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The Socjournal – Online Journal of Sociology and Society
Sensationalism of Sybil Dorsett
Ah the power of the media. The power itself is not a problem. The problem is the “masses” often don’t get just how powerful it is. Here is a student essay providing evidence of the incredible power of the media to literally create reality, in this case the reality of Multiple Personality Disorder. What is interesting for me about this case is not only were the “masses” fooled, but smart, PhD level professionals, and in fact the entire psychological establishment, was sucked in as well. They even created a DSM classification based on the lie seeded by the media. WTF? And while the masses lost nothing but credibility, professionals
The Big Lie – Selfishness and Greed
Do so-called authorities know more about us than we know about ourselves? “The Big Lie” asserts that authorities, in the form of theologians and academics, seem to think they do. Further, those authorities tend to take a dim view of human nature—and those negative perspectives often produce very negative consequences. Because authorities are cloaked in a mantle of institutional legitimacy, their opinions are perceived as being more truthful than those of non-authorities. Nevertheless, “The Big Lie” argues that the truth is often at variance with the opinions of authorities. Be skeptical! (Timothy M.)
Patriot’s Game
Personally I’ve never been a big fan of patriotism. I grew up hearing how “our country was the best in the world” but it didn’t take me long to figure out there was some rust on that shiny image. Still, the image was a useful way to shut down debate. “If you don’t like it move somewhere else” is the stock response of the sleeping patriot.
The Big Lie – Are Wars Inevitable?
War!? What is it good for? Taking stuff from others. Say it again. Oh, ah. Well, enough with the homage to Frankie who was in Hollywood in the 80s. War is another one of those ideological hot buttons, like greed, and competition, and our “inner nature” (see other articles in this series), there’s all sorts of excuses and justifications. But in the end justifications for war, just like justifications for competition, or greed, or just that, justifications. They are not based on any kind of valid social or natural research, and they often just ape (no pun intended) the special interests who benefit from war, etc. What side of the
