There was a period of time there where it seemed like every single car I'd see had a "United We Stand" bumper sticker. They were implying that standing together was our only salvation. After all, what happens if we don't stand united? We fall divided.

If we buy into the current political ideology, defeating terrorism and standing united, will this bumper sticker's advice keep us safe? Or will the presuppositions keep us from digging deeper and learning the real stories behind these platitudes?

With scapegoating, having a common enemy works best. Think: the devil, the boogie man, terrorists, Osama bin Laden.

In religion, Christianity specifically, we have Satan. In politics, say in the 1950's, there was the communist threat. More recently in politics, we had Scooter Libby (more of a fall guy, as opposed to scapegoat, say the pundits, because scapegoat implies innocence and fall guys are usually involved in the blame.)

Scapegoating was super popular in Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials. The division of church and state was causing difficulty in the lives of the citizens, so instead of addressing that, women were burned at the stake because, after all, these witches were the cause of all the problems.

Religion is great for scapegoating. Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the serpent. The Baptists show how the Mormons miss the point and lead people astray and visa versa. In order for Christianity to exist, Satan is the 'necessary evil', so to speak. Without Satan there is nothing to save humanity from. The concept of Satan has single-handedly maintained Christianity throughout the years.

Please note: I am not debating the existence of non-existence of Satan. I am not interested in converting anyone to my spiritual, religious or political beliefs. I'm just pointing out how scapegoating is utilized.

Politically we see scapegoating divert attention from the real news of the day to lesser problems.

A national phenomenon of scapegoating occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The media fueled it with its new label: the blame game. Instead of agreeing that there was a failure on all levels of government in an untenable situation of an impoverished city, geographically and economically handicapped, the blaming began in full force.

Seems like people ultimately want to believe that their problems or failures are the result of something outside themselves.

Scapegoating can be used in business or sales to suggest your client's former agent or adviser lacked the knowledge required to get you in the right house, or get you earning as much as you should have earned.

To use this tactic ethically, try making the scapegoat an opposing force such as an idea, philosophy or an unfortunate circumstance and not a person or group.

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Kenrick Cleveland teaches strategies to earn the business of affluent prospects using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion strategies.