Pam McAllister on …

I’ve been meaning to say something about this for a while now … and then some great people on Twitter practically wrote it for me. So here we go.

It seems like everywhere I turn, left-leaning folks are debunking the delusional rantings of Glenn Beck. (And the rest of that crew — Palin, Bachmann, Limbaugh, Paul, Angle, etc.)

Nearly all of this well-intentioned effort is a waste of time and energy, a diversion from our real work.

If forgiveness seems a stretch, consider this wisdom from a blog post by @lotay:

So how does one engage with hateful people? Give them what they lack… love and compassion. And most importantly, do not resist or react to their hateful actions.

And then there’s the hard-nosed strategic question of opportunity costs. Alex Zaitchik, who has written extensively about the right wing (including the book Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance) put it this way:

I do think that at some point you have to start asking yourself what the opportunity costs are of fixating on every absurd statement coming out of the mouths of Glenn Beck, Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin, Limbaugh, and the rest. I mean, it takes a lot of time to mock and/or fact-check every idiocy that is said these days. Sometimes, when you tune into radio or blogs, it seems there’s a real lot of time spent talking about this stuff.

And while it’s important to know, and counter, I think we need to ask ourselves sometimes how much is enough, and realize that it’s much more important to come up with a positive agenda that is educative and based in reality to counter the profusion of lies. Ultimately, what this amounts to is diversionary programming coming from the right wing message machine, of which Beck has emerged as a central component.

I’ll give the last word to @desireeadaway:

You do not need to tear down that which you do not want, you simply need to focus your attention and energy on that which you do want.

What more can I say? Your thoughts?

A while back, someone accused me of advocating the use of propaganda. Well, yeah, in this sense …

Propaganda. The systematic propagation of a doctrine or cause … (American Heritage Dictionary)

(Propagation: Think of a gardener propagating plants, creating more of a good thing.)

When you use words and images to spread an idea, change attitudes, or influence people toward a cause or position … that’s propaganda. Especially if you present facts selected to encourage a particular conclusion, or messages that produce an emotional response.

Of course, propaganda has some ugly associations: mind control, manipulation … outright lies. Nazi propaganda. Right-wing propaganda. War-mongering propaganda. (Weapons of mass destruction, anyone?)

That kind of propaganda repels progressively-minded folks like you and me. (Thank goodness!)

We want to treat people with respect. Educate and enlighten them. Tell them the truth, so they can make their own rational decisions. Give them the facts, so they can understand what’s going on in the world.

We sure don’t want to lie or manipulate people to achieve our ends. So many folks take what seems like the safe, respectful approach: stick to “objective facts” and avoid emotional appeals.

Alas, that doesn’t work. It takes more than facts to get people interested and move them to action. (I’m not the first to point this out. But it’s so important that it bears repeating — and I’ll be saying it again.)

So it’s time to dig into the messy world of propaganda, learn what works and why — and then apply those lessons in ways that fit with how we want to treat people.

More on this to come. In the meantime, how about this thought: When you propagate (or propagandize) an idea that benefits the world — advances the human race, improves the health of the planet, makes people’s lives better — that’s something to be proud of. (And with so much at stake, it’s worth learning how to do it really, really well.)

(Props to Kathy Sierra for her piece “You ARE a marketer. Deal with it.” … from which I gratefully borrowed the headline, not to mention the idea for this piece.)

There’s a whole lot of fear going around these days — in politics, the media, everyday conversation … and in the messages I see some folks using to advance their causes.

Sometimes it’s blatant (see American politics). Sometimes it’s a more subtle undercurrent. (So before you say “this doesn’t apply to me” … take a close look at what you’re putting out into the world.)

It’s time to dial down the fear. Right now. And it starts with each of us.

First, I want to be clear: Fear does move people to act. (I know one reason I got so involved in the 2008 presidential campaign was fear of how it might have turned out. Fortunately, there were other reasons, too.)

That’s why many well-meaning folks consider fear an “effective” message and use it to advance an agenda. But there’s a lot more to it, at least for those of us who want to see the human race move forward.

Here are three reasons to look beyond any short-term results you can get from using fear as a motivator.

1. Fear makes people act without thought

That may seem obvious, but it let’s think it through for a moment. There’s a lot of brain science on this … here’s how it works in a nutshell:

Fear stimulates the amygdala — the part of your brain that takes quick action in dangerous situations. That’s great if you’re about to be hit by a bus, it gets your body moving without taking precious time to think.

But get the amygdala all worked up and it floods the brain with chemicals that actually shut down the cortex — the part of your brain that handles conscious thought.

So when we’re fearful, we’re physically unable to think clearly. (And the cortex has a tough time regaining control. That amygdala is a bit of a bully.)

It’s what demagogues through the ages have always counted on — and continue to rely on today: Give people regular doses of fear and they’ll act without thinking.

And that’s not good for civil society and the causes we care about (especially if you want people to listen to a reasoned, fact-based case). It’s in our best interest to reduce the level of fear in people’s lives, so they can be at their best.

That’s enough of a reason to let go of all fear-based messages, right? Well, just for good measure I have a couple more …

2. Fear-mongering doesn’t make you remarkable

If anything, there’s a surplus of fear in the world. Making more of it doesn’t set your cause apart as remarkable and worthy of support. It doesn’t help you stand out from the crowd.

If you want to really attract and energize people, the smart thing to do is to create more of what’s scarce these days: hope, confidence, enthusiasm.

3. Fear doesn’t create the world you want

Every word we speak shapes the world we live in — by influencing those around us and creating social agreements about the way things are, what we want, and what’s possible.

(That’s not woo-woo magical thinking, by the way, it’s just an observation about how people create societies.)

A world filled with fear is not the kind of world I want to live in.

What do you think? Are there other reasons not to use fear to move people to act? Is it sometimes a good idea? Speak your mind in the comments.