Cognitive Dissonance Part II: A Wrench in the Indoctrination Machine

In the post on Cognitive Dissonance, I talked about the methods used by the left to indoctrinate youth, and then keep them indoctrinated by controlling the flow of information.  Now is the time to target one part of that apparatus, and throw a wrench into its works.  Education might be a great place to start.

I say this because to achieve their planned “utopia,” the left must indoctrinate everyone.  Socialism, Fascism, and “Progressivism,” while all somewhat different in scope and application, are closely related in that they are totalitarian in nature.  The State takes on the role as final arbiter of all human activities.  To maintain such a level of control, the population must be fed a constant stream of propaganda.  Schools must become the engines of indoctrination.  Crises must be created and sustained.  Scapegoats must be identified and punished.  The state’s miscues must be covered-up, and it’s accomplishments embellished (or even fabricated).

This propaganda must start at the earliest possible age, hence the government’s interest in universal preschool.    In that setting, songs, stories, games, rewards, and chastisement are all parts of the indoctrination process.  I remember hearing stories about Castro’s Cuba that goes along those lines.  For example, school children are instructed to close their eyes and pray to Jesus for candy.  Of course, there is no candy when the children open their eyes.  Then, the children are instructed to close their eyes and pray to Castro for candy.  While the children were “praying,” they teachers went through the room and put a piece of candy on each desk.  The message is obvious; there is no God other than the state, or “Dear Leader.”

These efforts continue throughout a child’s “educational” experience.  As children grow older, student clubs and after school programs are pushed, or even mandated.  Special observances and “days” are required.  Participation is either required, or dissents are punished and branded as being filled with “hate.”  Peer pressure, grades, and rewards are used to increase compliance and punish dissent.  At every step of the process, government or party sponsored ideas are pushed.  Children are required to regurgitate them, or even act in ways that “prove” their allegiance to the party or State.  Even at Universities, students end up being required to espouse the approved ideology of the state in order to advance or graduate, usually so they can become indoctrinators themselves.

All through the citizen’s life, the propaganda is tailored to obtain the maximum effect.  Motion pictures, television, radio, and print are all run by the state or by those that are ideologically allied with it.  Dissidents or outside entities are always “conspiring” to harm, or even kill the people.  “Evil” entities are trying to poison the water, sabotage the food supply, keep people poor, starve children, kill elderly, make them or keep them sick, and so on.  (Ironically, this is often what the State is doing to the people, but blaming an ideological enemy is very convenient as a cover-up.)   On the other hand, the State, or the leader, is held up as the heroic champion of the people, protecting them from the “evils” of the world.

And what of the purveyors of that freedom?  They are punished, or in some cases killed outright.  In this country, they are identified, labeled, and subjected to Alinsky style attacks on their families, jobs, reputations, and so on.  In the “progressive” utopia, “tolerance and diversity” only apply to the “progressives.”  All other ideas are classified as “hate.”

In the end, cut off from the rest of the world, or from any other sources of information, the people end up swallowing the state sponsored version of reality, and most become compliant “sheeple.”   Those that have a notion that something is wrong stay silent, as the punishments for dissent (or even questioning the state) are often not worth the risk.  Also, with the state controlling the flow of information, people that suspect that all is not well are isolated, never knowing facts that prove their mistrust, or even that there are others that believe as they do.  In total isolation, these people do not represent a significant threat to the state, and can easily be dealt with on a singular basis if they speak out.

If you are seeing some parallels to 21^st century America, you are not alone.  Some of the efforts are slightly different, but the effect is the same.  From cradle to grave, we the people are being bombarded daily by the MSM with messages that run counter to not only the philosophy of the founders, but reality itself.  Kindly remember the words of John Dewey:

“Children who know how to think for themselves spoil the harmony of the collective society which is coming, where everyone is interdependent.”

If one wants complete power and control- not just politically, but over the very minds of the people, dissent simply cannot be allowed in any form.  Other ideas pollute the body politic and cause the system collapse under the weight of its own failure and deceit.  Once the Soviet Union finally started to allow their people to speak freely (to an extent) it collapsed within a few years.  Most of their satellite nations fell first.  Totalitarianism, no matter its “brand,” requires extensive force and control to work.  If people have open access to information, and the ability to speak out and share that information, the lies, corruption, and failures of the state become apparent.  To a great degree, totalitarianism, whether branded as communism, fascism, socialism, or “progressivism,” is a fairy tale based on a lie, and the citizens are forced to play a role.  Once exposed to reality, however, the fairy tale becomes just that, and enough people quit playing along to cause the system to fail.

That, my friends, is the fatal flaw of any totalitarian system, including “progressivism.”  Free information, free speech, the ability to broadcast and share that information all combine to make the totalitarian state fall like the house of cards that it is.  This is also why the “progressives”  have not been completely successful in subverting the Constitution.  They can indoctrinate in the schools all they want, and they can distort and selectively cover the news to their heart’s desire, but as long as people have access to information and can freely discuss their views, the indoctrination fails.  When people can see reality, and join together to discuss and act upon it, reality wins every time.

While we have been able to slow the progressives, they are still creeping ahead incrementally.  Each succeeding generation of children is more and more left leaning.  Conservatism is being watered down, and knowledge of the founding principles of this country is being lost.  More and more people haven’t the ability to recognize reality, even when they are personally affected by the negative consequences of “progressive” policies.  (That would seem to be the intent.)  We are seeing parents, who were indoctrinated, not knowing, or caring, that their children are being indoctrinated.  Sadly, we will eventually reach a tipping point at which there will be a critical mass of indoctrinated people that will finally give away our freedoms.  It may not happen soon, it might be decades from now, but we owe it to future generations to simply not be content to slow “progressivism,” but to stop it and reverse the damage done to our Republic.

So where do we go from here?  In my last post, I discussed some general recommendations on using cognitive dissonance.  For this post, I wanted to expand on some of the original ideas, and address the kids.  They are simply the most vulnerable, and are more easily indoctrinated.  That, and the indoctrination machine already has them.  So, here we go…

1. There are some Conservative Children’s books out there.  These are easily found on line; here and here, for example.
2. There are also Conservative Coloring books out there.  Google will help you find them.
3. If there are any Conservative artists out there, if you would consider drawing some coloring sheets that could be released for free, that would be great. (Since my artistic ability ends at stick figures, I am of little help on this one).
4. We also need some children’s books and coloring sheets about the AGW fraud. (For example, the left shows kids pictures of polar bears on a small piece of ice.  The ideas is that the bears will die. What if we were to tell them that the bears can swim for 100 miles?)
5. If there are some folks out there with some professional video skills, some videos for the kids might be good.
6. Board games might be made to reflect Conservative, free market ideas.
7. As we locate more and more of these resources, share them.  If you are a Conservative parent, you are likely already teaching your children these things.  While that is great, we need to expand the audience.  So we need to get this out to other children, as many as possible.

Remember, the left has to indoctrinate everyone for “progressivism” to work.  We are not limited in that way.  Our beliefs are based on reality, so what people see and hear will prove us right.  The truth allows one to tolerate dissent – covering up for a lie does not.   If we make a greater effort to expose kids to the real world, many will be saved from indoctrination.  Others will not, but most the one’s that don’t wake up are likely to be less effective, as they will be conflicted and a bit more confused, as what they see will not match what they’ve been taught.   Still others will never see the truth, no matter the consequences or reality.  Let them go, there’s little that anyone can do for them.  Just don’t let them have power of any kind.

I think if we can do this, we can make billions in education (indoctrination) funding irrelevant.  Even those that do not recognize reality will be confused and disheartened, making them less effective “drones” in the progressive utopia.

Please add your suggestions.  I am basically calling for a “Counter-Revolution” in terms of the indoctrination of our children.  We have to do better at counteracting it.  Not just for our own kids, but the children of our friends, neighbors, and relatives as well.   There are Conservative kids out there fighting the good fight. They fighting against overwhelming opposition, so anything that can help them would be a benefit.  So, if you know of other resources, or you are able to help in some way, leave a comment.  I will be making a resource page for this effort, so anything that you think is helpful would be most welcome.