Goebbels Alive and Well in PA Gasland

In his brilliant novel 1984, George Orwell instinctively grasped the sinister techniques of modern propaganda. He unforgettably illustrated the theory Goebbels practiced in Nazi Germany: if you control the media and government’s “bully pulpits,” truth and sound reasoning are totally unneeded to work your evil will. As long as people stay busy and scared, and you drown out all opposing voices, constant repetition of shallow slogans and outright lies is all you’ll ever need.
Orwell would have warned us—and Goebbels might be envious—of gas promoters’ play for Pennsylvanians’ minds. Exploiting our economic panic, they rush to drill despite a worldwide gas glut and prices near their historic low. Wonder why? Because, as self-serving liars, they must strike, like Nazis, while our fear is hot—before economic recovery kicks in and Pennsylvanians can calmly assess the manifold dangers drilling poses. A panicked, impatient public, in a nation too busy to think, is Orwell’s biggest nightmare—but gas propagandists’ wildest dream.
Lamentably, the “Goebbels of gas” are living their dream. Via endless campaign and lobbying dollars, and a constant revolving door between Harrisburg and industry, Big Gas has turned our politicians into professional “gasmouths.” The worst cases, like State Senator Gene Yaw and State Representative Garth Everett, even gush like drilling cheerleaders who’ve bedded the entire team. When “never is heard a discouraging word” from so-called “representatives,” the lie quickly spreads that few oppose drilling in Pennsylvania. In fact, hundreds of thousands oppose it vehemently, and find justice and expert opinion squarely on our side. But with limited media budgets, and broadcasters and reps in bondage to Big Gas, we get roughly the media access offered pre-Holocaust Jews.
Industry spin doctors get unlimited access. Generally, they use it for shallow arguments, misleading information, and outright repeated lies. But sometimes, as when dubbing government theft “fair pooling,” they create masterpieces of Orwellian doublespeak.
The deception and shallow arguments are almost endless, like this technology being used safely for 60 years—which blends pretty badly with the other idiocy of gas developers being “infant industries” unable to afford a severance tax. Then there’s the sheer stupidity of calling drilling opponents hypocrites for driving cars—as if a society that sacrificed bike roads and cheap public transport to gas-guzzling autos offers any real choice. And as if WE’RE not the ones working to change that.
But what I love best are the true Orwellian bits, where evil corporate Big Brother gives us all a sloppy wet kiss. Their “Marcellus Shale community” strikes me as a “community” composed of rapists and their unwilling victims. So what’s next, a “Megan’s law community”? And when Chesapeake Energy happily declares “We’re all in this together,” I think, yeah, just like Hitler and Anne Frank.
Patrick Walker, Factoryville