People often ask, Why are Democrats and media so vicious toward President Trump if he's doing so much to improve our country? After all, they reason, they're Americans, too, so what do they have to gain by trying to stop him? That leads them to conclude that there must be something wrong with a person who is constantly criticized by a large segment of the body politic. Therein lies the modus operandi that makes propaganda so useful in manipulating public opinion. It's like the 4 Rs of institutional learning: repetition, reinforcement, retention, and recall.

In other words, the more often you hear something, the more likely you're going to remember it and use it as a foundation for your opinions. If the fake news media continuously repeat the left-wing mantra that Trump is a racist, those who haven't the time or the inclination to research the facts are likely to simply accept it as the truth. Operating like subliminal ads that tweak the brain with subtle stimuli, propaganda embeds itself in your cerebral cortex in order to program you to act on impulse rather than on sound judgment. When you watch a television commercial that has a popular athlete eating at Wendy's and telling you it's his favorite place to dine, you may question that statement, but the association between him and that burger joint caused some synapses in your brain to form a bond.

Although you can rationalize that wealthy superstars don't generally eat at fast food outlets, your mind is able to suspend disbelief while basking in the glow of a celebrity. Similarly, when you watch a politician on the floor of the Senate who says Trump is a white supremacist (whatever that is), you may not take it literally, but it may cause you to wonder why a senator would make such a claim unless it were true. Chances are that you're giving too much respect to the senator because of his position while not recognizing that he will say, or do, anything that serves to keep him in his powerful seat. That is not unlike the rich sports figure who's being paid seven figures to have you believe he loves the extra-crispy thighs at KFC.

Hollywood is arguably the most prolific propaganda machine on the planet. That ultra-radical gang of drug-addled thespians has enormous influence over the culture because it can select scripts that impel moviegoers toward politically correct conclusions regarding any issue supported by the left. Moreover, recognizing their ability to influence their audience, those who act for a living have now decided they are intelligent enough to comment on topics that have national and international implications. We've all seen them standing at the podiums during award ceremonies as they accept the plaudits from their equally venal cohorts, just before sticking a knife in the back of the country that gives them the opportunity to live luxurious lives.

When a dirtbag like De Niro steps up to the mic and says he'd like to punch Trump in the mouth, he's preaching to the choir in that ballroom filled with liberal elites, clapping like trained seals. Sadly, he reminds me of the guy who's become so wrapped up in the roles he's played that he now believes he's the emperor, pacing the room with one hand inside his coat. When British comedian Ricky Gervais admonished those phonies at the recent Golden Globes Awards show, some of the screen shots caught them wearing frowns and rolling their eyes at the audacity of someone exposing their rank hypocrisy.

These days, I don't watch any of those unctuous displays of liberal orthodoxy, but the Gervais clip, which has over ten million views on YouTube alone, gave me some hope that morality may be having a comeback. He may never get another chance to host one of those ethically challenged forays into fantasyland, but the clip will always be there to remind us not to take those Epstein-enablers seriously.