Reality is the state of things as they are, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. Each individual has his or her own PERCEPTION of reality. Reality is fixed, however, perception of reality is variable.
Our perception of reality can be easily manipulated by propaganda. Propaganda is not objective, it presents facts selectively, uses fear and loaded language to produce emotional rather than a rational response.
Name calling and stereotyping that labels others or ideas with a pejorative name manipulates our perception of reality.
Socialist, communist, and leftist are labels that have been used for decades by the right as scare tactics to produce an emotional response causing ordinary people to vote against their own best interests rather than looking deeper into the facts.
Labeling an idea as “socialist” for instance causes people to reject it before they know what it is.
In the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy, used the label of “communist” to attack his political opponents with unsubstantiated accusations for his own self-aggrandizement and grasping of power. He ruined countless lives with his outright lies and got away with it for years because others were reacting emotionally to the word “communist” rather than rationally to the facts.
Be aware of pejorative labels and how they alter your perception of reality. Don’t be manipulated!
reilly m gray 