• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Is there a problem with propaganda and brainwashing in the US

Is there a problem with propaganda and brainwashing in the US

  • Yes.. I am republican btw.

    Votes: 2 15.4%
  • No.. I am republican btw.

    Votes: 2 15.4%
  • Yes.. I am democrat btw.

    Votes: 5 38.5%
  • No.. I am democrat btw.

    Votes: 4 30.8%

  • Total voters
    13
You might actually have had a valid point if you didn't give in to sensationalism. There is indeed a problem with the politicization of the media in the US. The closest that one can get to recieving neutral information is by taking equally from many different biased news sources. Excepting government regulation (which tends to be horribly off mark à la the Fairness Doctrine) there is no easy solution, because however biased and sensationalist our news outlets are, they are that way because it is profitable. There's no market for boring old facts. People want O'Reilly and Olbermann, and they want to hear the news parroting the views they already hold.

But propaganda and brainwashing...:roll:
 
But propaganda and brainwashing...:roll:

Yes, actually.. Viewing all this from the outside, and being a guy who follows a dusin different news sources from more than a handful of countries in a handful of different languages, I would say the problem is THAT severe in the US.. :(
 
Thats more the thing I am talking about. People not having any opinion of their own.. Thats very unhealthy, when people adopt the opinions of others without questioning it.

Welcome to the greatest problem in the middle east.

People in Palestine, Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia DO NOT think for themselves. They think what they are TOLD TO THING by groups like mullahs, Ayetoiletbowls, and some douchebag from the house of Saud.
 
Just a poll.. About brainwashing and propaganda directed at the people of the US by their government and media.

But the again, if you were brainwashed you probably wouldn't know it.


PS. choose the party who's politics you are closest to if independent or belong to another party.

With reference to BBC and HBO's "House of Saddam," I asked: "Is HBO biased?" (12-22-08, 04:29 PM)

You responded:

"What kind of question is that?

Its a TV show... A good one also." (Old 12-22-08, 10:25 PM)

http://www.debatepolitics.com/polls/41523-hbo-biased.html#post1057857559

You were right, when you said, "if you were brainwashed you probably wouldn't know it." (12-22-08, 10:16 PM...Last edited by Maximus Zeebra : 12-22-08 at 10:40 PM)
 
Last edited:
Welcome to the greatest problem in the middle east.

People in Palestine, Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia DO NOT think for themselves. They think what they are TOLD TO THING by groups like mullahs, Ayetoiletbowls, and some douchebag from the house of Saud.

No no no.. I disagree. The only uniform information channel they follow is the Koran..
I am not aware of such a problem in the middle east as I am in the United States, mostly because I do not understand Arabic. You may be right, but my feeling is that you are partly wrong from what I know about the middle east and their religion and views on things. I do however think you are right, it could be a very large minority you are talking about, and that is just INSANE, especially considering the way they are fooled into thinking what they think. But then again, I find it that most people in the middle east are far better people than those in the west, they follow strict religious lives without sins, while all we do in the west is sin all the time. I dont sin much, but most people around me sin all the time and behave in rotten ways towards everyone else and inside the society.
 
With reference to BBC and HBO's "House of Saddam," I asked: "Is HBO biased?" (12-22-08, 04:29 PM)

You responded:

"What kind of question is that?

Its a TV show... A good one also." (Old 12-22-08, 10:25 PM)

http://www.debatepolitics.com/polls/41523-hbo-biased.html#post1057857559

You were right, when you said, "if you were brainwashed you probably wouldn't know it." (12-22-08, 10:16 PM...Last edited by Maximus Zeebra : 12-22-08 at 10:40 PM)

:lol:

Its a very entertaining show.. So what? Why do you come to this thread with it?
 
Sometimes our brains get dirty and they need washing.

I've always been told I have a dirty mind, so maybe I'm overdue for a scrubbing.

is Lifebouy soap still sold?:lol:
 
Big Brother told me not to respond to this poll.
 
Just because most of the media repeats what is new and sensationally reported by other reporters doesn't meant that there is a concerted effort at brainwashing the public. The media should inform, not parrot the latest rumors....
The only thing I see related to brainwashing is allowing our kids to quit school while still ignorant. A certain level of education is essential if they are to be able to sift truth from all the chaff out there.
Propaganda is a different thing, though
My teacher son says some schools are teaching the kids how the media uses commercials to tell lies, a good thing to know that carries over to how politicians manipulate and/or "manufacture" the truth.
Critical listening is important if you are to later become a critical thinker...
 
:lol:

Its a very entertaining show.. So what? Why do you come to this thread with it?
Bill Clinton's 400 cruise missiles, which the buildup to prompted the February 23, 1998 fatwa of Al Quacka, just days after Clinton first defined the Unholy Axis involving Iraq, which was left out of the BBC/HBO propaganda, like the total lack of any link between Iraq and the Fatwa's/911 (do not forget 1996, and the effect of the two defections), not to mention the magical "they" Saddam in response to 911 said, "should, rather, be reassured and helped to save themselves, and their surroundings," considering that the Biden/Lugar amendment limiting the authorization to disarming Saddam of WMD did not pass and the President was given a blank check for WAR, therefore, anyone with an unbrainwashed brain would have to concede, what was left out of the BBC/HBO propaganda and is history, may have made a difference with regard to Saddam's fate, and that demanded it.

"Rome" was entertaining and the best show I have ever seen since Lesley Ann Warren wearing black lingerie in "79 Park Avenue." "House of Saddam" was clearly propaganda by omission of relevant facts.

"About brainwashing and propaganda directed at the people of the US by their government and media."

BBC and HBO fit the definition of "media." If you ignore the propaganda I can only conclude you are brainwashed. An example of propaganda, and clear brainwashing acceptance of it, is relevant to the topic.

People have to pretty much be brain-dead not to be biased one way or another, so my poll is also relevant to the topic.
 
Last edited:
I am asking this question as a result of what I have seen on this forum, not what I saw when I was in the US, (which was a long time ago).

I definetely concur that there are the same problems around the world, but by far most severe in the US.


You for example dont seem to be brainwashed.

YES, there IS brainwashing in this country. But there isn't enough to diminish the likes of the OP's messages out of our hair.

Let's start with influences. Every entity which buys or commands time on the TV, Radio, news, drama shows, comedy shows and in print media ALL have something to sell.

"Sell" as in commerce and sell as in promote.

They are trying to influence us or sell us on the idea of doing something or thinking and acting a certain way.

The successes of Madison Avenue techniques in selling toothpaste have lent themselves to selling candidates and points of view. The appeal to one's deepest beliefs and core values is one kind of commercial appeal, such as we saw in the late Hal Riney's spots for Reagan (It's morning in America).

And yet the job of influencing the voters is made more difficult with our increasing sophistication with the media and the media process. Sometimes the effectiveness of a technique is diminished if we know it's a technique, though not always.

Do co-eds know they are being seduced? Most of the time, yes. Do they stop the process as they could by saying, "No"? Often times, they do not. Why not? Because the process is enjoyable.

It is pleasurable to be wooed even when you know it is a seduction in progress.

I could go on and on and on, but the idea here is that we enjoy being brainwashed or influenced as long as it is done well. And if we do not influence our own people they will be influenced by people like the OP, who I wouldn't want anywhere near any impressionable Americans. But due to the internet and free expression his access to them and their access to him and thousands like him who have no love for the USA is inescapable.

Therefore, the impressionable 'youts' (My Cousin Vinny) of this country are losing all sense of OUR culture because we are open to experiencing the propaganda and brainwashing of all other sorts of miscreants and 'maladapts'. The only way to keep America safe from these influences is to try to promote in OUR culture those values and ideals that serve America's interests and not those of other nations and cultures.

If anyone wants to fault the Bush administration for something, I believe this is THE SINGULAR MAJOR FAILING of the administration's entire 8 years.

They neglected the matter of communication to our own people of our own message. They put our governmental propaganda and brainwashing on neutral so that no one could accuse them of being Big Brother. But in so doing they left Americans open to being manipulated by others and now look at the crap that has sprung up.

Although, I suppose it could be worse.

I won't say how it could be worse for fear of inspiring those who might try to make it so.
 
I don't believe being lazy and letting others do your thinking for you, i.e. government/media, constitutes brainwashing.
 
I don't believe being lazy and letting others do your thinking for you, i.e. government/media, constitutes brainwashing.

so true.....
the work ethic needs to include thinking skills...
I was born with extra skepticism, starting doubting adults way early. You can take that too far, tho, and get a little too militant, as I did. That is probaby why I was targeted for "early retirement".:lol:
 
so true.....
the work ethic needs to include thinking skills...
I was born with extra skepticism, starting doubting adults way early. You can take that too far, tho, and get a little too militant, as I did. That is probaby why I was targeted for "early retirement".:lol:

Until the internet we were all subjected to the overwhelming influences of TV, Film, Radio, Print media and each other in personal experience.

There are still people who are not internet denizens and you can tell who they are after a few moments of hearing or watching them speak on the subject of politics.

For example, Bill O'Reilly isn't an internet guy at all. Jon Stewart is.

Anyway, people are used to absorbing culture and cultural shifts through passive means. Only since the advent of the internet has active education been realistic on an instantaneous and mass basis.

And even then the people who are not smart enough or critically thinking skilled enough still get it wrong. Just as diners can go to an all you can eat cafeteria and choose all the "wrong" foods to eat.
 
Last edited:
so true.....
the work ethic needs to include thinking skills...
I was born with extra skepticism, starting doubting adults way early. You can take that too far, tho, and get a little too militant, as I did. That is probaby why I was targeted for "early retirement".:lol:

I hold to that old adage my grandfather told me in the early 60's, "don't believe anything you read and only half of what you see"...

:mrgreen:
 
The only thing I see related to brainwashing is allowing our kids to quit school while still ignorant. A certain level of education is essential if they are to be able to sift truth from all the chaff out there.

I don't think that qualifies. Our schools for the most part are pretty bad at teaching the one skill they are suppose to: critical thinking. And this extends well into higher learning. I knew people from both College Republicans/Democrats who were frankly, mindless sheep who couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag in a debate. Some morons still thought that Reagan was a fiscal conservative and Democrats praised cradle to grave socialism. It's quite disturbing how poorly our education system here teaches the one key trait people need in life. Kids are ignorant and more schooling at least here won't solve that.
 
I am asking this question as a result of what I have seen on this forum, not what I saw when I was in the US, (which was a long time ago).

I definitely concur that there are the same problems around the world, but by far most severe in the US.As an American, to this, I say "male bovine feces".


You for example don't seem to be brainwashed.

I have my doubts.. Brain-washing and propaganda are problems, but ones political party have little to do with this...

What, exactly, gives you the idea that American so-called brain-washing is that much greater , or more effective than European ?? And I will not even go into Islamic brainwashing....
 
Bill Clinton's 400 cruise missiles, which the buildup to prompted the February 23, 1998 fatwa of Al Quacka, just days after Clinton first defined the Unholy Axis involving Iraq, which was left out of the BBC/HBO propaganda, like the total lack of any link between Iraq and the Fatwa's/911 (do not forget 1996, and the effect of the two defections), not to mention the magical "they" Saddam in response to 911 said, "should, rather, be reassured and helped to save themselves, and their surroundings," considering that the Biden/Lugar amendment limiting the authorization to disarming Saddam of WMD did not pass and the President was given a blank check for WAR, therefore, anyone with an unbrainwashed brain would have to concede, what was left out of the BBC/HBO propaganda and is history, may have made a difference with regard to Saddam's fate, and that demanded it.

"Rome" was entertaining and the best show I have ever seen since Lesley Ann Warren wearing black lingerie in "79 Park Avenue." "House of Saddam" was clearly propaganda by omission of relevant facts.

"About brainwashing and propaganda directed at the people of the US by their government and media."

BBC and HBO fit the definition of "media." If you ignore the propaganda I can only conclude you are brainwashed. An example of propaganda, and clear brainwashing acceptance of it, is relevant to the topic.

People have to pretty much be brain-dead not to be biased one way or another, so my poll is also relevant to the topic.

Many things in the show is unfactual. The show in general takes a very pro-us "justified attack" look at things and forget to mention the reasons the US went in, the failure to come up with evidence after the invasion and the misery the US invasion has caused(like how Iraq is not the third most failed state in the world and water infrastructure and similar things is in ruin). Yet I don't complain, because its a TV show, entertainment show.


Rome was FANTASTIC. I also suggest "deadwood" if you haven't seen it, another fabulous show. My two personal favorites by HBO.


I do agree with you that its relevant, entertainment shows, movies and all such things a propped with propaganda. Like no homeless people in the streets in movies pain a very unrealistic picture, I found the frequency of homeless people and obnoxious hoes in the street shocking when I came to the US.
 
Last edited:
YES, there IS brainwashing in this country. But there isn't enough to diminish the likes of the OP's messages out of our hair..

I am not going to answer you whole thread because I agree with much of what you are saying.. But what the heck is "OP"? I as a foreigner have no idea, but assume its "our president"?

But in so doing they left Americans open to being manipulated by others and now look at the crap that has sprung up.
.

I think there is also a danger about manipulation of the people through the media by political administration, we have obviously been seeing this the last 8 years. That is my biggest concern right now concerning "brainwashing and propaganda".. It empowers the governments in an unhealthy way.
We also have this form of manipulation in my country, but less severe since we have 4 large parties and several with a 5%+ vote. But it is about to create a two sided view in politics and has ruined the election process and peoples understanding of politics, which I believe also is happening in the US. They watch politics for entertainment and scandals in my home country, which I find repulsive. Me personally I prefer to watch the live broadcasts from parliament when politicians challenges other politicians stands in a process which is under control and full of etiquette. Not the trash we get on regular tv, such a shame that live broadcasts are limited to only a few hours a week.
 
I hold to that old adage my grandfather told me in the early 60's, "don't believe anything you read and only half of what you see"...

:mrgreen:

I always asked "why", people got angry at me for that.. I just never accepted anything unless they told me why, even as a 3 year old child. :lol:

I still have this habit, even then I do not accept the explanations but keep chewing on it and always collect different perspectives. I had some troubles in "working" situations because of this habit, especially since I don't even give "bosses" a break on it :doh
 
I have my doubts.. Brain-washing and propaganda are problems, but ones political party have little to do with this...

What, exactly, gives you the idea that American so-called brain-washing is that much greater , or more effective than European ?? And I will not even go into Islamic brainwashing....

Its so complicated that that is a very difficult question to answer. Probably because propaganda in the US is well hidden and far more complicated, while in Europe its more "obvious" and easier to spot.

I don't see many poster boys in Europe for example who just rages on with some agenda that others have put in their heads, I do however see a more increasing trend in this area concerning blind forced agendas on people who are strongly opposed to or in favor of the EU, yet not a huge problem where everyone is drones of either for or against, like many people in the US are sheep's of the republican or democrat agenda with no opinions of their own, just opinions that have been pushed into their heads.
I also believe this is more problematic for republicans than democrats..
Then we obviously have the Jesus freaks that never actually questioned the actions of Jesus or his agenda and never took into consideration the facts that he tore down the foundations of the old testament and my personal belief(and probably others) that he lead people into sin for thousands of years. For example he is an anti-God and anti-ten commandments.. Yet people worship a man and his statues which is a sin in the two first commandments. I am pretty damn sure that Jesus was a wolf in lambs clothing.
 
Last edited:
To answer your question: "No... I'm a Libertarian btw"

More from Maximus, eh? This should be good.
snacks.gif
 
...I don't see many poster boys in Europe for example who just rages on with some agenda that others have put in their heads...

Have you so soon forgotten the Greek riots that spread throughout Europe a few weeks ago, because of an "agenda" that others had put into their heads?
 
Back
Top Bottom