Brainwashed Nation

When we come across the term "brainwash," most of us instinctively think of North Korea, or perhaps the cultural revolution in China. But is it possible that in this day and age, the same acts of "selective information" pervade our lives?

Communism is an evil institution that strips people of their humanity, is it not? If you said yes, then you are likely in agreement with much of the Western populace. Should such a statement be accepted as fact, or merely a sentiment of the people? How did this knee-jerk reaction become so embedded in our minds?

Anti-communist sentiments saw its rise during the harrowing years of the Cold War. In the US, the Red Scare had a powerful hold on the people, best underscored by the rise of McCarthyism. The Eisenhower administration's policy of brinkmanship further marred the relationship between the West and the Communist bloc.

Like a bad breakup, the West has never gotten over communism. Needless to say, the failures faced by the United States in North Korea and Vietnam were of no help. Although the Cold War is over, fear and loathing of the communist states are still dominant. Disguised as a moral crusade, the West is on a never-ending rampage to undermine the image of those nations that possess different view and policies than itself. Its weapon? Media and our gullible minds. Its motto? The convenient lie, the whole lie, and nothing but the convenient lie. We are all human, and that's why we are susceptible to the media's antics and the convenient lie. We like to believe that we are right, and they are wrong. Well, who is "they." Heck, anybody just as long as they are not ourselves right? Think about society. Are there not always those outcasts, rejects, those who we label as being "different?" To prove that we are superior, we need to show that somebody else is inferior. The world is not so different. In order to prove that they are superior, Western media feeds on incessant attacks towards any nation they deem to be "incompatible." Similar to the aggressive propaganda in warfare, the passive disinformation by the media exaggerates any peccadilloes of other nations, but appropriately "forgets" to mention its own wrongdoings. Let's take a moment to examine one from the profuse list.

(1989) Tiananmen Square June 4 - Protests led by students and intellectuals escalate into violence as the military is brought in to quell the upheaval. Allegedly, thousands upon thousands of people are "massacred." Although the exact figures of the death toll cannot be determined, news broadcasted around the world depicted the Chinese government as a cold machine "slaughtering" thousands of citizens. If we look at current reports (not from China) of the incident, we see that the Politburo was divided in regards to martial force. Furthermore, the central military command lacked unity in regards to this issue. The soldiers were ordered to clear the capitol and maintain order, not "slaughter your countrymen." However, protestors set fire to APC's and beat soldiers, who in turn opened fire. The international media decided to exploit a tragic day and turn it into a field day for criticism of the newly consolidated Chinese government. The causes were overlooked, the numbers exaggerated, and the results amplified. Soon, because it walked like a duck, and talked like a duck, it became a duck. I am not denying that it was a horrifying incident, nor do I forgive the government, but I do see that they did not set out to kill their citizens; the latter of which Canada strongly disagrees.

"The External Affairs Minister Joe Clark described the incident as 'inexcusable' and issued a statement: 'We can only express horror and outrage at the senseless violence and tragic loss of life resulting from the indiscriminate and brutal use of force against students and civilians of Peking.' "

What can you see in here that seems to suggest the statement does more than "sincerely" mourn the tragic incident? Does it promote a certain bias, or put itself on a moral pedestal? To me, it screams out, "Look everybody, we're civilized and they're not."

How can North America denounce this with such fervor? May 4, 1970. National guardsmen shot into a crowd of 35 students, killing 4. These students were at one point a group 2,000 strong, demonstrating against the Vietnam war at Kent State University. Basically, 11% of the demonstrating students were shot dead. During the Tiananmen Massacre, there were 100,000 protesters. As the official government body count is 241, let's take a liberal count at 1,000. So, out of all the protestors gathered there that day, 1% was "slaughtered." Isn't it just a little bit hypocritical for such "disgust" when the same events essentially occurred on its own soil? Should a thief judge another for stealing? Should a murderer judge someone else's act of killing?

Let's take a look at some fairly recent news. The problem with Japanese whaling has been going on for quite a while now. However, there is this new TV show on Discovery Channel about a man "crusading" the Pacific, trying to put an end to the horrible practice. I personally think that this TV show could create a lot of problems. I'm sure that many people who watch this, will instinctively label the Japanese as cold, condoning, and immoral people. Worst of all, we are allowing such bias to perforate the minds of Discovery's dedicated peanut gallery; children. Moreover, who is to say that whaling is the 11th sin? How can the world impose upon a people their moral standards and then denounce that nation's cultures? Where is the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Is there not a statute in Canada that permits Native Americans to hunt a certain number of orcas? So why can't the Japanese? I think that as a society, especially one living in North America, we too often see ourselves as the "city upon a hill." We denounce people who eat cats, dogs, rabbits, and anything different. We denounce North Korea for having nuclear power plants when we have hundreds upon thousands of nuclear warheads; enough to destroy the world 10 times over.