Propaganda vs. Persuasion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGimonYeqsk&feature=youtu.be

This song was one of several songs commissioned by the US Customs and Border Protection Agency and snuck onto Hispanic radio stations to discourage border migration. The lyrics are violent and instill a sense fear into the listeners. Some of the lyrics include “the immigrants, like the cattle go to the slaughterhouse” and “one does not simply walk to the border” . Lyrics like these encourage fear, yet are played on the radio station without the knowledge of who brought the songs to the station. This is a piece of propaganda due to the fact that it emphasizes ethos and pathos and does not use logos. Propaganda works with a feeling, rather than trying to change the opinion of the audience. The video takes pre-established fears and expands upon them in a gruesome way. This piece of propaganda is also easily distributed. A persuasion technique would have used logos (reasoning) to explain why crossing the border illegally is unwise and provided resources to go through the proper channel.  I was truly disgusted by this piece of propaganda and was unaware that the U.S. was doing this. I think it is terrifying that a country can so easily infiltrate another community and spread fear in what is perceived to be an innocent song.