2008 The Cutting Point

Supposedly many of our modern beliefs about American life, the things we value, and the things we believe to be important have actually been influenced if not actually orchestrated by one person. Contrary to what one may think, that person is not old Belzibub...

So who is the modern father of spin?... an Austrian immigrant named Edward L.Bernays.

Bernays had a good understanding of how people think and what their perceived vs actual needs are. After all, his Uncle was none other than Sigmund Freud himself.

Bernays used the concepts of his Uncle Sigmund's writings to wage a war of persuasion and propaganda on the American psyche. He was funded by corporate giants as well as the US government. Eventually Bernays did some writing of his own on how to manipulate and control the public. "Crystallizing Public Opinion", "Public Relations", and naturally... "Propaganda" were books written by Bernays.

He worked with those who hired him to "Control the masses without their knowing it." as the best PR happens "when people are unaware that they are being manipulated". He often referred to this as the "Secret Government". One that actually "controls the minds and hearts of the public from a board room by men they don't even know exist". He pandered the belief that "People are like sheep, they need to be led". Apparently it worked because his services were sought from all over the globe (Hitler's spin doctor, Goebbles kept a copy of Brenays' first book on his desk) and Bernays principals are still taught and practiced in the world of PR today.

Some of the campaigns Bernays orchestrated were based on truth and others were not. Below is a mixed list of just a few:

* The acceptance of women smoking & smoking would keep a

  woman thin

* Bacon and eggs for breakfast was the true All American

  breakfast

* Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb

* Fluoride in water was safe and beneficial

* Dixie cups were sanitary

* Smoking was actually beneficial

One of his strategies to lend credence to an idea, or even to create doubt when criticism was raised during a propaganda campaign was to offer the opinion of a "third party". These third party studies were actually fictitious organizations with legitimate sounding names. This particular strategy can be seen in Retail as well as Politics today.

Speaking of Politics... this is how Bernays felt about PR and Democracy:

"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country."

Bernays died in 1995 at the age of 103 years. As mentioned earlier, he had worked with the US government and large companies to include Phillip Morris, Pfizer, DuPont, Proctor and Gamble, Dow chemical, Boeing and many others.

This is just a short summation of the man and his tactics that has been attributed to the way in we which think and purchase in this country. When you research all that he has done and the effects upon the American public his agenda has accomplished, one might think that perhaps he just wasn't related to only Freud.

It's actually kind of scary, but you can learn more about Bernays by doing a simple search or by clicking the links below: