As anyone who has played a computer game will know, not all NPCs are alike. The game designers create different types of NPCs, programmed in different ways to say different things to the PCs. The NPC meme is very apt, as it's possible to see the different types of NPCs in today's world. For example:
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There are those NPCs programmed to 'abide by the narrative'. These NPCs will take talking points from the media, and repeatedly regurgitate these verbatim to those around.
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On the other hand, there are NPCs also programmed to respond in a certain way to various events. These NPCs will take talking points from the media or external world, and repeatedly regurgitate certain predictable responses to these events. For example, a game designer might make a decision to include a samurai who is not Japanese in their game. NPCs which fit this category will all respond in the same way, by repeatedly pointing out how the game designer was wrong to do this.
The curious thing about second category of NPC is they are programmed to believe they are thinking independently because they are opposing the first group of NPCs, yet their responses are still largely determined by the external events and very predictable. In other words, they can be baited to all respond in the same way so are not actually thinking independently. These NPCs seem to lack the critical thinking or discipline to avoid responding predictably to various stimuli, for example, by choosing to ignore the bait they are given in favor of making their own rational and conscious decisions about what to think and talk about. I blame this on the success of propaganda and loss of impulse control and decline of intellectual discipline as a male virtue, but others may have their theories.
No. I stand by my view. Allowing your enemies to set the terms of your actions means that they are likely still in control of the situation. You talk about "rejection of propaganda" but I see no such thing. Sure, perhaps fewer people will buy the new Assassin's Creed, but people are still talking about what Ubisoft wanted people to talk about - a black samurai. And in doing so, you have given them far more power over you than they deserve.
My point was for people to own their own debates, own their own culture, talk about what they want to talk about. Is it samurai? Great, talk about samurai then, but there is no need to talk about a black samurai who never existed when there are a vast number of actual samurai to talk about.
Still, you are "fighting" on their terms. The best way to fight death is to create life, like I said. Built your own content. Develop your own ideas. Care about your culture and future? Build communities you want embodying this culture you love, build your own future using your own values. Stop focusing on fighting "enemies" when they have designed the situation so that they also win by you fighting them.