing out the folly of Established Journalism.
Nik & Ricter, I'm on the opposite side of some of your views, but I respect you both because I think you're both rational and are willing to look at other viewpoints before coming to a conclusion (even though I may disagree with that conclusion). So let me ask you this: If we were fighting a war you thought was justified, would you still feel the same way if the NY Times was publishing articles about the government's efforts to track and capture the enemy? Would you have approved of such articles being written during WW II, for example?
Agreed, Sam. The media is not some benevolent watchdog. The media is a profit driven business that contains some of the biggest whores known to man. I've yet to find any Leftist adequately assail Bernard Goldberg's book, Bias.
LOL; talk about hypocritical, look at the title of this thread. Collusion...LOL! Your rants about the "evil" media and how they seem to all be "out to get" Dubya, the government, and everyone's first born child smacks of conspiracy to me. Did you even bother to read the article you posted? Or did you immediately start foaming at the mouth as more ammunition to post your rants about media bias presented itself? If you actually read it (or any of the other 400+ articles about the subject), you would have noticed that it was an official Pentagon press release about an investigation that is being initiated due to the confessions of a soldier. I suppose the entire press corp "collusively" paid off that soldier to make up lies and then prodded the Pentagon to release a statement? LOL...the government doesn't perpetuate propaganda? May I interest you in some ocean front property in Nebraska? ROFL!!!! No clue? I can sell you one of those too. It never occurred to you that talk radio and FOX also spreads propaganda in order to get you to tune in to them and turn off their competitors? It worked didn't it? Damn you're gullible.
Wow....it never occurred to me that we've spent $320 billion (and counting) and lost many many lives, both American and Iraqi and squandered our respect in the world all because of newspapers. Whaddya know. Though I do seem to remember all those Judith Miller columns from the New York Times pumping the American people full of bullshit anytime the DoD needed a good story.
So, correctly, Goering said it at the trials BREAK. "In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars." Except: 1. When there is a war without declaration, like Vietnam. 2. When the people don't agree with their elected representatives, nevertheless there is a war going on, like right now.