Quotes, Communication, Politics & Propaganda: How words and stories affect us

Fake quote?

Words have a way with us. Our chats are often misconstrued, and we're in general danger of words being fabricated into webs of propaganda intended to stir emotion and direct reactions. Our most fantastical displays of this human behavior are prominent in governmental, workplace and family politics.

Nuances of communication have always been important . . . critical, under certain circumstances. Yet, in our 'advanced' age of vetting and recordings, we still grapple with fake news and word of mouth (overrated) that flies at us from every direction. Such a problem with fake news propaganda has developed that the entirety of our media is suffering a form of association fallacy.

Via guilt-by-association and exacerbated by the claims of a sitting president, The Media battles itself for the trust of its subjects. Where media fails, people are left with a responsibility to set the record straight-- difficult or impossible as that may be. Take the following quote, for example:

There’s a plot in this country to enslave every man, woman, and child. Before I leave this high and noble office, I intend to expose this plot. - President John F. Kennedy, 7 days before his assassination 

It seems real. It feels like a statement that man could have penned, knowing what we do about the kind of equanimous morality he espoused. In fact, it seldom occurs to us who were (or, would have been) followers of his politics that we should question the veracity of this quote. The sentiment of the quote appears to be generally in line with the political awareness and responsibility to our nation that people grew to expect from John F. Kennedy, of the democratically-inclined Kennedy family dynasty.

But, while the quote is an example of idealistic equanimity in itself, so is the responsibility of vetting it! It doesn't matter which slice of political pie we prefer. What matters, is that it's a supposed quote from a specific person used to bolster not only the idealistic nature of equanimity but also to bolster a feeling of dread in those who read it.

Is there a foundation that would support that fear? Maybe. Beyond that, is the claim true? This should be our most sought-after answer.

Greater than espousing the need for equanimity is the responsibility of exposing a damaging lie when it occurs. In this example, what could have been an innocuous statement by any of a number of politicians (or, no statement at all) ends up being a dishonest, indirect dismantling of the processes of a democratic society . . . no more or less than a lie told in furtherance of a plot to win a party battle-- aka, propaganda.

Ultimately, it's likely that JFK never said it. It's at least as likely that he didn't as that he did. The only thing we know for sure, is that we don't know. The only thing we know, is that it's not verifiable, and as such shouldn't be recirculated as truth or has a JFK quote. Unfortunately, this known, dated meme's deconstruction bears repeating.

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If you know of a quote that has been attributed incorrectly yet still sees wide distribution, let everyone know about it in comments.