Propaganda Wars: When Politics and Ethics Collide & Polarise Our World(s)

It took me a while to decide whether I even wanted to address this topic here, on LinkedIn, in the first place. After all, what does it have to do with public speaking or storytelling, you might ask. It turns out, a lot more than it seems, and on many super-important levels. So here's the story!

Politics, influence and storytelling

Why become interested in politics in today's world? Sounds like the ultimate display of masochism, doesn't it? Even if you know next to nothing about its inner machinations, and rely exclusively on your instincts, contemporary news broadcasting (however unreliable it may be), or centuries of well-deserved stereotypes, associations and cliches, the overall picture has never been pretty for #politics or #politicians, has it? As a professional group, they have always been (a little too) untrustworthy, narcissistic and hypocritical, or, have done a convincing job of appearing as such, way too often.

And yet, despite all this gloomy entourage of a reputation, I have always been interested in its inseparable attributes: #storytelling,?#bodylanguage?and?#publicspeaking. From the grand stories of global conflicts and the colourful lives of contemporary presidents, prime ministers and political leaders, all the way to what Elizabethan Theatre and Ancient Greece had to say on the subject. And, boy, didn't they already know!?

No need to go back in time this far, though. After all, when it comes to understanding the so-called human condition, our?aspirations, motivations?and, most importantly, readiness for moral?compromise, good old Shakespeare really said it all, didn't he?

Developing a perspective

I remember comparing two very different film adaptations of King Richard III, as preparations to my final university thesis. What initially looked like a one-month research turned out to be a fascinating full-year study of rhetoric, power and politics - 'fascinating' in a vicarious, non-empirical sense of the word, of course.

Not that I ever felt much empathy for any of Shakespeare's most notorious protagonists, but exploring the beautifully crafted, sophisticated command of language and metaphor in Shakespeare's plays, when explaining the moral complexities of the human condition, felt very much unparalleled at the time.

As irony would have it, only a few years later, when friends would ask me what I was doing in a global, manufacturing corporation, rife with power shifts, political games and ego-driven intrigues, I would respond jokingly: Back at university, Shakespeare was a great, dead author. Here, he's very much alive!

I guess heading the PR, communications and media-relations department of the company in question, and working closely with CEOs, business and political leaders made the metaphor feel ever more potent, and infinitely more accurate. Enough sentiments, though.

Whether we like it or not, there's no denying that #rhetoric, #eristic, #storytelling and #manipulation (key political ingredients, then and now) have played quite a role in the history of our world, through countless wars, breakthrough discoveries, great geopolitical rivalries, global threats and challenges, even conflicts simmering on the horizon today. So what's new? Or at least 'new-old'?

When politics starts slapping you in the face...a little too often, a little too hard

I've never been interested in?politics as such. Not to the extent that would make me a serious observer of the Polish political playground. Quite to the contrary, in fact. I have kept my distance, choosing blissful?ignorance?instead and reducing engagement to having to opt for the lesser evil during?elections, every now and then.

Things changed in 2015, when comfortably overlooking politicians' ways was suddenly no longer an ethically-viable alternative. Not if, deep inside, you had any sense of responsibility for your country's?future, international?reputation, rule of?law, fundamental?freedoms and (not OR!) social?justice.?

Law and Justice...they were certainly not!

Ever since?Law and Justice (PiS), Poland's majority ruling party took over, seven years ago, and started swiftly adapting the still-fledgling Polish?democracy?to their own devices, political ignorance (aka 'comfortable indifference') were no longer an option.

After years of political losses and countless humiliations, this time around, PiS was more than ready to adopt a no-qualms policy, in political marketing, but not only. Ethical sentiment would not stand in the way of their Political Marketing 2.0 apparatus.

And so, a grand plan called Dobra zmiana! ('Good change') was set in motion at a blistering speed. From now on, all forms of opposition were to be referred to as 'total opposition'.

The Trojan Horse of benefits...staffed with authoritarian toys

After putting much of the electorate's vigilance to sleep with a fountain of social benefits and countless 'Let's make Poland great again!' speeches, the party immediately started capitalizing on bringing the voices of the uneducated, the radical and the underprivileged to the fore of public debate.

An excellent distraction, while PiS went about politically subjugating hundreds of state-owned companies, to use them (their massive capital and well-paid employment opportunities, to be more precise) for political gains, whenever a need arouse.

Big Brother is...helping you understand the world anew!

Needless to say, perhaps, bending Poland's biggest, opinion-forming public?media?to their will became a top priority early on. What may have come as a shock at the time, however, was that it could be done with such ruthless efficiency, in such a short period of time, with so little real resistance, within the first few months! From now on, the party, or any of its actions, would not be criticized in any of its main news programmes.

Barely recognizing its new-found governance style (forget international diplomacy!), the entire country found itself suddenly drawn into a very dangerous, deeply polarizing and highly volatile political game, one that radicalized Polish politics beyond recognition, in less than 2 years!

Things were only going to get worse, as many of the government's meticulously orchestrated polarization and stigmatization efforts started spilling over the country's borders. Party-controlled narratives around 'enemies of Poland' and 'true Polish values' (as opposed to traitors and basically everyone who didn't t have enough jingoism in their blood) would now be used as political weapons on a daily basis. Sounds familiar enough, doesn't it?

A marriage of Trump with Communism

It became very clear all too soon that this strategically successful marriage of Polish 'pre-1989 sentiment' with contemporary America's 'Donald Trump MAGA' was not a stroke of political luck, let alone an accident. Worse still, it could not have been conceived in the minds of the chief party apparatchiks of old now occupying the front seats in parliament. They may have been power-hungry or cynical enough, but definitely not competent,?political-marketing-savvy or...smart enough!

Moreover, the many subtle similarities to recent American presidential campaigns were proof enough that?political consulting?in Poland had entered a very different orbit, boosted by a truly Machiavellian/Orwellian/Kafkaesque (all in one!) approach to manipulating voter sentiment and consolidating?power with ever more?populist?tools. Much of it was strikingly reminiscent of the pre-1989 state?propaganda, but worse, in so many ways.

The forgotten lessons of 'Solidarno??'

Sadly, the great majority of the uneducated (and/or fervently religious) Poles, esp. living in the countryside, failed to spot the?#irony. With their vigilance long put to sleep (assuming there ever was any), grand corruption and 'sociopolitical bribery' of all kinds soon became all the rage. The strategy worked so well, in fact, that even the heaviest of ethical sins were to be easily overlooked by the beloved countryside electorate. Things that used to result in (forced) resignations, public shame and political ostracism were now reason for pride and political glory.

And so, ever since 2016, carefully crafted media messaging has been delivering on its promise: offering reputation-recovery miracle after miracle, while successfully steering the public sentiment towards much-desired perceptions could now be taken for granted. After repeating the key messages and soundbites a thousand times on air, it soon became clear that the party no longer needed to make so much effort. The electorate now spoke its language, as if it were its own thoughts. Remember Animal Farm?

Be silent or accept the consequences!

Narrowing all this down to a personal/professional perspective, I would probably have to start with this: For years now, I have refused to put my head in the jaws of morally corrupt politicians or accept invitations from ethically malleable business partners, i.e. the 'not-asking-any-questions, happy-to-take-any-job-from-the-party' type.

I guess you really don't need to be that smart or well-educated to know that there will always be people (businesses!) ready to accept just about ANY form of business collaboration, with just about ANY party (ruling or not), guilty of ANY degree of social engineering, propaganda or morally questionable actions and aspirations...as long as it's profitable enough, or comes with other, compelling benefits attached - power, ego and privilege included.

But if you do decide to choose the path of even the mildest forms of resistance, be careful! You may find yourself surrounded by those who need a fully-fledged, oppressive, authoritarian regime to give up the 'practicalities of silence'. Even then...

So be prepared to accept the consequences, the least painful of which could be lost financial gains, denied access to privilege and, last but definitely not least, (a lot of) missed opportunities.

One last word

2016 was not the first time I openly criticized the political status quo in Poland, or the hypocrisy and ethical corruption of the party in power. But what happened since cannot be compared to even the negative sum total of what had happened between 1989 and 2016, neither in qualitative nor in quantitative terms. Even if it were okay to diminish the sins of the present by invoking sins of the past (as in 'I can now steal whatever I like, and I should go unpunished, because thieves roamed the planet before me' kind of logic) PiS would still be in a category of its own. Not one of those situations where it's a compliment!

And so, unsurprisingly, no doubt, criticizing PiS where most would opt for the safety of silence instead, has had its price, especially for a?freelancer?looking to grow his skills and explore development opportunities in the world of?events, public speaking?and?strategy?consulting, BUT, then again, it's worth remembering?#ethics?and?#values?are not something you should ever want to trade with!