The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

Indoctrination versus Education

In my Article “Cult of Youth” I explain why the young are so attractive to people who wish to manipulate them:

This is why it is so difficult to reason with the young, to get them to consider the future consequences of their decisions, and to check their impulses. And the people who would take advantage of the young know this, and they know how to utilize this to take advantage of the young. Advertisers, businesspeople, artists, entertainers, filmmakers, music makers, tobacconist and alcohol and drug dealers, activists, and politicians are aware of this. That is why they target youth for what they are pitching. They want them to consume their product and services, or to support their agenda. They also know that if you get the young to fall for this that it will stay with them for many more years, and perhaps a lifetime. It takes a lot of knowledge, intelligence, thought, reasoning, and experience to change the habits and predilections of your youth. This is why we see such a cult of youth in today's society and the glorification of youth. The exploiters want to hook them and lead them to where they want them to go.

And perhaps the most insidious of all these people who wish to manipulate youth are the activists. Whether it be social, economic, or political they are promoting indoctrination, not education, and instilling fear rather than knowledge in youth. The 20th century is replete with examples of this; Hitler Youth, Fascist Youth, Communist Youth, Red Guard, The International Union of Socialist Youth, etc.… The 21st century is repeating this insidious activity, but usually based on issues rather than political orientation. Issues such as Climate Change, Gun Control, Racism, Social Justice, etc.…

They often utilize the young as props for their agenda. How often have you seen a young person being interviewed about a serious issue and the interviewer treating them as they were a fountain of knowledge, experience, or wisdom? The young person emotes very sympathetically, but they are generally not asked any difficult questions about their facts and reasoning, and indeed, if you do so you are treated as if you were bulling them. They often emote that we need to “Do Something” or initiate “Change”, but they cannot be coherent on the something or change, its costs and benefits, or its impacts of society (both positive and negative), and they never discuss the Human or Constitutional Rights impinged upon by the something or change. It should also be remembered that change can be good, bad, or indifferent, as I have stated in my Observation “Change and/or New”.

The activists love to stage demonstrations and rallies which consists of sloganeering and one-line placards that provide emotional suasion, but little intellectual knowledge nor reasoning. Their intent is a rush to judgement and speedy change as they see fit. This is analogous to the difference between a cattle stampede versus a cattle drive. And the cattle they utilize are young people.

In the past, these activities were generally targeted at college students. Recently, however, we see that they are targeting K-12 students. Mayors, City Councils, School Boards, Principles, and Teachers are giving students a day off to protest activist causes. And these causes are mostly progressive/leftists causes. There is no attempt to educate the students on the issues, both pro, and con so that they can make an informed judgment. Even if the teachers had done so the judgement of the students who are so young are suspect, as they have insufficient knowledge, experience, and reasoning skills to make an informed judgement. Even worse, the education that they receive is limited to one viewpoint – the progressive/leftists’ viewpoint. I fear that this balanced education may not be possible as the teachers themselves have no education and background other than their own prejudices. This is not education but, indeed, indoctrination. The indoctrination that may haunt the students the rest of their lives as they may not be able to effectively reason on these topics as they mature.

They are also insulating their students, to protect their feelings and self-confidence, from unpleasant facts and discordant information. This is often done under the guise of “Safe Zones” and “Micro-aggressions”. But in the real world, there are no safe zones and micro-aggressions abound. Protecting their students in this manner makes it more difficult for the student to function in the real world. Therefore, they are ill-preparing their students for life after education.

They are, in effect, creating mental wusses out of their students. Mental wusses that are ill-prepared to become functional contributing members of society, and indeed, may be detrimental to society. I would finish by posting the following poster that should be heeded by all Mayors, City Councils, School Boards, Principles, Teachers, College Administrators and Professors, as well as students of all ages: