How the US Crushed Youth Resistance

I found this and wanted to share it with you. I am sure there are more reasons that can be added to the list but these are a good start. This post is a cliff notes version of this article.

How you was trained to be obedient

The ruling elite has created social institutions that have subdued young Americans and broken their spirit of resistance.

Young Americans—even more so than older Americans—appear to have acquiesced to the idea that the corporatocracy can completely screw them and that they are helpless to do anything about it.

How did this happen?

1. Student-Loan Debt.
Large debt—and the fear it creates—is a pacifying force.

2. Psychopathologizing and Medicating Noncompliance.
“Today the function of psychiatry, psychology and psychoanalysis threatens to become the tool in the manipulation of man.” - Erich Fromm 1955

3. Schools That Educate for Compliance and Not for Democracy.
The nature of most classrooms, regardless of the subject matter, socializes students to be passive and directed by others, to follow orders, to take seriously the rewards and punishments of authorities, to pretend to care about things they don’t care about, and that they are impotent to affect their situation. A teacher can lecture about democracy, but schools are essentially undemocratic places, and so democracy is not what is instilled in students.

4. “No Child Left Behind” and “Race to the Top.”
The corporatocracy has figured out a way to make our already authoritarian schools even more authoritarian. Democrat-Republican bipartisanship has resulted in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, NAFTA, the PATRIOT Act, the War on Drugs, the Wall Street bailout, and educational policies such as “No Child Left Behind” and “Race to the Top.” These policies are essentially standardized-testing tyranny that creates fear, which is antithetical to education for a democratic society.

5. Shaming Young People Who Take Education—But Not Their Schooling—Seriously.
“I never let my schooling get in the way of my education.” - Mark Twain
Despite the anti-educational impact of standard schools, children and their parents are increasingly propagandized to believe that disliking school means disliking learning. The more schooling Americans get, the more politically ignorant they are of America’s ongoing class war, and the more incapable they are of challenging the ruling class. Americans who lack college degrees are increasingly shamed as “losers”, however, two of America’s most astute and articulate critics of the corporatocracy, never went to college, Gore Vidal and George Carlin.

BTW Carlin dropped out of school in the ninth grade.

6. The Normalization of Surveillance.
The fear of being surveilled makes a population easier to control.

7. Television.
Television is a dream come true for an authoritarian society: those with the most money own most of what people see; fear-based television programming makes people more afraid and distrustful of one another, which is good for the ruling elite who depend on a “divide and conquer” strategy; TV isolates people so they are not joining together to create resistance to authorities; and regardless of the programming, TV viewers’ brainwaves slow down, transforming them closer to a hypnotic state that makes it difficult to think critically.

8. Fundamentalist Religion and Fundamentalist Consumerism
All varieties of fundamentalism narrow one’s focus and inhibit critical thinking. While some progressives are fond of calling fundamentalist religion the “opiate of the masses,” they too often neglect the pacifying nature of America’s other major fundamentalism. A fundamentalist consumer culture legitimizes advertising, propaganda, and all kinds of manipulations, including lies; and when a society gives legitimacy to lies and manipulativeness, it destroys the capacity of people to trust one another and form democratic movements.These are not the only aspects of our culture that are subduing young Americans and crushing their resistance to domination.

What a great thought provoking, eye opening, article. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I and can use it in your life and teach others ...

Tazkven
Large debt—and the fear it creates—is a pacifying force.

This statement contradicts observations. People are more likely to revolt if they have nothing to lose.

Today the function of psychiatry, psychology and psychoanalysis threatens to become the tool in the manipulation of man.”

This statement is in agreement with my investigations, so I agree here.

The nature of most classrooms, regardless of the subject matter, socializes students to be passive and directed by others, to follow orders, to take seriously the rewards and punishments of authorities, to pretend to care about things they don’t care about, and that they are impotent to affect their situation. A teacher can lecture about democracy, but schools are essentially undemocratic places, and so democracy is not what is instilled in students.

Again, I agree here. Although I must point out that a level of discipline must still exist to avoid turning the kid into a tyrant who can't bear rejection.

Despite the anti-educational impact of standard schools, children and their parents are increasingly propagandized to believe that disliking school means disliking learning.

It is unlikely that there are such serious propaganda, for home-schooling is on the rise: politix.topix.com...

TV viewers’ brainwaves slow down, transforming them closer to a hypnotic state that makes it difficult to think critically.

Yet it is at these brainwaves frequency that the mind reaches a meditative-like state and can merge with the subconscious, thus gaining intuition and creativity. The same is achieved with new age music and even some rock.

8. Fundamentalist Religion and Fundamentalist Consumerism
All varieties of fundamentalism narrow one’s focus and inhibit critical thinking.

Not all religious people are closed-minded - this is a mystical prejudice which is promoted to the masses so to introduce the Novus Ordo Seclorum - the New Secular Order.

I am friend with a christian who also is physicist. Although I agree that the Vatican is more of a control center than a moral center, true christians stick to Christ's teachings and promote peace, tolerance and self-lessness.

Not because a corporation acts some way means that all people act this said way.

Anyway, good food for thought, S&F from me.

reply to post by Tazkven


Thank God for a good google education system and the popularity of conspiracy culture. Although I do agree with you for the most part and all these points are true and valid. All one has to do is visit the Midwest to see that there is a huge anti establishment movement going on behind close doors.

swanne

Tazkven
Large debt—and the fear it creates—is a pacifying force.

This statement contradicts observations. People are more likely to revolt if they have nothing to lose.

I personally believe debt creates fear, whether it be through a student loan or the purchase of a car or home and makes people less likely to attempt to buck the system for the fear of losing what they have, whether it be a material object or one's planned future with in society.

reply to post by Quauhtli


Yes but they are not flying under the radar by no means ...



Source

Tazkven
reply to post by Quauhtli

 

Yes but they are not flying under the radar by no means ...

Source

edit on 11-3-2014 by Tazkven because: Added source URL

SPLC is part of that system you decry--they label anyone they disagree with as a "hate group." By using materiel from them, you feed into that very system of control and demanded obedience you are talking about.

reply to post by Tazkven


Excellent article! I tell my kids not to worry about their student loan debt. If you owe the bank a little money - you have a problem. If you owe the bank alot of money - they have a problem.

reply to post by Tazkven


Young people need to understand the rules of the imposed game. Unfortunately, they are taught rules to a fictional game that almost guarantees they will lose at the game the oligarchs are playing. Corporate advertising and movies are the main culprit IMO.

Someone really needs to create a business that sells financial know how to young people. System hacks, knowing what you can get away with etc. Those are the rules of the game we are being presented. Maybe they are getting some kind of archaic moralistic rule set from their parents that allows the financial parasites to pick their bones clean.

Project Mayhem.

reply to post by saneguy


Student loan debt can't be discharged through bankruptcy. check.

Get a bunch of credit cards and pay off the student loan, then become unable to pay. File for bankruptcy. 2-3 years later, the banks will be all over you offering more debt. They need people with income. check mate

reply to post by saneguy


Oh I know what they are and what they represent and in no way am I endorsing them, we discussed them here in length awhile back. What I was trying to convey is that the "huge anti establishment movement" is not exactly behind closed doors ...

reply to post by Tazkven


@ The System: "THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!"



May we all remember and resolve to never give into the systems tortures or temptations as we are all sovereign and divine!

InverseLookingGlass
reply to post by saneguy

 

Student loan debt can't be discharged through bankruptcy. check.

Get a bunch of credit cards and pay off the student loan, then become unable to pay. File for bankruptcy. 2-3 years later, the banks will be all over you offering more debt. They need people with income. check mate

I like it, when I was a teenager I got credit cards in the mail at a place I was living in but was just about to move out from.

I thought, hmm, what if I wasn't here when these arrived? Who decided that my little string of numbers was worth $x.xx?

The only defense I could come up with against someone arbitrarily attributing debt to my SSN was to sabotage that number so I activated the cards, bought a scanner and laser printer (I do consider it theft and it bothered me a little but, I had no other recourse) and called the company declaring my absolute intention to never pay them off. I have to call back from time to time to make it clear that I do not want to restore my credit rating which they periodically try to do.

Voila! There you have it, free identity theft protection provided by the very card issuers.

Probably not a great strategy if you want to buy a house but, even back then I saw houses for what they are, boxes of boards. A box of boards is simply not worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, especially if you have to pay some pretty big bucks just to keep it even when it is 100% paid off.

If you do decide to buy a house, as long as you have never given them a dime or agreed to any settlements, you can pay it off completely with almost no damage to your credit.

InverseLookingGlass
reply to post by saneguy

 

Student loan debt can't be discharged through bankruptcy. check.

Get a bunch of credit cards and pay off the student loan, then become unable to pay. File for bankruptcy. 2-3 years later, the banks will be all over you offering more debt. They need people with income. check mate

Good plan, although I don't think the CC companies will give credit to the the tune of $60 K unless you had a good job, which are getting hard to come by these days. More likely they will just go through life filling out forms saying they can't pay it back.

Here in canada we can discharge our student loans after 7 years,
or 5 if we declare bankruptcy before the end of the 5 year mark.

I shall be doing this in the coming months. As there are no jobs good enough in my field that i can pay the amount they want from me. i make enough now to pay my immediate bills, pay for food, and power and internet. I quit smoking and STILL end up being broke a few days after pay day.

My advice. Teach yourself. Universities and colleges now are nothing but a ponzi scheme, they are a corporation now only concerned with the bottom line. Or do a trade. Dont bother wasting your time on anything else but a trade. And even then those jobs are being offered to other countries

Student loans make us miserable because we see our futures. Its debt servitude. I cant wait until i declare so i can give a giant middle finger to my college and student loan. My college was terrible. I regret going these days.

Tv, video games and the public educational system teach kids to be passive observers and to resist making value judgments.
Moral relativism is paralyzing, having no compass for morality all are shades of right and wrong with no absolutes.
Consumerism teaches greed and self-interest. This leaves out sympathy for the plight of our fellow humans again stifling action.
Those born with an innate sense of rebellion are quickly identified and drugged up to ensure complacency.

Recent "revelations" by Snowden about the vast spying network were NOT the work of a whistleblower but the deliberate ploy of the PTB to ensure everyone knows they ARE watching everything you say online. Even if not true the seed of intimidation is firmly planted.

Fascism doesn't require omnipresent symbols like the swastika to be real. The combined power of banks, corporations and government impose an overwhelming tide of conformity and fear upon us all.

I'm glad to have reached my age without acquiescing to the state in matters of mind.
I may be wrong about many things but my opinions are my own and I'm the only one responsible for them.
The final authority I answer to is God and my conscience.
That's as close to living in freedom as I can muster.

Eta: My biggest accomplishment in life may well be having a credit score of zero.
The banks don't want me and I sure as hell don't want them.
Boo hoo.

reply to post by Tazkven


Some of the youth are not so entrapped by the system.

Some of us want to fight, want to change things.

Some of us realize that yelling and holding signs has accomplished nothing.

Some of us know that in order to change this society, sacrifices have to be made.

Some of us know that to protect the future generations, we may have to die ourselves.

Some of realize the truth.

While everyone else does nothing.

reply to post by Tazkven


The students did protest about what was occurring to them back in 2011. You forgot these kind of events:





Basically the resistance that did form up was largely met with batons and pepper spray. The resistance got beaten out of many of them. Still better than what happened at Kent State but the outcome was still the same. I posted a little sneak preview of a Devo documentary that talks about their participation in the anti-war movement at Kent State. They were present and protesting the day that the students were shot there. They expected that the outrage from the event would fuel their peers and it did exactly the opposite.

vimeo.com...

You're allowed to have free speech and protest in this country (well now in limited areas) but that doesn't mean that they aren't going to beat the crap out of you for doing it. That kind of response isn't "creating a law that prohibits". The first amendment is actually very particular about that and the beatings are essentially a loophole to discourage the free exercise of speech through protest.

reply to post by TheNewRevolution


It is very frustrating isn't it. I know its not just us either, every person i talk to my age is frustrated with it all. Were our parents like this?

Soon we will need to take it by force. Collectively we can make a difference.

There just needs to be something we can all agree on,

On say a world wide level.

A world constitution.

reply to post by AzureSky


I think there is something everyone should be able to agree on, but people tend to make excuses on why it wouldn't work or why it is bad, just because excuses get people by.

A world constitution is simple. Anyone who isn't happy by this is only happy controlling other people and forcing their views on others.

1. We are all free to do whatever we want with our lives so long as it does not stop others from doing the same.

That is all. Expand on that and you have a free world that everyone should be able to agree on.

But they won't.

This whole idea is nostalgia. Youth Resistance outside of the inner-city (which has been waging war with itself and the state for a long time) has been non-existent on an organized since Vietnam ended besides the short OWS tryst. In fact, has there been a tangible youth resistance besides those two somewhat recently? in America, youth resistance has never really been there unless I'm missing something. I think it takes something extreme to bring impactful youth resistance to light in America. Do you think the movement during Vietnam would have been as big if people weren't being sent to war against their wills?