Is there a problem with propaganda and brainwashing in the US

rsixing said:

I don't believe being lazy and letting others do your thinking for you, i.e. government/media, constitutes brainwashing.

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So you're the one !

DiAnna said:

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?

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Yep. This is one of the reasons I think a future military in Europe need to take care of "heavy police work" to let the police take care of police stuff. To avoid this type of escalation.
These people have ruined stuff for tens or even hundreds of millions of Euro, they have damaged people and property, even killed, just because some youngster in Greece was killed by the police. But the reason for the strong reactions is the fact that Greece is very militaristic, I would say the most authoritarian state in Europe. Proven by the fact that they have 16 active military personnel per 1000 citizen, compared with other European nations at 3-5, and who knows how many active police. I couldn't find a number. Its sad to say but Greece is one of the most backward states in Europe, the students and the educated of the nation are in general terms rather extreme. Then what about the regular guy?

Greece has been a counterargument of the EU. We haven't been able to life Greece, another less severe example is Portugal which we haven't been able to life either, but there is a reason, a country unwilling to change cant be lifted, and Greece is clearly a problem country in Europe, even one of the biggest problem countries in the west.

My stance is two-fold.

First, the liberal media no longer performs the original function of the press: to present objective information. There is always going to be a human element, but that's not the point. I no longer watch corporate media on t.v, and I only visit their websites to get the gist of a situation before going to other sources. They willingly lie through omission, especially when it comes to controversial issues. The problem is that the news is now run by corporate powers, and those corporate powers have executives who in turn have the authority to do what they want. Those powers even answer to government if the proper incentive is there.

In Iraq, the press is not allowed to document what is going on freely as was done in Vietnam. The reason is that the government knows the full story will come back to the public and there will be protests. Now we have the added guise of "national security" which lets the government tell the press what it can and cannot air.

Secondly, the state of the education system in the country is to blame. I look at somewhere like China, where I am currently living, and people here are not taught to think autonomously. They are given a template of values and told to emulate them. Then I think about somewhere like the U.S., which is better because of its constitutionality, and similar things still happen.

People are taught to be so prideful of their country that their critical thinking is overridden. Middle class education in America is taught to prepare people for the work force, so obedience is key. Private schools for the rich teach the most creative thinking, because those will be the people running the show. Education, as a whole, does not teach critical thinking unless it is within the interest of a collective agenda.

So the problem is two fold... the majority are taught to be functional members of society, not necessarily questioning members of society; and the media has already been bought and sold, so if you lack the critical thinking to see this, you will just accept the choices given to you instead of realizing there are even more choices to examine.