A device of manipulating the public that occurs frequently in relation to Israel's human rights abuses (but in other contexts as well) is to pretend that things are how they are because indeed the general public wish them to be so. In the case of Israel, clearly sentimental Jews constitute a demographic minority while the remaining sector of the public that have some idea of the situation are generally hostile, in some cases genuinely anti-Semitic. The claim that the lobby are to blame is absurd as well, but not relevant since at least this interpretation assumes an anti-democratic political structure exists (though it does help impress the illusion that our problems are do to "corruption" not defects in the design of government). The caveat is that many people do not know enough to be opposed (in this case it is clear some vague understanding is beginning to emerge globally) and therefor the public take it for granted their leaders are making the right choices, but in this it is still not fair to say the public are responsible for the positive actions taken by the government merely that they are guilty of not informing themselves better (a fact that raises other issues not strictly relevant here).
In the case of domestic issues, in fact, in poll after poll, it is obvious the general public explicitly reject most government policy, from health care to environmental accountability. Therefore, even if it is assumed that American foreign policy is as the majority wish it, the same manifestly cannot be claimed in this case.
How this strategy is effective is in discouraging participation in actives that might bring changes into effect undesired by the powers that be. And--perhaps more crucially--by making it seem as though democracy itself provides a defective polity--that most people have malignant desires therefore the result of democratically implemented policy is sadistic state action.
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