I read in a book once (shit, I never retain things like who wrote it, title etc) that a kind of media spin tool used by various famous and infamous people is to ask people to choose or answer a question whilst assuming a premise. One of the most famous cited was Adolf Hitler, master of the media and knowledge of the human mind. In his famous 'Jewish Question' as he called it, he would ask " What shall we do about the Jewish question?" The assumption is that there is a problem, its just what are we going to do about it! It is a technique both masterful and dastardly.
Imagine if I said, (to use an exaggerated example) "How shall we best administer corporal punishment?" "By hanging, lethal injection, electric chair or firing squad?". The premise is that we already have decided on corporal punishment. But people by and large don't pick that up Ok, I choose lethal injection. Wait a minute! Inherent in the situation is our hard- wiring; our desire to trust authority, that 'somebody' knows or 'somebody' has decided.
Fast forward to our joke referendum papers on the flag design which ended up in my mailbox a couple of days ago. Pretty basic fuckup to ask people if they want a new flag after they've chosen one. I heard the politicians debating the flawed document, but now I've seen it for myself I'm a bit stunned. Here's an example below I did as a sendup
