By a Dafa practitioner outside of China

(Clearwisdom.net) In the Western world the word "propaganda" has a derogatory connotation. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses propaganda extensively. Although sometimes their propaganda words are polished, such polishing is merely for cosmetic purposes and is done to enhance the brainwashing effect.

In fact, good and true written communication, such as that used for providing information about commodities, activities or book reviews, and other valid and valuable data make readers feel that the information is interesting and useful. The difference between this kind of information dissemination and the CCP "Culture Propaganda" is that the former is for raising readers' interest and understanding of a particular idea or issue, and the latter is designed to infuse the readers with specific thought processes and cultural bias for the purpose of brainwashing. These two types of information dissemination have totally different purposes.

Newspapers must draw their readers' attention and interest. In this era of information overload, with their busy and hectic schedules, why should readers be interested in our Falun Dafa newspaper(s) or other truth-clarifying materials? It must be that the readers feel that after they read our materials they've gotten something valuable, good and useful. It should not be that the writer determines that the material is good for the readers, but rather, that the readers determine that it is good for them. The beneficial value of this information satisfies the readers' curiosity, their need to learn, their quest to satisfy spiritual needs, and their need for relaxation. Otherwise, without this good information, when people are caught up with the goings-on of day-to-day life, their human side becomes overly strong and they focus on nothing but their work and their everyday lives. Their clear-minded side, however, wants to know the truth of Falun Dafa. Since they are preoccupied with daily life, peoples' clear-minded side becomes narrowed and doesn't get the opportunity to know the truth.

It has been six years since we started Fa-rectification cultivation. Dafa practitioners have been clarifying the truth with great effort for six years. Many people with strong righteous thoughts have learned the truth, however, there are still thousands of people whose minds have been poisoned by the CCP culture and who have been deceived by the false appearance of economic prosperity. They are in an extremely dangerous situation. How can we attract more individuals to read our newspaper(s)? Shouldn't our Dafa practitioners who are editors and reporters stay focused in this area?

Because of the long-term impact of the CCP culture, those practitioners who have lived in and received their education in China are getting in the habit of unwittingly pushing their own opinions and thoughts onto others. They tend to overlook other people's thoughts, receptivity and interests. Such CCP culture-caused influence becomes an obstacle to clarifying the truth. We should eliminate it! Every newspaper, every report, every piece of truth-clarifying material is a golden opportunity for us to purify our notions and improve. It's also a test for readers' feedback. We can certainly increase the readability and make readers feel that the information is useful and applicable. No matter what method(s) we adopt - their purpose is to foster that which is righteous and good, which is the essential difference between non-practitioners' media and ours.

This is only a personal understanding, to bring fellow practitioners' attention to these matters. I hope that more and more practitioners can share their thoughts and experiences in this area, in order to make our articles, pictures, websites, newspapers, broadcasting and television programs more effective in offering sentient beings salvation through a deeper understanding of Dafa.

May 24, 2005