A letter to a freind

[mikelewis]

{This is a lengthy letter but I wanted to share it with you. This was a letter I wrote to a freind after a coffee shop conversation.}

Rich,
I wanted to explain what I meant by the Spiral of Silence and how it applies to issues that arose during the last election and what is happening now. I wrote an op/ed a while back ago that covered this and I wanted to share it with you to illustrate my point. To preface this, I was working with several others on trying to get the word out before the January 6th deadline of certification for Ohio’s Electoral Votes. There were many who couldn’t understand why the media refused to cover this issue and why people didn’t want to believe it when told. I offered them my opinion:


An open discussion on how to beat the election clock and defeat the Spiral


The thing that has puzzled me about the election fraud stories is the lack of main-stream media coverage. One would think that stories such as those from Blackboxvoting.org and others would have created a media frenzy the likes of which this country has never before seen. But it has not. In fact, the only coverage seems to try to label those who are searching for answers as "tin-foiled hat" wearing conspiracy theorists. It begs one to consider what the people in Germany must have been saying as Hitler rose to power. I know, for some, equating Bush to Hitler is a vulgar stretch of the imagination. For others, it rolls off the lips as easy as strawberry wine. Regardless, the concern people felt about Hitler's rise to power was as real as many people's concerns about Bush's ascension to power. If this election was rigged and if the other issues that people feel Bush is responsible for are true, then why has there not been more of a public outcry? Despite the lack of media coverage, why aren't people rising up in massive demonstrations to force our government to reveal the truth? Why is there no public outcry for justice in our voting system? Are the people so complacent that they will allow the democratic process to be undercut by fraudulent actions?

The answer to this question is the same as it was 60 years ago. The Spiral of Silence is the name of the phenomenon in which the people of Germany experienced during Hitler's rise to power. The number of people who know that the 2000 election was rigged and the growing revelation that this 2004 election was rigged is settling into the minds of the people and yet, where are the patriots, the protestors, the "voice of one calling in the desert"?

The true enemy of our country is the Spiral of Silence.
http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/Speech/rccs/theory09.htm

In this article, the key concepts of the Spiral of Silence are:

Central Assumptions:

-One's perception of the distribution of public opinion influences one's willingness to express opinions.

-The spiral of silence demonstrates why people are unwilling to express their opinions (publicly) when they are not believed to be in the majority.

-People feel an increasing pressure to conceal their views and opinions when they believe they are in minority.

-Individuals perceptions of the opinions of others is a critical factor in determining their willingness to express those opinions.


It is these factors that compel complacency and will allow, if not combated, the perpetuation of this fraudulent regime. But the question is, how do we combat such a powerful natural reaction?

Many believe that the media is the solution to this problem. That by exposing these issues to the major news publications and television shows will cause them to eventually realize that there is a problem and finally report what we have discovered. Unfortunately, this is doomed to failure. The reason is that the media is responsible for perpetuating this Spiral of Silence.

Media's Effect on the Spiral of Silence:
Mass media has a lasting effect on public opinion.
"The theory maintains that mass media work simultaneously with majority public opinion to silence minority beliefs on cultural issues."
--Defining Communication Theories

"Mass media, particularly TV, tells us not only what to think about, but also imposes their reality of what everybody else is---supposedly---thinking about."
--Tim Buell

"I have never found a spiral of silence that goes against the tenor of the media, for the willingness to speak out depends in part upon sensing that there is support and legitimization from the media."
--Noelle-Neumann

"The media provide people with the words and phrases they can use to defend a certain point of view. If people find no current, frequently repeated expressions for their point of view, they lapse into silence; they become effectively mute."
--Noelle-Neumann

It is by their actions and inactions that public perception is molded. Consider the Iraq War. The mantra of W.M.D and 9/11 connections was repeated so many times that some people still believe these issues are still solvent reasons for our aggression. Now the current perception is that we are there to spread freedom and democracy to the Middle East. This new mantra has been repeated by such images as the peaceful voting in Afghanistan and the Prime Minister of Iraq, Allawi giving his speech of thanks before our Congress. As noble an enterprise as this is, this is not a valid reason to perpetuate aggression against another state. If this idea had been presented as the central reason we were attacking Iraq, how much public support would they have gleaned? Furthermore, how can they justify the lack of intervention in the Darfur Region?

The same holds true for this election. If the media had come out on election night and proclaimed that there was something amiss, how would that have affected the public opinion in our nation? Would we see people in the streets in demonstrations, as we see in the Ukraine today? The media has made every effort to stifle doubt in this election. They have applied the label of "Conspiracy Theory" to honest questions and have, in fact, waged a disinformation campaign against the American people.

Our constant pleas to the Mainstream media will continue to go unheard unless we do something that will force them to abandon their current campaign. I don't believe that the entire media has been corrupted by the Bush Administration but it is likely that many have been. They have been promised access in exchange for silence in many occasions. Again, the example of Iraq is fitting. The media was allowed to "embed" reporters with our troops. This was never done before. This brought the war right into our living rooms on a scale never dreamt of in the Vietnam War. This also brought enormous ratings and enormous profits. What would they be willing to stifle in exchange for access, ratings and profits?



I know it is difficult to believe that people would ignore a blatant theft or an outright lie. Many people don’t believe in conspiracy theories and those that do are believed to be utterly ridiculous. However, history is full of examples of conspiracy theories that have been proven true. The burning of the Reichstag is one example. German troops, not Poles set the fires that night to create a situation that would allow for war against Poland and the suspension of Germany’s democratic government; this was a conspiracy theory. Sufficient evidence exists to indicate that the Gulf of Tonkin incident was also a conspiracy. Regardless of what you believe, both points of view were a conspiracy theory as there has not been sufficient proof to support either theory. The support of the Mujahideen in Afghanistan was a conspiracy to bring down the Soviet Union. The Iran-Contra scandal, the BCCI scandal; all these were conspiracy theories. 9/11 was a massive conspiracy theory. The government has their story but there are so many contradictions and flat out lies that other more realistic theories have risen to take its place. 9/11 is also subject to the Spiral of Silence and has in fact exacerbated this effect on the population. At what point do we decide when enough is enough? At what point do we stand up and call a lie a lie and spade a spade? Do we not have a right to answers to some very fundamental questions about what is really going on and what are the motives behind these events? If we do not have this right, then how can we claim that “all men are created equal” when apparently some are less equal than others.

The truth is we have been abandoned by our media which is supposed to represent the fourth pillar of our democracy. They openly promote government propaganda. They say very little about “reporters” who gain access to highly coveted positions in the White House Press Corps. and have no credentials to warrant the position. Jeff Gannon was one such reporter. This wasn’t even his real name. His real name was James Guckert and he adopted the nom de plume Jeff Gannon to hide his secret career as a highly paid gay prostitute. It also turns out he may have had access to top secret documents that were used to out one of our top CIA operatives in Armaco, a Saudi Arabian oil company. This wasn’t news? What the hell constitutes news in this country?

They also knowingly fail to report news that is vital to the decisions that affect our decision process. You probably are not aware of the controversy but a great many were concerned about an issue that arose during the first Presidential Debate. Apparently, George Bush was wearing an unknown electronic device that was believed to be an earpiece. The device was protruding from under his jacket in plain sight of the camera. The New York Times verified this story and were prepared to expose this incident but at the last minute decided not to run the story. Apparently, they were intimidated by the Texas Air National Guard Letter scandal that brought down Dan Rather. They allowed a vital piece of information concerning a public deceit perpetrated by the President of the United States to go unreported because they were afraid of Republican reprisal. How ridiculous and un-American is that?

They also glamorize news and offer a sleazy alternative to real journalism. The media is full of shock-jock news like Michael Jackson and Terri Shaivo. These stories are designed to illicit an emotional response, they do not constitute real news. Michael Jackson is an innocent man. In this country, a man is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. I’m not saying he didn’t do what he was accused of but how can we claim he is receiving a fair trial when he is in fact being tried in a court of public opinion that has already dealt a life-sentence without the possibility of parole even if a court finds him innocent. How can the media force their way into the tragic tale of Terri Shaivo and put her death on Television and print as if it is a public spectacle? Where has the decency in this country gone when we allow our media to openly attempt to manipulate our collective emotions? These acts are unconscionable and they represent a betrayal that will take a long time to forgive and must never be forgotten.

I am not blaming everything on the media, they are not responsible for the actions of criminals but they are responsible for reporting it to the American people. Our Constitution guarantees us a free press, unencumbered by the heavy hand of government. Is the description I just laid out to you indicative of a Free Press?

The only true Free Press left to us is on the internet. The news there is difficult to decipher because much of the information is unreliable. It takes a humongous effort to separate the wheat from the chaff but what alternative is there? Until some level of integrity is restored to our Press, we must identify alternative means to find the truth.

I do not blame you for being skeptical about the possibility that this election was fraudulent. When you are only hearing it from a few select sources and it is not echoed on the 6 o’clock news, it’s easy to pass it off as a “conspiracy theory”. But I am not the only one who believes there were some serious irregularities that need to be examined from the 2004 election. Many of our duly elected leaders in the House and Senate are echoing the call for an investigation and they are running into a brick wall. This is the same wall that blocks inquiries about 9/11, about the deception of the Iraq War, about the shady deals and dirty deceit that many of our leaders have perpetrated. There is a multitude of people trying to pierce that wall and we are making some headway.

If you look at the Zogby poll concerning 9/11 you will see something very telling indicators that we are not being informed adequately and the alternative media is making an impact.
Excerpt:
Half of New Yorkers Believe U.S. Leaders†Had†
Foreknowledge of Impending 9/11†Attacks and†
"Consciously Failed" To Act;

66% Call For New†Probe of Unanswered†Questions
by Congress†or New York's†Attorney General,
New Zogby†International†Poll Reveals

The poll is the first of its kind conducted in America that surveys attitudes regarding US government complicity in the 9/11 tragedy. Despite the acute legal and political implications of this accusation, nearly 30% of registered Republicans and over 38% of those who described themselves as "very conservative" supported the claim.

The charge found very high support among adults under 30 (62.8%), African-Americans (62.5%), Hispanics (60.1%), Asians (59.4%), and "Born Again" Evangelical Christians (47.9%).

Less than two in five (36%) believe that the 9/11 Commission had "answered all the important questions about what actually happened on September 11th," and two in three (66%) New Yorkers (and 56.2% overall) called for another full investigation of the "still unanswered questions" by Congress or Elliot Spitzer, New York's Attorney General. Self-identified "very liberal" New Yorkers supported a new inquiry by a margin of three to one, but so did half (53%) of "very conservative" citizens across the state. The call for a deeper probe was especially strong from Hispanics (75.6%), African-Americans (75.3%) citizens with income from $15-25K (74.3%), women (62%) and Evangelicals (59.9%).

W. David Kubiak, executive director of 911truth.org, the group that commissioned the poll, expressed genuine surprise that New Yorkers' belief in the administration's complicity is as high or higher than that seen overseas. "We're familiar with high levels of 9/11 skepticism abroad where there has been open debate of the evidence for US government complicity. On May 26th the Toronto Star reported a national poll showing that 63% of Canadians are also convinced US leaders had 'prior knowledge' of the attacks yet declined to act. There was no US coverage of this startling poll or the facts supporting the Canadians' conclusions, and there has been virtually no debate on the victim families' scores of still unanswered questions. I think these numbers show that most New Yorkers are now fed up with the silence, and that politicians trying to exploit 9/11 do so at their peril. The 9/11 case is not closed and New York's questions are not going away."

How is it that this is ignored? How is it that the very reason our country has suspended some of its most basic rights expressed in the Constitution and guaranteed by the Bill of Rights are a subject that is taboo? What the hell is going on in the land of the free and the home of the brave? Is the Spiral of Silence so prevalent that we are frightened to even ask these questions? As things begin to deteriorate further and this cancer begins to grow, you need to do some soul searching. You need to step back and look at the big picture. If they can stick us with one illegal war, what’s to stop them from launching another? What’s to stop them from manipulating facts and creating another fictitious excuse to cause more death, to grab more power? If our media fails to inform the people, who will tell the truth to those who do not have the time to sift through thousands of internet sites and countless books in search of the truth? I am not saying I am 100% correct about everything in this letter but I am saying enough evidence exists and enough people believe that there is a need to investigate those things which are fundamental to our democracy. I urge you to seek out the facts and to find an alternative way to glean the truth. If people are willing to lie about little things like War, the Economy, Terrorism, Social Security and apparently the death of our Democracy, can you trust them to tell you the truth on issues that really matter?

A statement in protest in the Senate on Jan 6th, 2005.
Senator Barbara Boxer - ...I am sure that every one of my colleagues – Democrat, Republican, and Independent – agrees with that statement. That in the voting booth, every one is equal. So now it seems to me that under the Constitution of the United States, which guarantees the right to vote, we must ask:

Why did voters in Ohio wait hours in the rain to vote? Why were voters at Kenyon College, for example, made to wait in line until nearly 4 a.m. to vote because there were only two machines for 1300 voters?

Why did poor and predominantly African-American communities have disproportionately long waits?

Why in Franklin County did election officials only use 2,798 machines when they said they needed 5,000? Why did they hold back 68 machines in warehouses? Why were 42 of those machines in predominantly African-American districts?

Why did, in Columbus area alone, an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 voters leave polling places, out of frustration, without having voted? How many more never bothered to vote after they heard about this?

Why is it when 638 people voted at a precinct in Franklin County, a voting machine awarded 4,258 extra votes to George Bush. Thankfully, they fixed it – but how many other votes did the computers get wrong?

Why did Franklin County officials reduce the number of electronic voting machines in downtown precincts, while adding them in the suburbs? This also led to long lines.

In Cleveland, why were there thousands of provisional ballots disqualified after poll workers gave faulty instructions to voters?

Because of this, and voting irregularities in so many other places, I am joining with Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones to cast the light of truth on a flawed system which must be fixed now.

And the Rest is Silence...........

Your friend,
Michael Lewis

[Carolab]

1. Thanks.

I'm sending it to my brother in California who was telling me today how he watched a PBS special on Rove recently and (while he admitted they didn't dwell on "dirty tricks"), it was clear that * won because he got out the evangelical vote and was "smarter" than the Dems.

And my brother IS a Dem.

[mikelewis]

3. An interesting admission

While at the coffee shop, my freind made an admission that he now regrets voting for Bush. I begged, literally begged him not to, but he did anyway. I didn't hold it against him, and I still don't. A person's vote is thier vote and they have to live with thier decisions. Of course, I also have to live with thier decisions so it makes it a bitter pill to swallow. I told him not to beat himself up over it since it wouldn't have mattered how he voted. I then told him about how the election was rigged and he didn't believe me. He asked my why no one else was talking about it, why it wasn't on the news. This is why I wrote him this letter. I hope it makes an impact and I hope it helps explain some things to your brother as well.

[LatePeriduct]

2. A cult who represents everything irrational.

Is behind the mainstream perverted media silence.

Ever heard of the Council of Foreign relations yet...
http://www.counterpunch.org

They took the media into their pocket. All intentional use of propaganda......The best defense is now a strong offense. Alternative media and the internet are growing at a rapid pace.

Soon the likes of the bradshow will probably get their own television stations....there is also C-SPAN, if you can get to them before they get bought off by these whacks.

[Kip Humphrey]

4. WELL SAID!!!

Should be on DU's home page.