“The point of public relations slogans like "Support Our Troops" is that they don't mean anything”

— Noam Chomsky

interview on WBAI, January 1992 http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/interviews/9201-propaganda.html. <br class="br">Quotes 1990s, 1990-1994 <br class="br">Context: The point of public relations slogans like "Support Our Troops" is that they don't mean anything... that's the whole point of good propaganda. You want to create a slogan that nobody is going to be against and I suppose everybody will be for, because nobody knows what it means, because it doesn't mean anything. But its crucial value is that it diverts your attention from a question that does mean something, do you support our policy? And that's the one you're not allowed to talk about.

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american linguist, philosopher and activist 1928

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“That's the whole point of good propaganda. You want to create a slogan that nobody's going to be against, and everybody's going to be for. Nobody knows what it means, because it doesn't mean anything.”

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“People always say "Don't you support the troops?" But the troops are an entity that just follows orders. It's not about individuals or people. So when I say "I don't support the troops", I'm saying I don't support the bankers and politicians who are making them do what they do.”

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“The constant refrain that bringing our troops home would demonstrate a lack of support for them must be one of the most amazing distortions ever foisted on the American public.”

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“The one that's easy to say now is, "I Support The Troops". Doesn't cost ya anything. But I've got a question for you: can you really support the troops if you also support these massive tax cuts for the very rich? Because the people we say are our heroes are paid by tax dollars. And we hear about, teachers have to buy their own school supplies, soldiers in this country are on food stamps…couldn't somebody in congress stand up and say, "Why don't we take half of that big tax cut and give it to our heroes?"”

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Or is that why they're our heroes, because they work cheap?
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“We support the war effort and believe we should be supporting our troops and our allies and be there with them doing everything necessary to win”

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“I lived the war in Iraq, and today I still have family and friends fighting in Iraq. My support for our troops is unwavering. I believe this is not a time for finger-pointing, it is a time for truth — the whole truth— vs. hype, and misinformation.”

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“I am going to sing lesbian love songs and support gay rights no matter what. The rest is public relations.”

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“"It [referring to calling a Minister "Idiot"] was probably not an appropriate term, but we support the war effort and believe we should be supporting our troops and our allies and be there with them doing everything necessary to win.”

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“I like how if you criticize the war you don't support the troops. You're the ones sending them over to die, so how is it I don’t support them? If the army was made up of child molesters, then I'd support them. If we went to an all child molester army, I would be their biggest supporter. "Please don't bring the troops home. Stay the course. Keep them there a long time." But they're not child molesters. And they're not the Twins, that’s for sure. Where are the Twins? Send in the Twins. I'd like to hear that scene. "Jenna, Barbara… Daddy and I have talked it over and we want you to go fight in Iraq."”

Larry David (1947) American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer

…Ah, what's the use? <br class="br">June 28, 2005 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-david/the-roving-thoughts-of-a-_b_3287.html

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