If you hear something presented as the truth enough times, you begin to believe it, no matter how ludicrous: a man rose from the dead; climate is an existential threat; there was no election fraud. Worse, once people have invested time and energy into learning something, they don’t want to lose it, or admit they were duped, or re-examine everything affected by the change. Plus, the first person who tells you something is subjectively more of an authority than anyone who comes afterwards by far, especially after repeated hearings; that’s why indoctrinating children is so effective.

Indoctrination from a young age demonstrably works: you can see the indoctrination of kids to be so-called environmentalists today. My parents were conditioned to hate Commies, and my generation, late-Baby Boomers, were prohibited from seeing race; it simply doesn’t register. I was also indoctrinated to work even though I hate it; I was indoctrinated to have a family even though it doesn’t make personal or financial sense; I was indoctrinated with values that allowed society to function. The same thing has happened in all previous generations but the indoctrination has changed: it’s now almost the complete opposite of what I was indoctrinated with; it makes me wonder if that’s how all civilizations rise & fall.

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