# "Americans - the most brainwashed people of the World" **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 25, 2010, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685 "2010-05-25T09:37:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![No\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@No\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/1 "2010-05-25T09:37:37Z")
I googled “the most brainwashed people” and “the most brainwashed nation” and came up with this title. My opinion is that people everywhere are too brainwashed. Mostly we don’t think, but if we think we don’t act. To make this thread starter short I listed a few impediments on change, but feared it to be too political and thus censored. Is it just another form of brainwashing or could I mention wealth, jail, health-care, media, military forces, Iraq war, CIA on SD Message boards? What is the best forum to express these thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/2 "2010-05-25T10:08:53Z")
Mention whatever you want. Stick it in Great Debates. ETA: Of course, there is the question of why, since you seem unfamiliar with the culture of this board, you chose the Straight Dope as the medium for your message. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/3 "2010-05-25T10:42:12Z")
What thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![No\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@No\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/4 "2010-05-25T10:55:03Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > What thoughts? In the US the top 1% of the population holds over 40% of the wealth The U.S. has the most, 2.2 million people in jail Obama’s health-care legislation was opposed by too many American media conglomerates tend to be leading global players, generating large profits United States spends about $692 billion annually to fund its military forces, constituting approximately 42 percent of world military expenditures Iraq war (and many other wars, including CIA involvement) ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/5 "2010-05-25T11:00:05Z")
> [@No\_Man](#): > > In the US the top 1% of the population holds over 40% of the wealth > The U.S. has the most, 2.2 million people in jail > Obama’s health-care legislation was opposed by too many > American media conglomerates tend to be leading global players, generating large profits > United States spends about $692 billion annually to fund its military forces, constituting approximately 42 percent of world military expenditures > Iraq war (and many other wars, including CIA involvement) What does any of that have to do with “brainwashing”, and specifically with relative levels of “brainwashing” between various countries? As a side point, I’d recommend that you read up on North Korea. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/6 "2010-05-25T11:00:18Z")
I moved this thread to Great Debates from General Questions. GQ is for questions with factual answers, and this is the forum for arguments that aren’t likely to produce a clear answer. > [@No\_Man](#): > > I googled “the most brainwashed people” and “the most brainwashed nation” and > came up with this title. My opinion is that people everywhere are too brainwashed. You’re entitled to your opinion. If you think people in the U.S. are more brainwashed than people in North Korea - to name the most extreme example I can think of; nevermind any number of other authoritarian societies - good luck in proving that. > [@](#): > > Is it just another form of brainwashing or could I mention wealth, jail, health-care, > media, military forces, Iraq war, CIA on SD Message boards? You’re welcome to talk about any of those things. ---
**Author:** ![No\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@No\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/7 "2010-05-25T11:19:56Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > North Korea - to name the most extreme example I can think of; nevermind any number of other authoritarian societies. Based on the number of Google-hits. There were about 40000 of them and most of them claimed Americans to be the most brainwashed. My opinion is that we all are too inactive what comes to social issues. Fighting ignorance is pretty much the same as fighting social inequality. Well, most of my issues can be found in North Korea, too. Maybe, there can one man own 40% of everything. I really don’t know. But the figures don’t look good for the US either. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/8 "2010-05-25T11:22:38Z")
> [@No\_Man](#): > > Based on the number of Google-hits. **There were about 40000 of them and most of them claimed Americans to be the most brainwashed.** My opinion is that we all are too inactive what comes to social issues. Fighting ignorance is pretty much the same as fighting social inequality. Well, most of my issues can be found in North Korea, too. Maybe, there can one man own 40% of everything. I really don’t know. But the figures don’t look good for the US either. So, you went through at least 20001 Google hits when researching this topic? Very impressive. ---
**Author:** ![No\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@No\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/9 "2010-05-25T11:29:04Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > So, you went through at least 20001 Google hits when researching this topic? Very impressive. But if the real result is something else I start a new thread. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/10 "2010-05-25T11:31:08Z")
America isn’t the “most brainwashed” by a long way; however, it does tend to have a very insular viewpoint due to its size and relative influence in the world, a viewpoint that is heavily reinforced by the media. American culture is also based on an almost primal level of consumerism. Having lived the last third of my life outside the US I am always astonished when I go back by the constant barrage of messages to BUY BUY BUY. When I lived there it seemed normal. Seeing it from the outside it’s grotesque. I can’t even watch US television anymore - it makes my head hurt. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/11 "2010-05-25T11:32:00Z")
I have found [35,000 cites that claim that monkeys control the Council on Foreign Relations.](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=Eys&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&ei=3bT7S-rkB8Gblge3-snIDw&sa=X&oi=spellfullpage&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=2&ved=0CBYQvwUoAQ&q=monkeys+control+the+council+on+foreign+relations&spell=1) It’s google saying that, not me. Clearly, something must be done. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/12 "2010-05-25T11:47:42Z")
**jrodefeld** , **erez** , **No Man** Did someone recently drop SDMB’s URL at prisonplanet or infowars? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/13 "2010-05-25T11:54:49Z")
Please. expand on your definition of “brainwashed” and how it ties in with your political concerns. Be succinct but not superficial. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/14 "2010-05-25T12:01:09Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > I have found [35,000 cites that claim that monkeys control the Council on Foreign Relations.](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=Eys&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&ei=3bT7S-rkB8Gblge3-snIDw&sa=X&oi=spellfullpage&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=2&ved=0CBYQvwUoAQ&q=monkeys+control+the+council+on+foreign+relations&spell=1) > It’s google saying that, not me. Oddly enough, 262,000 cites say No Man is an island. Be that as it may, I’d like some clarification: who does the OP hold out as the brainwasher? After all: **The U.S. has the most, 2.2 million people in jail** If we were the most-brainwashed, wouldn’t that number be unusually _ **low?** _ Wouldn’t we cheerfully obey the laws, sure as the government would have little incentive to jail us? **Obama’s health-care legislation was opposed by too many** Again, wouldn’t _ **low** _ opposition be a fine indicator? Unless the claim is that our alleged brainwashers are the other side – the side which, y’know, _ **failed** _ to kill the legislation, which also isn’t great evidence. **American media conglomerates tend to be leading global players, generating large profits** If the large profits of “American” conglomerates really do stem from the “global” part of that description, then – if anything – it seems the alleged brainwashing in that example works the other way around. **In the US the top 1% of the population holds over 40% of the wealth … United States spends about $692 billion annually to fund its military forces, constituting approximately 42 percent of world military expenditures** The OP posits these separately; I want to link 'em. The point is that our system – in which roughly half of the folks pay no federal income tax – taxes the folks at the top enough to shrug off such over-the-top expenditures, which let us knock over countries pretty much at will. (Sure, we suck at the ensuing _ **occupation,** _ but we can get a lot done with the initial dose of regime change – or threatened dose of regime change.) I’d say it’s at least an open question as to whether our strategy pays off in the long run; we’ve decided to incentivize certain economic activities to have enough cash on hand for military might, which keeps shipping lanes open and gives us negotiating power and so on and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/15 "2010-05-25T12:16:43Z")
> [@No\_Man](#): > > Based on the number of Google-hits. There were about 40000 of them and most of them claimed Americans to be the most brainwashed. Consider the size of the internet (and how many people worldwide, and in the U.S., are using it) and you’ll realize this is a tiny number that doesn’t mean anything. > [@](#): > > Well, most of my issues can be found in North Korea, too. Plus quite a few others! > [@](#): > > Maybe, there can one man own 40% of everything. One man? You said _one percent_, which is three million people - not one. If you think that’s crazy, I won’t argue with you, but that does make a big difference. And come to think of it you could probably say Kim Jong-Il owns more than 40 percent of everything over there. ---
**Author:** ![No\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@No\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/16 "2010-05-25T12:30:48Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Please. expand on your definition of “brainwashed” and how it ties in with your political concerns. Modern democracy is not democratic at all. The same lobbyists stay no matter who is elected. Money rules, the military is just making certain people richer by waging unjustified wars. Now, there is freedom of speech, but does anybody really hear? ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/17 "2010-05-25T12:36:27Z")
> [@No\_Man](#): > > In the US the top 1% of the population holds over 40% of the wealth And 100% of the people own 100% of the wealth, oh the horror. > [@](#): > > The U.S. has the most, 2.2 million people in jail How many people should be in jail assuming that you think 2.2 million is too many? > [@](#): > > Obama’s health-care legislation was opposed by too many Brainwashing if I’ve ever heard it. IF we weren’t the most brainwashed people, we all would have agreed to everything that was proposed, right? > [@](#): > > American media conglomerates tend to be leading global players, generating large profits The key word there is GLOBAL, that means everyone else brainwashed too. How much _should_ they earn if their profits are too _large_? > [@](#): > > United States spends about $692 billion annually to fund its military forces, constituting approximately 42 percent of world military expenditures > Iraq war (and many other wars, including CIA involvement) How again is this an example of brainwashing? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/18 "2010-05-25T12:36:56Z")
That’s corruption, not brainwashing. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/19 "2010-05-25T12:53:31Z")
I’d have to say as a whole Americans are brainwashed, fat and happy. I see what is happening because I look at everything from all angles and I’m a deep thinker. I question everything and always have but it doesn’t do me any good because I am just another bozo on the bus. I am just a speck of dust in the wind like everyone else. Jesus said, “My thoughts are not your thoughts”. He had a higher vision that mortals can not fathom. It isn’t our fault that we are fed crap food, and watch crap tv and live insulated lives so far from the truth that when we encounter truth it we recoil. Socialism looks like a good thing when all your needs are met and Apathy sets in. This is the culling time so enjoy it. The calm before the storm. I’m going to work in the garden today and get down and dirty with dirt. I came from it and will return to it. I am powerless to change the world but I see everything as it is in reality. There are a few of us left that have not been swallowed up. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have to see everything but I know God has a plan for me and that is what keeps me going. Btw- “No Man Is An Island”, is an awesome book! ---
**Author:** ![No\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@No\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685/20 "2010-05-25T12:58:10Z")
> [@JXJohns](#): > > How again is this an example of brainwashing? :rolleyes: If $292 billion is acceptable, you must be brainwashed. We accept too many stupidities. :smack: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-the-most-brainwashed-people-of-the-world/540685.md?page=2)