Sam W (with aid from Cat, of course) discusses:

16: "Tyrants of all varieties have always know [sic] about the value of providing the masses with amusements as a means of pacifying discontent. But most of them could not have even hoped for a situation in which the masses would ignore that which does not amuse... How delighted would be all the kings, czars, and fuhrers of the past to know that censorship is not a necessity when all political discourse takes the form of jest."

This statement, like several others, touches upon multiple topics explored in AOTD. In class I believe we touched briefly upon the way that entertainment is taken for granted as truth. I don't mean this as a sweeping generalization; I refer only to, of course, television. Much of the population will view programs of any subject, virtually all of which are designed solely for pleasuring, numbing the minds of, and gaining money from subjects, as assistance in the pursuit of knowledge. Certainly, any propaganda-exploiting ruler would  love this-- all it takes to get the masses to follow you is for you to provide them with entertainment? A real dream come true.

Another useful tendency for people, most active in politics, is the way that people so vehemently follow a certain leader under no threat of any sort, simply because they identify with certain beliefs and a certain political party. It seems to be a tendency for people to take a very ardent interest in what their corresponding candidate believes and shape their beliefs on that, rather than choosing a candidate based on their beliefs. The current dichotomous political system combined with televised and now internet-based passive-aggressive squabbles between candidates really cause people to choose sides strongly, something that really causes public opinion to be swayed one way or another quite easily. Isn't that helpful? One barely has to try to influence public viewpoints.

On a smaller scale but still something to consider, I often find that teachers are largely selected as "good teachers," or at least desirable teachers, based not only on their empathy, intelligence, and tactics but also on their wit and having a conscience that allows them to waste a class period with something that isn't even pertinent. Of course, there's nothing wrong with wit or even wasting time; both are really my favorite things in the universe. It's just another way of showing that we really can't be educated effectively without having fun. It's just how we are, I'd say. Not only that, but we really do respond much more effectively if something can be made into a joke of some sort. We're so easy, aren't we?

Ok I am finished thank you have a good night bye yes thank you goodbye