Has America been brainwashed?

Well at least have the thought that you might be brainwashed, I even think about it. Please read all my threads and tell me if I'm brainwashed also.

Anyways:

In the 1950's, Psychologist, Robert Jay Lifton, performed a most interesting study of Brainwashing on former Korean War and Chinese war camp prisoners.



Lifton's brainwashing study took place in a "controlled and threatening environment" devoid of "normal social reference points" designed to "add to the targets difficulty in thinking critically and independently." Our current economic condition more than qualifies as a "threatening environment," when you take into account this is the worst financial recession since the great depression, we have a President that is heaping trillions of dollars in debt on a virtually bankrupt system, and an economy with millions of people out of work and thousands more losing their jobs every day with no end in sight.

In his study, Lifton defined three stages involved in brainwashing used by the captors, beginning with an "attack" on a prisoner's sense of self and ending with what appeared to be "a change in beliefs." Lifton defined the three stages as, "breaking down the self, the possibility of salvation," and "rebuilding the self." There are strong parallels between Lifton's stages and President Obama's incremental political strategies to, in his own words, "fundamentally change" America.

The "breaking down the self" stage is being fulfilled by President Obama, his administration, all his surrogates and the liberal media as they continue hammering the idea that people who oppose his policies are un-American, evil doers, racists, hate mongers, and anti-environment. This stage also involves trying to elicit guilt, shame and doubt from his opponents by intimating that their core beliefs are harmful to the country and the planet. Obama is even eliciting religion by saying that those who oppose his health care reform plans are "bearing false witness."

................

And the ending

As long as Americans stay focused on the true foundations of this great country and not its radical socialist leader, they will never be brainwashed -- and America will continue to be the "Shining city on a hill" President Ronald Reagan spoke of in his farewell address to the nation.

Source

How can we stop our brain from getting washed?

This has killed 6 million Jews during the Second World War. The virulent antisemitism was rooted in unchecked information pointing the Jews as the enemies, and their extermination was regarded as right. The brainwashing can go from visible signs like the swastika to more subtle ways, like bad jokes (you cannot imagine how much misogynism those jokes with blond women can trigger...). The best brainwashers are dictators, politicians, clericals, advertising agents, traders, journalists, radio and TV personalities, and others.

Source

Already more than a million Muslims have been killed, what do you suppose we do?

Suggestion Box
CIA Brainwashing Experiments



I want to collect some thoughts on how we can solve this problem, please don't hesitate to give us a hit of what you think the solution to this massive problem could/should be.

Thanks for your time

oozy

[edit on 4-10-2009 by oozyism]

brainwashed??
i'd say americans have been disembowled...

only a minotity have 'guts' anymore...PC political correctness has
made us extremely unwilling to engage others, to demand things or whatever...
so we've gotten the leadership & President we deserve

luckily the boots the elites are stomping our liberties and lifestyles with don't have football cleats on them , yet

Originally posted by St Udio
brainwashed??
i'd say americans have been disembowled...

only a minotity have 'guts' anymore...PC political correctness has
made us extremely unwilling to engage others, to demand things or whatever...
so we've gotten the leadership & President we deserve

luckily the boots the elites are stomping our liberties and lifestyles with don't have football cleats on them , yet

I want to collect some thoughts on how we can solve this problem, please don't hesitate to give us a hit of what you think the solution to this massive problem could/should be.

I personally don't want to see another genocide, as if we haven't seen enough killing already.

Many other groups also have this defect but America is the main focus due to it being world super power.

Thanks for your time

Either we are brain washed or we are collectively stupid.

How on earth America could be putting into office (POTUS, Congress, etc)
the people that we have is absolutely astounding.

It's so obvious that the majority of them - including the current POTUS - are only out to pad their pockets and get the american tax payer to pick up the tab for their luxury lifestyles. (weekly white house cocktail parties by Michelle )

It's also obvious that there are nafarious anti-american agendas at work in Washington with many of our elected officials. And yet many are going around the country rejoicing that they helped put these SOBs into positions of power. Positions from which the elected officials will suck the life blood out of us from. :shk:

It's not just America my Friend.

Much of the so called modern world is being or has been brainwashed into accepting what is and what the govt tell you to believe.

When you start looking at the bigger picture you start to wonder about everything and anything that you have been told.

What you're told to hate, what you're told to like. Many people simply cannot think for themselves anymore.

Originally posted by colec156
It's not just America my Friend.

Much of the so called modern world is being or has been brainwashed into accepting what is and what the govt tell you to believe.

When you start looking at the bigger picture you start to wonder about everything and anything that you have been told.

What you're told to hate, what you're told to like. Many people simply cannot think for themselves anymore.

Why can't we think for our selves? Does it have something to do with social issues? Or something else? Any solution to the problem would be appreciated.


[edit on 4-10-2009 by oozyism]

Originally posted by oozyism

Originally posted by colec156
It's not just America my Friend.

Much of the so called modern world is being or has been brainwashed into accepting what is and what the govt tell you to believe.

When you start looking at the bigger picture you start to wonder about everything and anything that you have been told.

What you're told to hate, what you're told to like. Many people simply cannot think for themselves anymore.

Why can't we think for our selves? Does it have something to do with social issues? Or something else? Any solution to the problem would be appreciated.


[edit on 4-10-2009 by oozyism]

It's probably due to mass apathy. No-one really cares anymore, they just live inside their consumer bubble and only really look out for number one.
So they just turn on their huge televisions and swallow any sort of BS presented to them, usually by highly recognisable faces who suggest trustworthiness to the mass mind.

Selective media presentation (ie Propaganda) doesn't help either. When the media is essentailly government controlled, the mainstream outlets that the majority of people watch everyday consist only of what you are required to hear. There's no objectivity to it at all. No balance. When you're only being showed selective information, there's no way to form informed opinions, you're only repeating the party line..

It's a Ministry of Truth nightmare.

Thank the heavens for places like ATS, where free thought is actively encouraged..

Why can't we think for our selves? Does it have something to do with social issues? Or something else? Any solution to the problem would be appreciated.


[edit on 4-10-2009 by oozyism]

Because people are happy within the ignorance. social issues ? maybe.
We as a people are always being bombarded with what to have, what to buy next, not to ask to many questions.

The only solution is to open up someones eyes to the world and to ask is everything what it seems ???

A brainwashed society is easier to manipulate and control. Religion has been doing this for thousands of years. Many people now see through Religion.

All can do is question life question the motives and keep your eyes wide open.

It's probably due to mass apathy. No-one really cares anymore, they just live inside their consumer bubble and only really look out for number one.
So they just turn on their huge televisions and swallow any sort of BS presented to them, usually by highly recognisable faces who suggest trustworthiness to the mass mind.

Selective media presentation (ie Propaganda) doesn't help either. When the media is essentailly government controlled, the mainstream outlets that the majority of people watch everyday consist only of what you are required to hear. There's no objectivity to it at all. No balance. When you're only being showed selective information, there's no way to form informed opinions, you're only repeating the party line..

It's a Ministry of Truth nightmare.

Thank the heavens for places like ATS, where free thought is actively encouraged..

You sir have your eye's wide open and it has brought a smile to my face.
With people like your good self there is hope.

ATS is a great place to be but again you have to keep your eyes open here.
There are many people here who want to dis-inform you.

Originally posted by oozyism
Why can't we think for our selves? Does it have something to do with social issues? Or something else? Any solution to the problem would be appreciated.

We are used to pyramid structures since birth. Just think about it... the family constellation, school system, work system - everything is built on the same power structure. We are taught from the start to accept whatever comes down as the truth.

You dont get good grades in school by being difficult and questioning, just as you dont make a career if you challenge the top dogs. We get trained to be dependent and weak. We just memorize lots of stuff and get a pat on the back for it.

If you want to know something, you turn to someone else who is "credible". You are taught to see this as the deciding factor in who to listen to. In combination with scientific stigma, its very easy to control information. Disagree with your peers and you become a outcast, and your reputation takes a nose dive. So very few goes public with alternate information because they always get their reputation assassinated.

Also it helps to be in control of the media. That way you can claim to be objective by asking two people from different sides come in, decide which one you want the public to believe and bully the other guy senseless for the 5-7 minutes he is on the air.

Thats how its done, basically. Control peoples decision making by giving them a simple set of rules to follow when deciding who to believe and who must be crazy.

Also we are lazy. Its hard to think for oneself. Its much easier to just go along.


[edit on 4-10-2009 by Copernicus]

reply to post by Copernicus


Like this pyramid perchance?

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/2e91e6e16917.gif[/atsimg]

Originally posted by colec156

You sir have your eye's wide open and it has brought a smile to my face.
With people like your good self there is hope.

ATS is a great place to be but again you have to keep your eyes open here.
There are many people here who want to dis-inform you.

Thanks dude, I try to stay objective, and look at both sides of the coin. Anyone can do it, sad fact is that most won't.

You're right about ATS, but thankfully it seems to be a minority of disinformants..

[edit on 4/10/2009 by purehughness]

[edit on 4/10/2009 by purehughness]

www.youtube.com...

How to Brianwash a nation....by a former KGB agent....

Hosted by G.Edward Griffin (sound familiar?)

The Creature from Jekyll Island

It would be difficult. On the one hand you have the majority in society that are happy in their ignorance, apathetic , and more than willing to accept anything they are told that conforms to their own predetermined set of values and beliefs . On the other hand , you have those agencies at work that are more than willing to keep those people in ignorance , more than willing to feed them dross that shields the truth and buries the facts . It's kind of like a symbiotic relationship where both parties get exactly what they want from each other. I suppose you'd need some kind of external factor introduced to break up that kind of relationship. Or something , some event, some revelation that is cataclysmic in nature that shatters the whole charade . Like finding out 9/11 was perpetrated by the government for example , that would shake a lot of people out of their quiescency.

[edit on 4-10-2009 by Drexl]

Originally posted by Drexl
Like finding out 9/11 was perpetrated by the government for example , that would shake a lot of people out of their quiescency.

I think it has already helped a lot to wake people up from their slumber.

But you have a large percentage of people who think 9/11 truthers are nuts which is ironic considering they are the ones believing the official story of some middle eastern guys pulling this off when its obvious there was explosives in the buildings.



[edit on 4-10-2009 by Copernicus]

reply to post by oozyism


I thought this was all already proven?

Just look at the military and the training systems they have in place. This consists of breaking down existing belief structures, removing identity, and then rebuilding a modelled identity in its place to allow for the direct following of any instructions issued by a recognised figure of leadership.

But, rest assured, if you are questioning this they haven't been successful on you. Clearly any person who questions their leadership and the motives of those in positions of power are more intelligent than those who simply believe and accept everything their leaders put in front of them.

But isn't this precisely why they are now adding such people to lists in America?
Look at any publicly known free-thinking person willing to question, and they are undoubtedly on a "list" held by government and labelled as "potential problems".
It would be very interesting to gather up a few people openly critical of government and get them all to try and cross a border point.
Naomi Wolf, Michael Moore, Gore Vidal...

But, just as this applies to known names, those who attend protests, are part of free-thinking groups demanding change, they're all on lists too. Go to any protest or even view footage of some on YT, and you'll see an army of intelligence with cameras taking snaps of car reg plates and protesters.
This data is then compiled to include names on lists of those who have an opposing view of leadership policies.

How it will all be used and when is another matter. I think it's simply designed to harass and silence people. But if a dictatorship gains power it could be used in a wholly different manner

My point of all this is to point out that if you are on a list, the chances are you are a free-thinker, a challenger of accepted government opinion, a "radical". They haven't managed to convince you that they are right, or they haven't managed to instil in you a complete sense of apathy.

Likewise, if you are openly a free-thinker, and question government on important aspects of leadership and policy, you are probably on such a list.

Meh, I hope I'm on a list too.

reply to post by Drexl


But maybe that sort of shake-up is exactly what people need?

I mean, in recent polls, I think it was 30% of Germans who believe that 9/11 was an inside job? That's a pretty huge figure really.

I'm not the sort of person who will stand on a soapbox yelling 'wake up! wake up!', but I firmly believe that people need to see things for what they really are, only then will we be able to demand from our governments (as we should be albe to already) a truly fair deal. If enough people can realise that things aren't as they seem, a shift in power may well be attainable.

Maybe I'm just a dreamer..