Seeing ain't necessarily believing

During World War II British intelligence operatives noticed Adolf Hitler make an odd misstep while being filmed accepting France's surrender. Within days the Allies released a newsreel featuring the Austrian martinet dancing a victory jig in celebration of France's defeat.

Computerized graphics weren't necessary, the propagandists simply ran the film backward and forwards in a loop to create a notorious dance that served to unify the citizens of Allied countries against a common enemy. But make no mistake, the little jig never happened despite what millions of people saw projected on the screen.

Hitler demanded to be filmed accepting France's surrender at Compiegne because he wanted to use the undoctored film to motivate his own followers in their war of global domination. Germany surrendered at Compiegne, ending the Great War, WWI, a matter of great shame for the Nazis. Hitler was looking for payback.

These pernicious vanities, not unlike being flown on to an aircraft carrier to announce Mission Accomplished (less than a mile off the coast of California), serve to unite a diverse and often divisive group into a team with common goals. These types of images create a sense of purpose, a source of identity, a common enemy, a common belief.

Recently a video was released of Osama bin Laden meeting with the hijackers of 9-11. This video depicts an event that necessarily had to happen more than five years ago but I certainly don't know if the video shows what actually happened. Unlike "Alien vs. Predatory", or "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," there wasn't any "bonus material" I could select to see how the movie was made. I find it fascinating that after originally denying they were involved in planning 9-11, bin Laden and Al Qaida, five years later, two months before America's mid-term elections, would release a video showing the hijackers meeting with bin Laden. Seeing ain't necessarily believing.

On one of my earlier posts there's a picture of Dick Cheney dressed in full Nazi regalia. I didn't get a picture of the Vice President attending a costume party with England's Prince Harry. A few minutes research for photos on the internet coupled with a copy of Adobe Photoshop and I had the image I needed.

For those who hate Nazi Germany and all it stands for, seeing the American Vice President in Nazi uniform must have a chilling effect.
For me seeing what this administration is doing to my country has the same effect.
For those folks who wonder whether Al Qaida was behind the destruction of the World Trade Center's twin towers, seeing bin Laden chatting up Mohammad Atta could be just enough to quiet their questions.