In Language Arts, there is a term called ‘Rhetoric.’ It means persuasion. If you’re being rhetorical, you’re being strategically persuasive. Unbeknownst to many, there is actually a structure to persuasion that can be studied through a multitude of mediums, but language the primary one. In Journalism, the study of rhetorical structure is absorbed into a broader discipline known as ‘Framing.’ And to understand the nature of framing, it is important to first understand the utility of a frame:

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All it does is establish a focal point for the onlooker to gaze through. Look through this frame -and in doing so- see what I want you to see. It seems like a forgettable premise, but in literature it’s the most important premise. Because by establishing where the audience is looking, you establish where their point of view (or point of reference) ends and begins, and thus mediate their discussions.

In modern news media, this symbolic “frame” used for framing has been coined ‘The Overton Window.’ It’s a zeitgeist term that describes where the collective focus of the news audience is at any given moment in time researched. Here is a look at the Overton Window for June 14th, 2025 in American News Media:

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Democrat Congress Rep Murdered

‘No Kings’ Protest
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Trump Military Parade

Israel Preemptively Strikes Iran
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Whoever has control of the Overton Window sets and drives the audience’s focus and topics of discussion. It’s a very subtle tactic, but effective in “manufacturing consent” of the audience. According to the Oxford Reference, ‘Manufactured Consent’ is:

“the acceptance of government policies by people in the USA on the basis of the partial picture of issues offered by the mass media, denying them access to alternative views which would lead them to [alternative viewpoints]. They present this as a propaganda model in which the mass media select material in relation to the values of those in power."

The term ‘Manufactured Consent’ was coined by a famous linguist named Noam Chomsky. The importance of language in framing can not be overstated enough, being that it is a linguist who coined the most important diagnostic that explains the gaslighting America is currently helpless to.

The Art of Framing

In a feeble display of strongman grandstanding, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry took it upon himself to virtue-signal atop a well watched sporting event. Proclaiming that -due to the LSU Women’s basketball team not being present for the national anthem ceremony before their game against the Iowa Hawkeyes- any student athlete in the state who doesn't partake in national anthem ceremonies will no longer have access to a college scholarship. 

	To be clear, it is not against the law to not stand during the national anthem let alone perform the national anthem at a sporting event in the first place. All it is, is a branding exercise meant to impose nationalism on the viewership. A nationalism that is our natural birthright and needs no performative imposing. But instead of just letting the natural be the natural, Landry authoritatively decided to grandstand and proclaim how he will now require new conditions on college scholarships that have nothing to do with college or scholarships? Further sowing the seeds of tribalism and obstructing access to education for young people.

All things being considered though, it is actually a savvy branding move by Landry but not for the reasons you’d think. Because by inserting himself into this diversely watched event, he is actually re-asserting a white savior complex upon the masses. 

Now the predictable reaction to this grandstanding is to just dismiss it as mere antics. But in dismissing it, we actually implicitly concede to it when -instead- we should be countering it with an equal and opposite reaction (like demanding an apology for threatening access to free education). But yet and still, Landry feels as though what he is doing is correct patriotism. He feels as though he is mythologizing himself upon the right side of history in real time.

	Whatever the case though, the true history of patriotism in this country has long been hijacked by propagandist like Landry who induce factionalism on the populace instead of truth. According to propagandists like Landry, there isn’t just an objective history of patriotism in America. There is a history of correct patriotism and a history of incorrect patriotism. Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes displayed correct patriotism while Angel Reese and the LSU Tigers displayed incorrect patriotism with their acts. But the truth of the matter is that they both displayed two sides of the same patriotic coin regardless of intent. It's just as American to stand for the national anthem as it is to not stand for the national anthem in protest (which wasn’t even the case according to LSU head coach Kim Mulkey, but even still...), Landry wanted to propagandize this moment to further sow the seeds of factionalism. 

The propagandized history of "correct" patriotism in this country is steeped in the desire of myth-making and imposing curated-archetypes upon the zeitgeist instead of just letting the true archetypes of the time arise naturally. The desire to spin the ‘grand narrative’ of American history into a flattened story of good vs bad for the sake of worshiping “correct” heroes has forever plagued this country. Those in the business of histrionic-spinning understand the power of mythology and how it imposes who gets to be the heroes of American history, the villains of American history, and yes, the saviors of American history.

Which brings me back to Mr Landry & his grandstanding. In his feeble attempt to embody the savior archetype; he proclaimed that he and only he -the governor of Louisiana- can save the state from the anti-patriot insurgents trying to invade its purity. And just like countless masses would overlook Landry’s grandstanding as something small, so do we overlook other subtle day to day symbols of the white savior complex in our own lives. Like pictures and likenesses we see of White Jesus in our homes and churches. 

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