The American Public Brainwashing System...AKA School

in #philosophy7 years ago (edited)

Oh no……my son didn’t just write that, did he? The school year is over here where we live, and as I was clearing out my son’s torn and over-packed binder looking for written gems I wanted to store away, I came across a “reflection” he had to write for his 8th grade humanities class. The reflection was his reaction to the US bombing Japan.

I read the words, “…I have concluded that dropping the bombs was the best choice…” Dammit! Public school government programming at its finest. Here is my sensitive, heart-of-gold son, the boy who makes sure our cats always have fresh water and food without prompting, the boy who won’t kill a spider, the boy who has never even liked competitive sports, the boy who makes sure to hug me when he wakes up and before he goes to bed, the boy who has not an ounce of hatred in his heart saying that dropping a bomb that killed and maimed so many and whose effects are still felt today was “the right thing to do” because it then led to the Japanese making VCR’s, cars, televisions under the “new government that America installed.” WHAT??!! He believes that somehow through this bombing that America “turned Japan” into a great nation. And, his teacher wrote “good thoughts” on his paper.

All of this programming, all of this perpetuating a myth, all of this thinking it’s “okay” to kill an enemy that never was an enemy in the first place, from an advanced 8th grade humanities class, no less. How many children all over the US are regurgitating this utter rubbish? How many of them, like their grandparents and parents, are keeping the “war for freedom” meme humming along?

The schools are still teaching the same old lies they taught when I was in school back in the 70’s and 80’s. They tell us there is a boogie man out there, someone threatening our “freedoms,” someone who lives in a foreign land that we must go and “invade.” The government steals our children away to fight wars that they start in order to keep the dollars rolling in to their military industrial complex. Those presidents and senators and such never go off and fight in these wars they invent. They never send their own children to war to get killed and maimed. What’s good for the goose apparently isn’t good for the gander….We are disposable in their eyes, yet willingly fight for them. What a sham.

When I woke up, my children were already in the public school system, and when I mentioned home schooling at that point, they would have nothing to do with it. They said they would miss their friends, and that I was wrong if I ever took them out of school to teach them at home. Let me tell you this, if I had to do it all over again, I would be a part of the “unschooling” movement. I would have never handed my children over to the school system. I have been a constant school volunteer and active participant in my children’s “education” over the years, and for my son to come away with the conclusion that “bombing” anybody is a good idea, hurts my heart deeply. It pisses me off, really.

It’s not like him to fall into such a trap. Again, he’s sensitive and wise. Was he giving into group pressure? This “reflection” was written after a group discussion, afterall. Was he mimicking what he thought the teacher wanted to hear? Does he really feel this way at his tender age of 14?

When my son said he didn’t want to go to kindergarten, I should have listened to him. Now I will, once again, explain to him what a false flag is. And, I will be called a “conspiracy theorist.” I will remind him that war is never good, that there is no enemy except the government that wants you to go fight wars on their behalf for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with “freedom,” but have everything to do with greed and hatred.
bombing reflection.jpg

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I struggle with this sort of thing with my two daughters as well, so I appreciate you talking about it so candidly. They love school because that's where they do most of their socializing, but I often worry about the conditioning they're being exposed to on a regular basis. Thankfully, they're inquisitive and enjoy the "counter-education" their dad and I provide.

I think you and @jrhughes might enjoy each other's content; she's been unschooling her three awesome kids for several years.

Thank you so much! My husband and I "counter-educate," too. It's not all bad, but..... we must correct the misinformation as best as we can. Thank you, again.

Aha! This is how such a kindred spirit found my "When Teens Attack" post, lol! Thanks for the tag @nayzer, and thanks for this wonderful post on the damage indoctrination can do to our young ones, @weq. Upvoted, resteemed, and following!

Thank you so much! Like I said before, I would have home schooled if I was awake when my children first entered the system. It bothers me that my son felt he needed to write something in order to "fit in." He's young, yes, so I need to keep reminding him that he needs to be his own self at school, and that war is never good, and that teachers are teaching what the government tells them to teach..... Again, thank you so much.

Super awesome post!

Thank you very much.

thanks for sharing, i like

Thank you.

Are you sure this is how he really feels and it's not just him regurgitating material in order to pass the class, regardless of whether he believes it? Have you spoken to him about that?

He was definitely regugitating. You probably can't see the end of his writing, but some of his true feelings come out. Oh yes, I reminded him. I feel bad that he felt the need to go along with the herd mentality. He is such a sweet child, gentle and compassionate. He has never even liked competitive sports....You know that whole "loser-winner" mentality. Thank you for your reply.

I wouldn't blow it all off as peer pressure, they present a pretty convincing argument, you just need to accept some premises that no one ever really forces down your throat but that the environment and the continuous narratives just constantly reinforce. This good vs. evil narrative is a huge one, but there are many more of course ("Nothing in life is free" Oh yeah? Ever pick a fucking apple? Does the tree charge you? Only the human who claims "ownership" over the tree will try to charge you).

If you believe that there are bad people out there, it's really easy to justify just about anything . It's already so easy to convince a person, especially a child, that there is evil out there because there are so many examples that make it hard to accept that the people who do terrible things might also be good somewhere deep inside.

Social Darwinism may be the most damaging thing of all. The idea that we have to compete in order to survive in a structured society is self destructive logic at its best.

You can't force your ideas on anyone, especially not your kids. Try doing what the schools do but with love instead of the desire to make him think this way or that way. Plant some wisdom without making it too obvious. It'll reach him eventually.

Well said. I agree with you. No, I don't force my ideas on my children. I didn't like that being done to me. Both my husband and I "lead" by example. We understand free-will, for sure. Planting the seeds of wisdom is important.

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