The Islamic State’s self-published magazine, entitled Dabiq, is named after a seemingly uninspiring town in northern Syria. According to prophecy, the world will end in Dabiq when Muslim and infidel troops eventually meet for a final time. The first issue is a dramatic proclamation of the “return of khilafah,” a single ruler that controls state and religion. The immense quantity of graphic pictures aids the effectiveness of such propaganda. Each volume contained a plethora of pictures of dead soldiers, injured citizens, and the moments before a criminal is executed. These pictures either reveal US armed forces to be cruel murderers or present the Islamic State’s soldiers as creating justice. At first, I considered these pictures to be a fear tactic, showing the intense power this group had over others. With an understanding of the Islamic State, one can conclude that the pictures actually act as a means of building credibility for this new government. Graphic pictures of the “enemy” being punished reasonably shows a state that is working to protect their citizens. While outsiders, especially Americans, view this magazine as a proud declaration of violence and power, it was a strong form of propaganda for the people in Iraq and Syria.
Category: Short Writings
Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, remains imprisoned today, carrying out his eight consecutive life sentences. He is responsible for the death of three people and the injuries of almost two dozen more. Over 17 years, Kaczynski mailed over 40 homemade bombs to the homes and offices of university professors. The FBI spent two decades trying to identify the Unabomber before his 35,000 word manifesto was printed in the Washington Post and recognized by his own brother. Linguistic analysis provided a basis for a search warrant of Ted Kaczynski’s Montana cabin as old letters matched the manifesto’s prose and language. The manifesto, titled “Industrial Society and Its Future,” likely would have very little significance if it were not for the bombings. The work does not contain intense words of violence or extreme ideas; it appears as the opinion of someone rejecting society’s constraints and choosing isolation and individualism instead. It also has a strong sense of intellectual thought rather than appearing as a rant from a madman. Considering Kaczynski studied at Harvard at the age of 16 and was deemed a math prodigy, it is understandable that he was capable of this elevated writing, building bombs, and avoiding capture for so long. In his seemingly not radical manifesto, he complains of the control technology has on society and the inability to separate the good from the bad. He calls for the destruction of the industrial-based society through revolution, not reform. He claims that technology and machines have erased the purpose and will of mankind, reducing them to nothing. Overall, Kaczynski is simply rejecting the widespread use of technology. However, as he committed terrorist attacks, his manifesto is seen as a highly controversial and extreme piece of writing from a sociopath.
The SCUM Manifesto was written by Valerie Solanas and published in 1968. Her idealized society, one without the male gender, met under the name “Society for Cutting Up Men.” She presents herself as a radical feminist, saying “maleness is deficiency disease.” According to biology and anatomy, her extreme claim is valid. Males have an X and a Y gene while women contain two X chromosomes. With this, females are more resistant to genetic diseases and chromosomal issues. In addition, Solanas accurately states that women are able to reproduce without men. Females cannot make males due to the lack of the Y chromosome, though modern scientific breakthroughs allow reproduction to occur without the presence of a male, through the use of sperm banks and bone marrow. Solanas also appears to respond to Freudian psychology as she claims males have “pussy envy.” Her belief is that all men want so badly to be women, that they project female qualities onto themselves and male qualities onto females. The work is highly representative of the idea of gender binary. As it was written in the 60’s, one can understand the lack of gender inclusivity. Even as she aggressively states that men want to be women and women are superior, she fails to accept transgender women because in her perspective, they do not qualify as “true” women. She claims sex is a desire of men and that SCUM women borderline asexuality. With this, she is also invalidating female homosexuality. As she claims men trick women into “enjoying” sex, the idea of lesbian sex becomes obsolete. Her rejection of female homosexuality is striking as she praises the female gender for pages and pages. A more modern feminist manifesto would likely include praise for the lesbian relationships as men are simply “walking dildos.”
The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion was a piece of forgery written by a non-Jewish person, likely Russian or German, that actively pretends to reveal the plan of an extreme Jewish takeover. It includes details of how the Jewish people will outlaw freedom of speech, religion, and press. The work states that “it is indispensable for us to undermine all faith,” essentially forbidding all religion and creating a society of all Jewish people. It talks of plans to use unemployment, war and poverty as a means of controlling all Gentiles. The work includes levels of irony as a Gentile author slanders his own people under a Jewish pseudonym. The Gentiles are characterized as stupid, alcoholics, and pigs. With this, the author is attempting to build hatred for and suspicion against Jewish people. As Jews already controlled banking and economics in Europe at this time, it would be unlikely that a Jewish author would write about this plan. Gentiles had plenty of reasons to dislike Jews, leading scholars to believe that no Jewish person would write this, as it would prove the suspicions of the Germans. This work is highly provoking as it attacks an entire lifestyle and group of people. On the surface, the work appears to be a hatred for Gentiles rather than anti-Semitic, which was common for the time. Knowing the author was not Jewish but rather a Gentile, it exemplifies the work as anti-Semitic as it attempts to convince others of the horrors that the Jews are planning. This piece of falsification works to provoke both groups discussed. The Gentiles, believing it to be genuine writing from a Jew, are enraged by such blatant hatred. Anyone that knows the truth about the author is disgusted by their willingness to write such lies in order to build prejudice for the Jewish people.
John Milton’s Areopagitica alludes to Isocrates’ oration to the Council of the Areopagus and works as a proficient response to the Licensing Order of 1643. In his objection to censorship, Milton creates an argument for freedom of speech in a non-reductionist manner. Historically, the topic of freedom of speech has included both discussions for and against increased freedom by either side of the argument. During the 17th century, the liberal side, which included Milton, argued for fewer restrictions concerning the printing industry. Milton argues the value of reading both literature of “good” content and “bad” content. In connection to his faith, Milton essentially states that censorship infringes on the free will that God gave his people. As the English government used religious law to justify censorship, Milton leaned toward the idea that differing opinions, religious and secular, can aid development within society. Milton builds his opinion’s credibility by connecting censorship to the Catholic faith. Though he appears to be tolerant of other religions in his argument for freedom of the press, it is important to note the exclusion of the Catholic church. Milton furthers his position in stating the impracticality of the notion, saying “there cannot be a more tedious and unpleasing journey-work” (Milton). As a large part of his reasoning stems from religious beliefs, it is shocking to see the way in which he values schisms and dissections as having “a vital role in the nation’s religious renewal” (Blasi). While licensing rules were halted with the abolition of the Star Chamber, Milton became famous for his writings, primarily his opinion on divorce, that were clearly against social norms and the previous laws surrounding the press.
John Milton’s Areopagitica alludes to Isocrates’ oration to the Council of the Areopagus and works as a proficient response to the Licensing Order of 1643. In his objection to censorship, Milton creates an argument for freedom of speech in a non-reductionist manner. Historically, the topic of freedom of speech has included both discussions for and against increased freedom by either side of the argument. During the 17th century, the liberal side, which included Milton, argued for fewer restrictions concerning the printing industry. Milton argues the value of reading both literature of “good” content and “bad” content. In connection to his faith, Milton essentially states that censorship infringes on the free will that God gave his people. As the English government used religious law to justify censorship, Milton leaned toward the idea that differing opinions, religious and secular, can aid development within society. Milton builds his opinion’s credibility by connecting censorship to the Catholic faith. Though he appears to be tolerant of other religions in his argument for freedom of the press, it is important to note the exclusion of the Catholic church. Milton furthers his position in stating the impracticality of the notion, saying “there cannot be a more tedious and unpleasing journey-work” (Milton). As a large part of his reasoning stems from religious beliefs, it is shocking to see the way in which he values schisms and dissections as having “a vital role in the nation’s religious renewal” (Blasi). While licensing rules were halted with the abolition of the Star Chamber, Milton became famous for his writings, primarily his opinion on divorce, that were clearly against social norms and the previous laws surrounding the press.
While I understand the reasoning for the inclusion of Areopagitica in this class, I disagree with the way this text was brought to our attention. This document focused on its connection to the First Amendment rather than its deep historical context as a “forbidden” work. John Milton qualifies as a “forbidden” author as his work was highly controversial in its time period. However, the lecture from Vincent Blasi is centered around its association with freedom of speech. This fails to fully address why Areopagitica is considered forbidden and its importance to this class.
Read Blasi’s interpretation of Milton’s Areopagitica here: https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=ylsop_papers