The weaponization of ignorance

By Munding Salao

World history has been witness to the numerous instances when Ignorance has been exploited and weaponized. From the Red Scare and McCarthyism in the US in the 1950’s (something which is sadly echoed up until recent years in our country with red-tagging), the mob rule during the French Revolution in the 18th century which led to summary executions via guillotine without a proper trial, and then there’s the Chinese Revolution when Mao Zedong utilized millions of young people manipulated by their idealism and encouraged them to attack officials, teachers, and intellectuals, thereby effectively reasserting his control over the government. But perhaps the best example that everyone is familiar with, is how Hitler and the Nazis got their power through manipulation and exploitation of ignorance.

He may not have been the first one to do it, but Hitler can symbolically be considered as the great grandfather of the “We are under attack” scheme because of the event known as the Reichstag Fire. Germany in the early 1930’s the Communist Party and the Nazi Party were two rival parties that fiercely struggled for control of the German Government. After winning his position as Chancellor, Hitler urged President Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag and call for elections, in which Hindenburg agreed. It was only four weeks after Hitler was sworn in to his position as the Chancellor when a fire broke out and destroyed the Reichstag building before the election could take place. Hitler and Herman Goering were quick to blame the Communist Party for this destruction. Hitler called the fire a “sign from God” and claimed it was a signal meant to mark the beginning of a communist revolt. He added that “this act of incendiarism is the most monstrous act of terrorism carried out by Bolshevism in Germany”. Hitler would then induce President Hindenburg to suspend civil liberties, and pursue a “ruthless confrontation” with the Communists, thereby eliminating their political rival and effectively securing the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler himself into power.

At the time around after the Reichstag fire occurred, the head of the fire department Walter Gempp was dismissed for presenting evidence that the Nazi party had an involvement in the fire. He was thrown in jail for “abuse of office”. Two years later, he was strangled and killed in prison. The Reichstag Fire, this diabolical ruse, proved to have been the main factor that sealed the victorious rise of the Nazis. Manipulation and the exploitation of ignorance was a success.

Hitler wrote on his book Mein Kampf, that people are more likely to believe a massive lie than a small one. The regime relentlessly repeated fabricated conspiracy theories, or recent times we call it fake news, and these were accepted as fact.

Hitler claimed that the rampant crime and the failure of the system are done by several factors such as the Communist party and the Jews, and he anointed himself as the only strong leader capable of annihilating these manufactured problems of society. As a result, this demanded total obedience from his supporters who praised his “great accomplishment”. This allowed the regime to break down individual morality and replace it with a collective, destructive loyalty to the Party’s ideology. This regime systematically normalized summary executions, dehumanization, transforming prejudice into active genocide.

Hitler effectively ascended into power by making people believe that he is more than just an ordinary human, but god-like. One might say that he tried to claim to be a “son of God” and yes he was indeed worshipped like a god in his time. In doing so, any heinous crime that he does is justified.

When the World War ended, the Nazis were put on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity in what is known as the Nuremberg Trials. This event was the origin of international criminal law. At the end of it all, I can only surmise that, apart from the brutal atrocities against other races and nationalities during the war, the German people may have been deeply ashamed of how Hitler and the Nazis exploited and weaponized their ignorance. The guilt and shame of having idolized and worshiped such leaders and ideologies.

Needless to say, such patterns of deceit can be seen in what has been going on in our society. Any self-serving politician or political party is pretty much capable of utilizing this.

If you can define the ills of society and somehow throw the blame unto your enemies; if you can elevate your charisma so much so that your supporters begin to worship you without question; if you can vilify any authority that seeks to question you; If you can manipulate laws and government sanctions so that it may only serve you and your faction; what you are ultimately doing is the exploitation and weaponization of ignorance.

In a poverty-stricken society where the education system is flawed and insufficient, ignorance is manipulated by fake news and shallow celebrity charisma fueled by problematic personalities. These manipulators can easily harness a hate for critical thinking and judicious authority.

They can be loud, crass, and vulgar, and they get away with it by claiming that their crude demeanor is relatable, a mirror that reflects the everyday angst of the working class. But far from the truth, they sit behind their office desks, earning a good chunk of people’s money on one hand and on the other, earning three, four, ten times larger kickbacks for illegal and criminal activities.

We find it funny. But every time a false politician who has no capability (in either or both intelligence and deep sincere motivation) wins a government leader position out of shallow tricks and showbiz tactics—- the people are manipulated. Everytime a false politician tries to blatantly incite sedition just because they are legitimately investigated by authority— -ignorance is weaponized. We laugh at how ridiculous the brand of circus tricks some politicians are capable of, but we never see that on the horizon, the uneducated have already been effectively brainwashed and are ready to go to war for these false politicians.

I am sometimes cynical about the future, not only because we Filipinos often get drunk by the circus-like nature of our politics, which only indicates how frail our nation can be, and how it is easily prone to exploitation and manipulation. But also because at this point, the fate of our nation is still very unstable, and history has a tendency of repeating itself.