Location, Location, Location

There are many truths, truth is often subjective, which is important to remember...

Our reputation in the world, we would not recognise;
We need change in action, if we wish to reconcile
our own perception of our conceived collective identity
with that of others' view of us, seen from their reality.
Put away fear and panic, arrogance and pride
Instead look to empathy as a level headed guide;

Put same descriptions onto others and we, too, would despise
their actions, justifications; we would not so easily sympathize.
If the consequences of our actions is to be rectified,
not threats or sanctions, but diplomacy needs to be amplified.
Information gathered with an agenda, and extrapolated as such,
accompanied by biased rhetoric takes a stronger hold in us.
Rhetoric is a powerful weapon and is often in the guise of fact
It appeals to our emotions, which often causes us to overreact.

We take for granted that information equals knowledge.
However, in reality it is important to acknowledge;
Information is a double edged sword, from which we choose;
What to blindly accept and what to blankly refuse;
a process crucial in generating certain points of views
not even of democracies can we say this to be untrue.

In service of political interests; actions in need of an excuse,
this crucial process we often mishandle or directly abuse;
Without thorough exploration, upon which we built our estimation;
short-sighted, hasty decisions 'n actions are put into appropriation;
Which may backfire and result in an ‘unexpected’ annexation?
To which we react by pointing fingers with hostile allegations.

How we connect and separate single constituents of information
determines, which meaning we accept out of countless intimations.
Depending on economic, geo political interests of a nation
We face the reality that information is - location, location, location ;)

Mai L. Nissen, 8th of February 2015

Author's Note

Art by Ditte Løfgren
http://ditteloefgren.com

I welcome any constructive criticism

Reviews

[ANTO]

Propaganda works because we want to believe a certain viewpoint - it works because the propagandist is usually preaching to the converted, so we should always seek other frames of reference and other sources - I watch RT and then I'll watch CNN and between them both they tell some of the truth. They apply swathes of propaganda which the viewer needs to filter and with time it can be done.

I dont think propaganda has been so utilised as it has/is in Ukraine recently - not since Goebbels
“It would not be impossible to prove with sufficient repetition and a psychological understanding of the people concerned that a square is in fact a circle. They are mere words, and words can be molded until they clothe ideas and disguise.”
― Joseph Goebbels

fine writing Mai

[Mai L Nissen]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Anto. It is always good to have a variety of sources with different interests - and then consider these and filtrate it, to come to some semblance of truth.

The Ukraine situation has been covered biased, and certain events have not been covered by the mainstream media in the West.
- Joseph Goebbels, the king of propaganda!

[James O'Rourke]

My, what a dense piece! A good commentary on propaganda and the use of information (whether it be subjectively or objectively.)

My view has been that there is always more than one truth to a situation. Especially if we ourselves are not there to witness or be a part of said situation. Truth can be difficult to find. Just like the miners during the gold rush in the United States, they had to sift through a lot of dirt and rocks to find what they were seeking. I think the same can be applied to truth. If you really want it, then be prepared to sift through a lot of information and points of view.

Even then, one may find more than one truth. That just makes it even more confusing! Then...uhh...then you gotta...UGHHHH MY HEAD HURTS!!! Anyway, great poem. Hopefully my head doesn't explode with all the possibilities that this poem points towards. Here's to keeping my head!

[Mai L Nissen]

Haha :) Hope your head is better now!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Yes, it is quite heavy... I don't know how to economize the words, when talking about politics - especially, when criticizing how politicians and media tend to be vague or misleading whether intentional or not.

Well, thanks for reading it all the way through :)

[Coyote Poetry]

I believe to make great decisions. Must know people, places, history and situation.
"How we connect and separate single constituents of information
determines, which meaning we accept out of countless intimations.
Depending on economic, geo political interests of a nation
We face the reality that information is - location, location, location ;)"
Information is key to success. I liked the thoughts create by the words. We could discuss this topic for hours. Thank you dear Poet for sharing the excellent poetry and thoughts.
Coyote

[Mai L Nissen]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Coyote. Yes, this is definitely a topic for long discussions and many interesting angles :)

[Coyote Poetry]

You are welcome. I believe we don't lawyers as leaders. We need Social worker type skilled people who understand life and are not seeking more wealth only. How do we fix the world if we don't understand it.

[Mai L Nissen]

True, otherwise we just end up making things worse... Understanding the causes of certain situations is important if we wish to remedy them.

[Coyote Poetry]

Yes, you are right.

[gorillarock]

"Information is a double edged sword, from which we choose;
What to blindly accept and what to blankly refuse;"

PROFOUND statement :) critical thinking is not a skill i see many people exercising... which is unfortunate.

i love how you stand with this poetic political statement, as if to say (much nicer than this) "Smarten Up! Quit being political sheep!" at least that's what i was able to take home :)

[Mai L Nissen]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts (do you go by anything other than gorillarock?). Yes, the essence of the poem is a call for more critical and independent thinking. People may still choose to do things I disagree with, but at least it will have been an informed choice...

[gorillarock]

You can call me Kyle :) It was interesting growing up in Canada, we are so exposed to American propaganda and marketing that it was almost an easy lesson for my high school teachers to help us learn to think on our own. I remember having critical thinking lessons in every subject. The idea was to help us decipher the false information we were being fed by a teenage internet, but it was far more valuable than just that. Americans were fabulous for providing simple examples of information that you shouldn't believe just because it's on TV or in the media. 9/11 was quite a date for my physics teacher, i lost faith in all government after what he was able to explain to us. i had a Vietnam draft dodger for a global history teacher who was all over exposing propaganda throughout history too, great guy :D and so much can be said for all the wonderful teachers who taught girls how to ignore the bimbos in magazines so that they could love who they are. i got behind helping that message like it was 99% of my final mark, i hated seeing so many girls be so down on themselves because of some perceived "flaw". Sexist propaganda is strong here in North America, i speak from experience, and it's widely ignored. oh my, i think my outrage is flaring up haha time to chill out :P

Yes, this is a topic i could ramble on for months over coffee. public manipulation, and how to outsmart it.... "People may still choose to do things I disagree with, but at least it will have been an informed choice..." exactly! at least i would know that i was opposed to someone who has made their own justification as a free mind, and not as a clay soldier molded by corrupt or critically flawed organization.

[Mai L Nissen]

Okay, Kyle :)
The Vietnam War is definitely not one of the finer moments for the U.S., and unfortunately it is not the only case...
Well, in Denmark there is not a lot of free thinkers. when you reach high school level it begins to be more critical in subjects such as history, religion, political science. Though it also depends on the teacher... Most people in Denmark don't question. When they wish to emphasize the democratic values of our country, they always mention freedom of speech - this freedom is one sided. It only counts if it does not conflict with our self-image.

[gorillarock]

i honestly have to say that i got lucky with my teachers, what you describe is pretty much what i see in general here as well. i have to keep this one short and sweet, i've typed myself off topic so many times over the last 30-40 mins, and gone into a direction not safe for the public domain lol the dangers of self image! propaganda via mob mentality!

[Mai L Nissen]

Fair enough :)

[Jamestown]

Again well written and executed! Great flow and strong message!
I am kind of flabbergasted when I see the fluency of your work,
when focused on a political or other very serious topic!
I have always been pretty decent at what I choose to allow
myself to hear and expect, but the majority believe anything they
hear hence" the big bang" and unfortunately the big wigs know
that so they feed the public a bunch of bs and go on with
there extremely lavish lifestyles and everyone else is stuck wondering
what just happened, anyway great piece, I love your work!
Thanks for sharing and b-blessed!

[Mai L Nissen]

Thank you, JT. Wow, what a compliment! I think I am blushing a bit... Haha :)

Your "Big Bang Theory" was quite an interesting read :)

[Mai L Nissen]

- And I like have you always put in a few frustrated sentences in your reviews on my political poems, it makes me feel less crazy :D

[Jamestown]

You are welcome my talented friend!

[A. Amos]

This is superb piece of writing and deeply honest, thank you for sharing words of wisdom.

[Mai L Nissen]

Thank you for your kind words, A. Amos. I do always try to be completely honest - as such, I should say that if I did indeed reference the holy book, I was not aware of it.

[stansg]

Fantastic work, its really difficult to segregate information these days. what to blindly accept and what to blankly refuse? It is as if we are all forced to think something that someone else wants us to think.
I really liked it.

[Mai L Nissen]

Thank you for taking the time to read and share your thoughts! It is much appreciated :)

[nazia]

This is so organised.. its true that we all seek acceptance from the world for all our deeds which shouldn't be the case. And we blindly follow without questioning... well written with a good message

[Mai L Nissen]

Thank you, Nazia. I am glad you like it :)