Next, the poll was taken from only conservative voters, in any case. And how many of those voters are likely to say wonderful things about their enemy – Labour? Not many. So the report was bound to find bad things about Labour, because the research company deliberately approached people who don’t like labour.
What about the issue itself – Blair’s face. Exactly what is the cause-and-effect mechanism which links one man’s smile to such important issues as the general state of the economy, poverty, health, environmental damage and so on? There isn’t a link! The public are being distracted from the important issues with a non-story. One man’s teeth have no effect on our quality of life in our country whatsoever. The paper is playing a mind game on the public.
And how about the findings? “Eight percent found him ‘smarmy and smug’” – or to re-phrase that more accurately – “Ninety-two percent of Tory voters don’t think Blair is ‘smarmy and smug’” ! So the report, in fact, found there was pretty much no problem with his looks in any case. Even if looks were important to political standing. And 93% didn’t mind his “grin”! (“grin” of course is a deliberately chosen replacement for “smile” – “grin” doesn’t sound so likeable. The paper is screwing with people’s minds).
The final comment about Tory voters’ fears of paying more tax, sums up what it’s all really about. Taxes buy civilisation – hospitals, emergency services, roads and so on. But the people in this poll wanted to pay less – ie they didn’t want to give. It describes a system of living which is built on taking. The Daily Mail deliberately re-enforces the selfish opinions of its readers – it is in the papers interest to suck up to its readers, not upset them or else they’ll buy a different paper. So the newspaper, because it too is motivated by profits, is hiding the truth from its readers – it has to let the readers carry on with their delusion that it’s ok to take, and not give.
And the overall message in the article is “isn’t Blair awful; don’t vote for him!”
This distorting of the public’s minds happens on a global scale. How are we to make rational judgements in elections when we have had our minds so deliberately damaged by people who want to gain from manipulating us? Don’t we all have the right to know facts? The readers of The Daily Mail are being used. The readers deserve better treatment than this; it is degrading to the intellect of the people who are paying for the paper. It happens with all the papers, broadsheets too, and on television and radio. So the government is elected by people who don’t have an accurate perception of the parties, nor of the important political issues, because the minds of the public have been manipulated by the media. So the media are effectively controlling the government through its unscrupulous abuse of power. And it’s the newspaper proprietors, such as Murdoch, who are ultimately in control; individuals who surreptitiously wield massive amount of power over the rest of us.
By distorting the truth as perceived by its readership, the Daily Mail creates the mental illness of delusion in many of its readers. It is damaging their health. But many of its readers believe what the Mail says and are blissfully unaware that they are being duped.