Do you know where your thoughts come from?

"If you can influence the leaders, either with or without their conscious cooperation, you automatically influence the group which they sway." Edward Bernays

Have you heard of Edward Bernays? Dubbed the 'Father of Spin' he was one of the first to start the now multi-faceted field of public relations. If you take a moment to consider  why you think the way you do about...well, anything, from what you eat, to clothes you wear, to the way you vote, consider what the man who launched a thousand products (yes, I'm exaggerating, no, I might as well not be exaggerating) had to say about how we perceive our world. What does this have to do with Culebra? Think about it.

"If we understand the mechanisms and motives of the group mind, it is now possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing it," he argued in Propaganda, one of his first books. In a later book, he coined the term "engineering of consent" to describe his technique for controlling the masses.
"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society," Bernays argued. "Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. . . . In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons . . . who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind."
from prwatch.org

Here are some ads from, incredibly, not that long ago. Compare them to what you see on television today, from commercials, to nightly 'news', to products, to politics...where is YOUR *truth* coming from? Just a thought...

Thank you, Mr. President! You look dashing!

They'd walk a mile for a Camel...if they could


Absolutely safe! Papa said so! Oops, my doll is dead, Papa!


(don't do it!!! Soon you'll be opening everything! Let the big strong man do it)


The dentist thanks you...how's that diabetes thing going for you?


A sure and certain way indeed...


 
Smoke for the children's sake!



Lucky they are easy to swallow, Friends for a Fair Form, I hated that spaghetti slurp thing I used to have to do.


A quiet baby is a Blazt'd baby!


I can't even comment on this one...no no, not good for me to go there



It's amazing that men just don't wear ties in bed anymore...



Love my Bloody Mary's...that's what alcohol is for


Damn, I didn't even know you could
have a cigarette hangover! 
Thanks, Ricky and Lucy!


A composed and useful life...hmm, do you have to be a senior to get this? Do I need a cane?


Hell yes, I'm thriving! And I'm cute! Darn cute! I'm high as a kite! I LOVE dusting, and anything else I can do because I haven't sat still in 3 years!! Is that lint on your suit? I hope your boss is coming to dinner because I just made a 74 course meal! Kellogg's! You did pick up the Kellogg's, right??

Thanks for the ads, Lorraine! Of course, my twisted mind took them somewhere else completely. Did ANYone ever think that Chase & Sanborn ad wasn't just a wee bit kinky?