Talking points

I never really understood the power of the talking point until yesterday. I have been having some really interesting conversations and arguments with an old high school friend. My buddy has been in the military for many years and has served his country well.Surprisingly my military friend is a sold out sticking liberal. We have started to communicate more and more with each other over the last couple of months over Facebook, initiated by my constant political ribbings of the left on my wall. I guess he had had enough one day and decided to start challenging my post. My pal being a New Yorker is blunt and to the point like I am and we both go for the jugular right away. Not everyone is a political news junky like I am, so I never expect most of my friends to be up to the minute. Yesterday was different.

I follow all many different streams of news information, online, radio, TV. On Wednesday I started seeing some chatter from the left complaining about the Benghazi hearings being just a political show. The chatter started on Facebook and then spread somewhat to Twitter. A meme was made that showed all of the terrorist attacks on our embassies and consulates during the Bush administration. The meme gave the place and the number of dead and then made some sort of statement about republicans not caring then so why now. The meme may have changed fonts or background but the content stayed the same.

Going back to my friend I posted, "The media cares more about Obama's legacy than four dead Americans" . Soon after that he posted the talking points from that viral meme. I didn't think anything of it until this morning. The power of the talking point. How those words turned into facts which turned into an offensive political weapon. I don't even think he realized that the points he was making came from a meme. I think that's a little frightening,  almost like the subliminal ads from the fifties that made you go by more popcorn. This technique seem much more invasive and more hidden. The only way to combat this type of propaganda is through critical thinking. We Americans are so busy now that we even now want our facts spoon feed through social media instead of researching the facts for ourselves. 1984 has become reality.