This week we saw one of the right-wing parties in Australia use a three-word slogan effectively to raise funds. The slogan was ‘fire the liar’, a very effective formula for the simplistic capture of followers.

This has been repeated many times before with great effectiveness eg. the ‘stop the boats’ campaign of 2013.

We see this over and over again as in: ‘drill baby drill’, ‘sleepy Joe Biden’, ‘lock her up’, ‘drain the swamp’ etc.

Three-word slogans are super effective and act as memes with their own rhythm and energy (https://blog.ducere.education/three-reasons-why-three-word-tags-are-effective). They often form the bedrock for Propaganda.

If you want, you can even go to a three word slogan generator if you want: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/05/australian-election-slogan-generator such is the power of this tool for propaganda. Ah, get those slogans into you (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254308850_What_Makes_a_Slogan_Memorable_and_Who_Remembers_It) they are the source of power.

The best way to disguise a slogan is to call it a ‘principle’ then get the lemmings who follow to repeat the word ‘principle’ as often as possible until the belief matches the repetition. This is what we see in HOP with ‘blame fixes nothing’. Then once the ‘principle’ has been spoken by a lord guru, it is endorsed as valid. It’s sheer repetition then makes it orthodox. Of course, this all emerged from a source with no expertise in ethics or moral meaning. Just question why any of HOPs slogans are ‘principles’ and see if there is any discussion of principles anchored in ethics?

Now we see various HOP enthusiasts trying to scramble away from this absolutist and nonsense slogan. This is no different than Hollnagel declaring RIP to some of his naïve ideas. Ah, the art of slogans (https://internationaleonline.org/site/assets/files/26971/the_art_of_slogans_the_performative_part.pdf) only to be regretted late due to a lack of critical thinking. Could there be anything more divisive than S1/S2?

This is just like those who try to scramble away from Zero. So, zero doesn’t actually mean zero, it means whatever we want to make it. What follows is linguistic gymnastics fed to followers with no expertise in linguistics, semiotics or the symbolism of language (Halliday).

We see the same with those now saying that ‘blame fixes nothing’ doesn’t mean ‘blame fixes nothing’.

This is the beauty of an industry without any foundations in ethics, linguistic or critical thinking. Apparently, you can make language mean whatever you want. ‘Blame fixes nothing’ apparently means ‘let’s be accountable’. Work that one out.

The key to work out what three-word slogans are about is to chase the money and the power associated with the slogan. In whose interests is the slogan?

There is a formula for all this and is well known how slogans create belief. The same forces are at work in belief in conspiracy theories, misinformation and safety myths.

All the evidence of HOP now backtracking over ‘blame fixes nothing’ demonstrates just how naïve and immature HOP is. Yet, how powerful are five slogans? Organisations are falling over their own feet to become followers of HOP. Ah, the joys of performance in safety. Just follow the procession to the bank.

The foundation of critical thinking begins with an awareness of language, propaganda (Ellul) and symbols. This is what we study in SPoR. We do so to help people anchor to some of the basics in risk and safety and to avoid delusions embedded by nonsense slogans projected in safety eg. ‘all accidents are preventable’.

Free Workshops on Safety Beliefs

If you want to know more about how slogans foster belief, you are welcome to join the free workshops on safety beliefs in July being delivered by Prof. Long. You can register here: admin@spor.com.au