How long will Americans accept the propaganda?

To the editor:

How long can the virtual propaganda of the Bush administration and the corporate media prevail over reality in the minds of average citizens? We now have the largest predicted budget deficit in history. Over two million jobs have been lost since January 2001. There has been an ongoing dismantling of progressive reforms occurring while the gap between the very rich and the rest of us has continued to grow.

More critical is evidence that the administration bumbled 9/11 intelligence and is blocking an important report. Similarly, there is evidence that the administration exaggerated or coerced intelligence on Iraq resulting in an unnecessary, ongoing and extremely costly war. Many credible experts believe the Iraq war has exacerbated terrorism, and a recent BBC poll indicates a majority of the rest of the world -- 70 percent -- have a negative view of the United States and this administration. In other words, things are in pretty bad shape and likely to get worse, both domestically and internationally.

People have an understandable tendency to rally behind a leader when they are scared. The related suspension of critical thought provides politicians with an unusual opportunity to obscure unsavory truths with patriotic jingoism and hype. The current administration, with the help of a compliant media, has managed to use such methods to influence a majority of our citizens, as evidenced by the current approval polls. How long will this continue in contradiction to reality? It's a long way to November 2004.

ROBERT POLACK JR.

Cape Girardeau