Most of us don't see ourselves that way. Most of us know our media and leadership pushes propaganda. Most of us labor under the deleterious effects of that propaganda. The only people who claim not to "know" it are the ones benefitting from it, but largely not in control of it. The propaganda gives that segment of our society a sense of empowerment, even as it actually accords them little power. The rest of us, it directly oppresses – women, the LGBTQ, BIPOC, and non-white immigrants.

In America, our propaganda is rooted in the religiosity of Dominionism and the philosophy of "Manifest Destiny" – which are themselves deeply rooted in a theocratic, white identity patriarchal hierarchy that goes back to European colonization expansion and the institution of chattel slavery.