Of course you’re right Toni. We just have to look at neurolinguistic programming (NLP)… an entire science devoted to “brainwashing” (behavioral conditioning). I even read this curious book once about brainwashing in the church. When I learned about NLP, I was surprised to find that the techniques in the book were all NLP techniques.

As for tv’s, while were talking about them — the reason I don’t have one, aside from political issue, is because they cause our brainwaves to change from Beta, which indicate alertness and conscious attention, to alpha, indicating an unfocused, suggestive state.

Also, they cause our body to release opiates into the brain — which makes tv desirable, while making us want to pursue “more pleasure” (more opiates, then even more opiates…) Video games do the same thing. In fact, there are some games out there designed specifically to induce the production of opiates, which is why some kids will play them for 30 hours straight. I bet you computers do the same thing too (release opiates), but at least with this fancy machine (which was given to me ;D ) I can control the content and be somewhat productive.

Here’s another good example of misleading “press” that I got today:
http://www.premier.gov.on.ca/news/Product.asp?ProductID=2353&Lang=EN

The Boreal bird group that sent it to me counted it as a victory in protecting species and habitat, but you don’t have to read it too carefully to see that it’s really about mining and loggig development not protection. Given the history of provincial and federal governments working with First Nations to develop resource plans (e.g. Barriere Lake, elsewhere on this site), this is nothing but a facade hiding the real objective.

“Mind control” is always an interesting discussion because in a way, as individuals, we are almost always trying to sway someone else to our view of things, whether it’s which team has the better defense or who’s “right” on some political issue. Corporations, politicians, religious leaders, teachers, and car salesmen are always engaged in influencing the way others think.

That’s for sure. Most people would be shocked to know just how pervasive it is. Not only the games we play on each other, but on ourselves aswell. How few of our thoughts are really original, how we are tied to a social and intellectual framework that blinds us from everything on the outside — making anything that doesn’t fit “impossible” and “unbelievable”; or how authority figures in this society, like cops and doctors, get first-hand training in how to control situations and prey on conditioned responses (eg, when we see a red light, we respond by stopping.) There’s alot of stuff like this.

Getting back to what you mentioned about how we trick each other, have you ever heard of logical fallacies, Ainslie? They’re ‘tools’ that we often use to win arguments or to get what we want. An example of a fallacy is “you’re with us or your with the terrorists,” or, say you have a friend with a drug problem and you confront him on it. He responds,” you’re one to talk;” or some silly racist says “all natives are drunks…”

It’s good to understand these fallacies and how to ‘counter’ them; not just to win arguments, but so we don’t get distracted and so we can truely address issues. I think this is especially important in the case of indigenous people, because our issues are about needs — but “the right” only talk about wants… telling us that our needs our wants, and that their wants are our needs. It’s happening all over the place.

ps, thanks for pointing out the movies. I might have a couple more to add on, but I got to go through them first.

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-5631882395226827730

“Mind control” is always an interesting discussion because in a way, as individuals, we are almost always trying to sway someone else to our view of things, whether it’s which team has the better defense or who’s “right” on some political issue. Corporations, politicians, religious leaders, teachers, and car salesmen are always engaged in influencing the way others think.

A (scary) film that documents the deliberate manipulation of public thinking in favor of mass consumerism (and therefore fosters mass production of consumer goods and profits for manufacturers) is “Zeitgeist”.
http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/ It’s about more than consumerism, but that’s a piece of a larger picture that’s quite frightening.

A shorter, more succinct explanation is Annie Leonard’s “Story of Stuff”: http://www.storyofstuff.com/