Brainwashing

Brainwashing is the process of pressuring someone into adopting radically different beliefs by using systematic and often forcible means. So, brainwashing has an important link to The Christianity Umbrella. The techniques of brainwashing typically involve isolation from former associates and sources of information, an exacting regimen requiring absolute obedience and humility, strong social pressures and rewards for cooperation, physical and psychological punishments for non-cooperation, to include social ostracism. So, criticism of Christianity and guiding others away from Christian beliefs easily becomes a component of brainwashing.

Brainwashing, also called Coercive Persuasion, may include a systematic effort to persuade nonbelievers to accept a certain allegiance, command, or doctrine. As a colloquial term, it is more generally applied to any technique designed to manipulate human thought or action against the desire, will, or knowledge of the individual. By controlling the physical and social environment, an attempt is made to destroy loyalties to any unfavorable groups or individuals, to demonstrate to the individual that his attitudes and patterns of thinking are incorrect and must be changed, and to develop loyalty and unquestioning obedience to the dominant, adversarial social movement. The term Brainwashing’ is most appropriately used in reference to a program of political or religious indoctrination or ideological remolding. It may include strong social pressures and rewards for cooperation; and, physical and psychological punishments for non-cooperation ranging from social ostracism and criticism, deprivation of food, sleep, and social contacts, to bondage and torture; and continual reinforcement. The nature of brainwashing as it occurred in communist political prisons received widespread attention after the Chinese Communist victory in 1949 and after the Korean and Vietnamese wars. More recently, its reported use in fringe religious cults and radical political groups has aroused concern in the United States. Schools In many of our academic institutions there are verified reports of psychological distress, anxiety, binge drinking, self-mutilation and even suicide. Young people often arrive on college campuses without the ability to make their own decisions, live with their choices, learn from their experience, and grapple with the issues of adult life. Grade inflation is rampant on college campuses; it is the institutional response to parental anxiety about school demands on their children. Children are in contact with their parents several times a day via cell phones, keeping their children in a permanent state of dependency.

So, in these unhealthy organizations, schools, many students, youngsters and adults alike may have undesirable limits on their ability to stand their ground on critical issues and as a result may well be vulnerable to brainwashing intrusions. There is a concerted effort by progressives to sexualize our children and our public schools are prime locations to push the Left's radical sexual ideology -- all under the guise of sex education. In just a few short decades, sex education that used to teach "the birds and the bees" to high school students has now become an indoctrination tool, presenting the whole rainbow of sexual lifestyles to students as young as kindergarten! A political agenda is being driven into our schools by well-funded organizations like Planned Parenthood, the Human Rights Campaign, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Sexuality Information and Education Council (SIECUS), and more. These are aggressive anti- Biblical and political initiatives The Democrats are now taking a stand that Trump followers need to be ‘deprogrammed.’ The point here appears to be that the Republicans have been brainwashed. Yes, this is politicized brainwashing that has far- reaching effects.

Note that the American University Culture is fascinating and concerning; there is a haze of relativism everywhere you turn. There is non- judgmentalism everywhere. Remember that on 9/11, being nonjudgmental was of no use to us! These were murderous acts by terrorists who had access to sophisticated resources and a psyche full of pathology. After 9/11 those who claimed that Jesus was the only Savior and that salvation is found in His name alone, were dismissed as theological terrorists and religious extremists.

So, where does responsibility stand for this brainwashing phenomenon? Those who work in the school system and perpetrate inaccurate, biased information about American history are certainly responsible for what they do. It would seem to me that their superiors; University Presidents for example, also have responsibility there and they have culpability if they knowingly ignore the problem. But, do the students also have responsibility? Is it inevitable that a student in this case will become twisted in their thinking and brainwashed? Does the student have the option, as a conservative activist, to take action to correct the curriculum? In many cases there is both subtle and overt pressure on the student to align themselves with the professors’ lies and incorrect information. On the other hand, students can be quite assertive and determined and groups of students can levy powerful influence if their initiative is carefully thought out.

Patriotic Education: What is 'Patriotic Education' and why is it controversial? Former President Donald Trump recently announced plans for a new commission to support "patriotic education." “Despite the virtues and accomplishments of this nation, many students are now taught in school to hate their own country, and to believe that the men and women who built it were not heroes, but rather villains,” Trump said. “This radicalized view of American history lacks perspective, obscures virtues, twists motives, ignores or distorts facts, and magnifies flaws, resulting in the truth being concealed and history disfigured. Failing to identify, challenge, and correct this distorted perspective could fray and ultimately erase the bonds that knit our country and culture together.” “We must clear away the twisted web of lies in our schools and classrooms and teach our children the magnificent truth about our country,” he said. “We want our sons and daughters to know they are the citizens of the most exceptional nation in the history of the world." So, what we have here is an excellent program spearheaded by an excellent leader to counter brainwashing.

Some Brainwashing Dynamics

 A public space or public policy that is rigidly secular and is founded on relativistic principals can be a breeding ground for brainwashing.

 Vulnerable personalities that are easily swayed by others are part of the foundation for brainwashing. This would include affiliation with gang members, affiliation with those participating in violent protests, and affiliations that include tobacco use and/or other habituating drug use.

 Adopting extreme views, especially concerning political issues and violent protest may indeed have a brainwashing component. This would include a worldview that is a huge departure from your prior views. This might also include issues like compromising your integrity and morality, and putting limits on other people’s freedom in a totalitarian manner.

 The Contagion Effect in which violence is perpetrated and mimicked, can provide a very toxic mental imprint and for some, may provide the instigation to brainwashing wherein physical violence or other the extremes of behavior may be normalized and psychologically integrated. We will discuss the issue of Affiliations in a separate paper, but clearly, those who we affiliate with can easily become unwholesome models for us.

 The Stockholm Syndrome and the associated psychological defense mechanism called ‘Identification with the Aggressor’ can be a factor in mob violence and brainwashing. There is a positive bond of attachment formed between a victim of abuse and the abuser. So, for example, those who have been significantly abused in some way may be vulnerable to joining with a violent gang.

 Hyper-Communication, that is, the whole issue of psychological integration of information, and of more aggressive sources of information than ever before in human history, confronts the receiver of information with an impossible task; many folks find themselves seeking understanding through aligning themselves with a narrow and perhaps extreme worldview, brainwashed, as they surrender to any number of relativistic causes. Who, or what organization has drawn you in?

 The Jonestown Massacre: In November 1978 more than 900 members of an American cult called The Peoples Temple died in a mass– murder- suicide under the direction of their leader, Jim Jones. Jones was affiliated with The Communist Party USA and Marxism and advocated an apostolic communal lifestyle. Importantly, childhood acquaintances recalled him as a "really weird kid" who was obsessed with religion and death. So, this is an extreme and very unfortunate example of brainwashed people following a disturbed and dangerous ‘leader.’

 Are we living in a ‘Post-Truth Culture’? It has been called ‘modern fundamentalism.’ Disengagement from the critical issues of the day is not an option because we risk ingrained brainwashing; so, we need to be activists of sorts in order to counter the effects of subduing the Christian truth. We need clarity and truth in order not to get lost in an abyss. There is a price to pay for being vulnerable and easily influenced ----being brainwashed. And, some violent anarchists are brainwashed into a belief system that legitimizes, and rationalizes a relativistic view that permits harm to others. At the extreme of this sort of brainwashing, the person can no longer discern any reasonable sense of right and wrong, as this form of extreme thinking is now fully integrated, to include a lack of conscience.

 We do what we believe and if we are affiliating with unhealthy folks, we will almost certainly harbor unhealthy thoughts and possibly an unhealthy worldview.

 Be careful who you listen to. Institutions begin as nothing more than groups of like-minded people; and, groups of like-minded people tend to become increasingly like-minded as time passes and as members get rewarded in tangible or intangible ways.

 Being well grounded in solid, morality-based principals is a good way to screen information and affiliations. Some good principles include: love your neighbor, help those in need, freedom of speech and use of the Christian Holy Bible as a reference.

 The treatment of entrenched brainwashing, attempts to reverse it, are more tedious and prone to fail than attempts to reverse it at the onset, or earlier stages. Also, when the condition is associated with violence or other impulse deficit disorders, it is also more difficult to turn around.

Proverbs 28:1 “…the righteous are as bold as a lion.”

 We seek to attain and preserve truth; brainwashing about key historical facts and related definitions compromises truth. While flexibility, open-mindedness and vigilance are important, objectivity, independent thinking, access to truth, are also important.

 Attempts to change history, to lie about history, and to change the names on monuments and on schools, is significant to the brainwashing dilemma. This is in part because we are called upon to educate ourselves about the truths about history in order to critique the untruth. If we start teaching lies in the second grade, ‘we have a major problem Houston’! It should be criminal behavior, worthy of incarceration, to knowingly teach lies to vulnerable students of all ages. So, the powerful marketing organizations that utilize the Internet and TV to spew biased and misleading information that then infects vulnerable consumers, are pushing the whole brainwashing mechanism. So, if a TV channel broadcasts film of a 12-year-old girl murdering someone, we must understand that other young girls who are psychologically vulnerable, may mimic this behavior; this is called the Contagion Effect. Inherent in this Contagion Effect is a learning process wherein the vulnerable person rehearses an internal dialogue and likely has a visual rehearsal, a movie-like internal iteration of the act that is repetitively rehearsed. This also is brainwashing in action. Coming to believe inaccurate information can be an incremental step to brainwashing.

The huge marketing industry continues to grow and become much more sophisticated, and even intrusive at times. We have a saying about the internet: ‘You can find any answer to any question there’. So, in this technology-rich environment we live in, with our cell phones, tablets, computers, smart watches and television, we have an overload of information in general, to the point that this glut interferes with understanding at times and fosters misinformation, biased information, half-truths, and, outright lying at times. This huge amount of information is a major input to the brainwashing phenomenon because of the powerful marketing effects! For the first time in our American history, millions of people are now acting on their interpretation of television ads for information about optimal self-care; the concern here is that much of this information is misinformation and is motivated by financial incentives. Clearly, many of the ads on television are not based on legitimate science and therefore, help to perpetuate the ongoing disease epidemic in our country. So, the marketing industry can contribute to misunderstanding, and at the extreme, perhaps the early stages of brainwashing.

When we are asked by school officials to utilize a trans-gender bathroom, we are at the hands of a misguided and dangerous teacher or other school official. These school officials are brainwashed and are pushing the same pathology on our students; this is how inappropriate behaviors become normalized.

Those who are easily influenced may have an empty repertoire of healthy standards, but may be open to favorable and healthy new ideas and experiences given the opportunity.

It is clear that relativism plays a role in this whole brainwashing concept; please see our article about relativism. It is also true that our affiliations are a major factor in cognitive understanding and preferences; we will be posting a separate article about affiliations also.

Crime: I had mentioned above that young people can be easily influenced and after a time show signs of being brainwashed in their unhealthy peer associations. One case occurred in Lake Charles Louisiana in 2020; a 12- year-old girl was murdered by stabbing and four girls ages 12, 13, 13, and 14 were arrested for the crime.

It is worth mentioning that brainwashing states tend to be more virulent when associated with violence, both physical and psycho-emotional violence. And, another important point is that in most instances, we cannot change people who are violent, mean, homicidal, and lacking in an intact conscience. These folks are often brainwashed, in the most negative sense of the word. When we take a look at these people in a mental health medical setting what we often see is the following:

 Mood disorders including all levels of depression  Psychotic disorders including schizophrenia  And several types of personality disorders including antisocial personality disorder, paranoid personality disorder, and borderline personality disorder  Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)  And certain more esoteric disorders including multiple personality.

Most of these conditions are quite difficult to treat and require the cooperation of the patient, many of whom are not forthcoming in this regard. Also, it is important to note that family dynamics play into these situations in an important and dramatic way. Intact families with healthy internal communications are essential in order to identify pathologies like brainwashing early on before tragedies occur. Informed parents talk with their children and know who they are affiliating with; if this essential communication is not happening within the home, it will occur outside the home.

Thank you for bearing with us in this vitally important topic of brainwashing …

In pursuit of truth

References

Arnn,Larry P.: Imprints, ‘Orwell’s 1984 and today,’ Hillsdale College, Volume 49, Number 12December 2020.

Mohler, R. Albert Jr.: ‘Culture Shift: the battle for the moral heart of America;’ Multnomah Books, 2011.

Zahler, William: ‘Challenges, Threats and Chaos’ www.lifestyle – interventions.com, published online, 2020.

William Zahler, MSW, MPA, DipACLM Website & Blog: lifestyle – interventions.com YouTube: William Zahler Email: [email protected]

March 2021