When is it propaganda and when information?

This week's Independent News & Media Irish regional newspapers' column.

Michael Commane

Have you noticed they are now talking about the British Parliament being suspended. It seems they have dropped the word prorogued. It is something of a tongue-twister.

But isn’t everything to do with Brexit proving annoying and infuriating.

Watching Boris Johnson at Government Buildings on his visit to Dublin reminded me of a very shifty English upper-class public school boy, who had been caught breaking the rules. He had no intentions of owning up but didn’t know what to say next.  Then again all those antics could be perfectly choreographed and rehearsed.

Watching and listening Jacob Rees-Mogg, AKA ‘MP for the 19^thcentury’, reminds me of all that I find nasty and dishonest within the far-right of the Catholic Church. Rees-Mogg is a big fan of the Latin Mass and all the fancy gear and ritual that was placed in the cupboard after the Second Vatican Council. His slouching pose in the Mother of All Parliaments gives us some insight into the real and arrogant Mr Rees-Mogg. It’s always the little things that catch us out.

But right now for the ordinary punter we are all more or less punch-drunk with the Brexit phenomenon.

It has been wall-to-wall media coverage on the political shenanigans taking place in the UK.

Two weeks ago Channel 4 aired a special programme on Brexit. There were four political panellists, two leavers and two remainers. The audience was evenly divided between leavers and remainers.

There was much passion, fury and anger in the hour-long programme. Bad manners too.

I was none the wiser after it all. It set me thinking about how we come to decisions, how we make up our minds on matters. Is it that we come to decisions by means of hunches, gossip, inaccurate information, group think? The list is endless.

In a Gospel reading at Mass in August we were told that the people listened to Jesus because he spoke with authority.

The word authority comes from the Latin word ‘auctor’ meaning source/author. Jesus spoke from his own sources, knowing exactly what he was saying.

Dare I make a confession? In this current Brexit row I have developed a game: when people appear on television to talk about Brexit, before they get into the debate I try to decide whether they are leavers or remainers from the way they speak, how they look, even the way they dress.

What is it that forms our opinions and views?

Why is one person a Muslim, another a Buddhist, another an atheist and someone else a Christian? 

History, geography and indeed conviction play significant roles in who we are.

Most likely I’m a Christian and a Catholic because I was born into a Catholic family.

Is it all something of a mystery? Theologians talk about a divine plan.

Is it all decided for us while we are still in our mothers’ wombs?

Advertising is a multi-billion-euro industry. Companies spend large sums of money on PR and every political party has spin doctors.

They are all trying to get our attention, win over our minds and empty our pockets.

When is it propaganda and when is it information?

When last did you change your mind about something or about someone?

I have changed my views and opinions on many topics, social, political, religious. But I’m wondering how intellectually honest I have been in coming to decisions?

But fanaticism in it all its forms, shapes and sizes is scary.

And we seem to have an abundance of fanatics everywhere at present.