Welcome to Sunday Supper!
Set the Table
Say your grace
Prayer - Dear God, Protect me from propaganda. Amen.
Affirmation: I am worthy of truth.
Gratitude - I am grateful for inventions that advance humanity.
I am grateful to every reader, subscriber, commenter, and anyone who shares this newsletter with others.
The Main Dish
Dig in
Makers and Manipulators
Inventions have always fascinated me. There is something miraculous about creating something that never existed before.
Every invention begins as a belief. Then comes the creation, testing, failing, refining, and reimagining of possibilities, until belief finally transforms into knowledge. In the lives of inventors, knowledge has the power to become truth.
As a child in rural Arkansas, I read countless books about inventors. Garrett Morgan’s brilliance amazed me, Sarah Boone’s genius captured me, and Lewis Latimer literally brought light to my life. Their creations solved real problems and expanded the boundaries of human possibility.
As an adult, however, I have become fascinated by a particular kind of invention: propaganda. These inventions do not expand human potential. They diminish it by transforming human beings into caricatures and presenting those caricatures as reality. This propaganda mixes repetition, symbols, slogans, stories, and modern media machinery to shape public perception. Propaganda doesn’t require any truth. It thrives on persuasion.
Unlike inventors who discover what is true and build upon it, these propagandists construct a false reality that competes with truth. The people targeted often find themselves trapped in an endless cycle of mythbusting, and have to forcefully defend their humanity against claims that should never have existed in the first place. Propaganda leaves real-world wounds. It purposely punishes people.
Ultimately, all inventions and propaganda spring from the same well: the imagination. However, the contrast between inventors and propagandists is stark.
Garrett Morgan’s traffic signal organized and improved the flow of physical movement through an intersection. A propaganda campaign organizes and damages the flow of love and empathy. It alters how millions perceive people who are simply trying to move through life.
Inventions that advance humanity eventually get tested against reality. When a traffic light breaks down, chaos ensues, and there is no hiding the truth of its usefulness.
Propaganda, however, offers no warning signs to those fooled by its illusions. It allows misguided people to live comfortably with beliefs that will never, and can never, become true. It survives by convincing people that illusion is reality and that reality is the illusion. It’s a wicked, wicked creation.
Great inventions are tools that help us navigate the world. Propaganda puts people in cages. When reality is buried beneath false narratives, creating art, joy, and community becomes the ultimate counter-invention. Beauty becomes the counter-creation. Now I know why caged birds sing.
Pot Likker and Cornbread Crumbs
There’s flavor in the small things.
Propaganda leaves real-world wounds.
Table Talk
Join the Conversation
Think about a time when you realized propaganda about a person or group wasn't true. What changed your mind, and what did that experience teach you about propaganda, perception, and truth?
Potluck
From Our Community Kitchen: Book, Music, Art, Substack
Book
Music
Art
Substack Recommendation
Recipe Exchange
Pound Cakes Stand
For years, I unknowingly bought products whose branding was propaganda: Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben’s, Ms. Butterworth, and more.
Once I learned the origins of the branding, I refused to purchase these products. I even discovered that homemade pancakes taste much better than the premixed Aunt Jemima mix.
In honor of the delicious homemade pancakes, I am sharing a simple pancake recipe. If you try it, let me know.
Pancakes
Ingredients
* 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
* 1 ¼ cups milk
* 3 ½ tsp baking powder
* 1 egg
* 1 tbsp white sugar
* 3 tbsp butter, melted
* 1 tsp salt
The Method
Mix the dry ingredients:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt until completely combined.
Whisk the wet ingredients:
In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk the egg, then pour in the milk and melted butter. Whisk until well blended.
Combine (The golden rule):
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Stir gently with a spoon or spatula just until combined. Stop as soon as the flour disappears; overmixing activates the gluten, making the pancakes tough and flat.
Cook to perfection:
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Pour about ¼ cup of batter into the pan for each pancake.
When to flip: Watch for bubbles forming on the surface of the pancake. When those bubbles pop and form tiny, permanent holes, flip it over and cook the other side until golden brown.
Dessert
A Sweet Send-Off
Get a megaphone and say that again for the hard of hearing!
Wow! You enlighten me every time you share your perspective. I am learning more and more about the difference between belief and knowing. Belief doesn't require much curiosity or interrogation, but knowing is a journey of curiosity and questions. Maybe some have no interest in knowing, and maybe some know, but then they have to admit that those they love gave them a reality built on untruths.