Canadians are the most brainwashed people on Planet Earth
Richard Sanders piece has got me thinking. Are Canadians truly the most brainwashed people on Planet Earth?
Discuss.
The Canada Syndrome, a Captivating Mass Psychosis
See also
Yves Engler for more related writing.
I think a good case can be made.
Comments
well, yeah, I was trying to raise that as a general point. I mean, if Canadians are the MOST brainwashed, as I stupidly allege, then, therefore, I must, as a Canadian, be similarly .. .vicitimized.
And i certainly don't pretend to be smarter than the rest of you louts. heh.
Let's call the thread my "opening salvo". The Aurora fires once. It doesn't mean I'm correct. Just that I make an outrageous claim. And provoke debate. A Zizek moment.
The more general point, that the ruling ideas in a society are, well, the ideas of the ruling elites, and that, therefore, every discussion of ideas is a kind of warfare, in which either one side, or the other, prevails. And, so I argue, the other side is mostly ...
winning.
I think we have to acknowledge that. We're losing, and badly. And, that sort of truth is important to say. Unvarnished.
The other side, in the battle of ideas, is kicking our ass. And it's good to ask about that, what we might do to change that ...
Didn't Timebandit already disprove this?
http://rabble.ca/comment/1591216#comment-1591216
Furrfu.
na imv those who perpetually vote against their own best interests are suffering from a syndrome called upper class mentality
Canada itself is a fiction!
Thanks for starting this discussion ikosmos!
i'm honoured that you were inspired to do this because of my article: The Canada Syndrome, a Captivating Mass Psychosis.
Since writing that article (which is the introduction to Captive Canada) my thinking on this subject has evolved to a whole new level of skepticism about Canada.
I spent decades trying to debunk myths about Canada, I focused on various subnarratives under the general myth that Canada is a Peaceable Kingdom spreading wondrous "Canadian values" around the world, like multiculturalism, human rights, democracy, peace, etc etc
Now I can see that biggest myth of all is Canada itself. Canada itself is a myth!
Yes I know that if I look at a map or my passport or our money and postage stamps, I can see that Canada is here, on the ground, occupying this space, with its name written everywhere in large flashing print and declaring its existence for all to see and accept as real.
But does the declaration and repetition of a fiction make it a reality? Actually, no it doesn't. This does not make Canada real.
Just because a billion people say something is true, that does not make it true.
What is truth, what is reality when it comes to the existence of countries? What makes them real? Who has the authority to create a country, or a national identity?
If i take a flag and a cross and stick them in the ground somewhere and declare it a country does that make it real?
No because i am just a schmuck. But what if some king and some pope had sent me out as an emissary to plant the flag and cross and declare their dominion over it? And then they said it was a sovereign country, and all their lawyers agreed, and all the schools and writers and preachers across the land said it was true that this country existed and of course regular folk brought up to believe in this fairy tale all came to agree that this version of reality was accurate.
Would that make it real? No, sorry, that would not make it real. It is still based on a fiction, a deception, a confidence scheme.
The thing is that all of the people involved in the scheme may themselves believe it. They are not lying or trying to trick people. It is such a huge lie that massive institutions prop it up and they are filled with people who actually believe the fiction is true.
Sure, Canada exists on paper, and in the minds of people, but here's the thing. The fact is that it is all based on fiction. It is a fabrication.
It is an officially and widely-held belief. Does that make it real? Real in what sense?
Not only is Canada based on a "legal fiction," it's based on religious fiction and political fiction.
These are fictions or untruths that are accepted as if they were real in order to fulfill some other purpose that is of benefit to those who hold the fiction to be true. Actually, with a legal fiction, those using these fictions in court are supposed to know they are fictions and tht they are merely pretending they are real, like the fiction that corporations are people, or that Canada is made up of "crown land."
Now I'm not saying Canada is unique in this kind of national delusion. Other nations are similarly based on fictions: legal, political and religious. And I'm not saying Canada is the worse case of this peculiar psychosis.
As a result of my new perception that Canada itself is a fiction, I have to wonder who or what I am.
Sure, on paper, I'm a Cdn, but my sense of identity does not include being a Cdn. I don't think of myself as Cdn.
It's hard to explain and i'm still working it out. I'm very curious to know what other folks here think. I am now finishing up a new issue of Press for Conversion called "Fictive Canada" which focuses on Indigenous issues, slavery and various forms of fiction from Papal Bulls and royal decrees, to history books and the daily news. It will be ready for early 2017 (Canada's big birthday).
The more general point, that the ruling ideas in a society are, well, the ideas of the ruling elites, and that, therefore, every discussion of ideas is a kind of warfare, in which either one side, or the other, prevails. And, so I argue, the other side is mostly ...
winning.
I think we have to acknowledge that. We're losing, and badly. And, that sort of truth is important to say. Unvarnished.
Your side - Putin's side - is winning. I acknowledge that its alliance with the nationalist far right in many countries is indeed winning, by making the battle about something other than ideas and facts. Congratulations.
Fortunately, indigenous rights acvtivsts and feminists and others will continue to struggle.
richard if you go by your stated basis of perceptions then all countries of the world are a myth and a confidence scheme not just Canada.
you could be right but what does it matter? countries exist people exist within those countries and Canada too.
would one mythological world be better?
Ths sad part is that ikosmos is quoting Marx on ideology, though Marx wanted victory for the downtrodden. I've ordered a new biography of Karl Marx's youngest daughter, Eleanor, who was a remarkable radical socialist writer and activist, and one of the foremothers of socialist feminism - I discovered that it is in the Montréal library system (the system is named "Nelligan" after the poet) and we can order books from other branches now.
All nation-states are fictions to some extent; like all others in the Americas, Canada rests on the cultural and sometimes physical genocide of Indigenous populations, as well as "La Conquête" with the ensuing national oppression of francophone populations. But I wouldn't say it "doesn't exist", of course it does, in the primal form of "bodies of armed men". And bolstered by the underpinnings of ideology, as in other nation-states, an ideology that evolves according to current needs. But I'm sure that Richard Sanders has already written that or something similar, though I haven't had time to read through his accounts yet.
OK, I will admit that the well documented public surveys indicating that Filipinos love the USA more than they love their own country could be some strong counter evidence. But, what with the popularity of the current "strong man", who seems to be very good at tweaking the nose of the Obama Emperor, things may be changing there ...
More argument in favour: the microscopic, sectarian, fratricidal left in Canada, seemingly smaller than a flea on the backside of a rhino, could be drawn attention to as evidence of an inculcated mass stupidity, false consciousness, etc.
Yes, I know, our "American" cousins usually are put forward as the prize winners here. But, be honest. Given the overwhelming mass media from the USA, swamping Canadian content, Isn't it true that many Canadians sound confused when legal and cultural questions come up in public life? As in, they are confused about which country they're in? They think US law is Canadian law, etc. ?
Yup. I think we're winning the race. Totally.
Why do you come on here to insult us?
By the way, what you affirm isn't even true where I live.
What are you talking about? I'm Canadian. It's a critique, or lament. As I'm sure you are aware, there is a long history of "laments for Canada".
However, if it's true, then everyone knows that acknowledging a serious problem is the first step to solving it.
I think a good case can be made. At least in RoC and not Quebec. Prove me wrong.
I've read George Grant. You, sir, are no George Grant.
Bahahahahaha..yeah right. If any country is 'brainwashed' it's that shithole to the south of us.
Most, if not all, countries and socio-economic systems brainwash the people, or attempt to do so. It is called the ruling ideology. Nowadays abetted by publicity.
This thread is pathetic. Say what you will about Canadians but we are far more informed than our American neighbours. There's no debate about it.
Um. Brainwashing is not, so far as I know, country-specific. Some people are capable of critical thought, in each country. I would even go so far as to venture that not all Americans are stupid (but that's just because I know some Americans).
(* Types, deletes. *)
The brainwashing of America. How billionaires brainwashed America.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWnz_clLWpc
BTW, the vast majority of Americans are stupid. Case in point,President Donald Trump. And I say this as someone who knows a lot of Americans.
What determines if people are brainwashed, uneducated, or stupid? What is the metric we are using to judge people? I am just wondering, it might be easier to stereotype and label people if we were all on the same theory or principal?
I think Americans are not well educated and are bombarded by a never ending stream of propaganda. Canadians are better educated. Only 30% of Canadians are stupid. Compare that wit at least 50% of Americans. Europeans are even more educated than Canadians.
What is your metric for that statement? How are only 30% Canadian's stupid?
30% of Canadians are far right Conservatives. Hence,stupid.
Oh I see. What about the 40-50% of the population that don’t align themselves with a political party? How do you judge them
Certainly smarter than the 30% that vote Tory.
BTW,where do you get that 40% number?
Sorry, I was using the average stats from the 2008 and 2011 elections. In 2015 only 32% of the population did not vote.
OK..and of the 68% that did vote,30% went Tory,39% Liberal and 31% went Green,NDP,Bloc and all other sub sets.
So 15-20% of Canadians are stupid.
I'm an old gauchiste, and here there is someone calling me a running cat of imperialism (hard for lagatta to be a running dog). I guess the best thing, after many travails, is to simply have a good laugh.
A golden oldie: Neither Wall Street nor the Kremlin!
I think it would be fascinating if just one time, someone would follow the familiar "we're all brainwashed" or "mass marketers rule our lives" or "we're all just displaying false consciousness" or whatever with some FIRST PERSON discussion of this brainwashing and mind control and false consciousness.
But in over a decade here, all I've ever seen is assertions that OTHERS are brainwashed. It's like gathering your family together and saying "we, as a family, are very dysfunctional... except me. Discuss."
well, yeah, I was trying to raise that as a general point. I mean, if Canadians are the MOST brainwashed, as I stupidly allege, then, therefore, I must, as a Canadian, be similarly .. .vicitimized.
And i certainly don't pretend to be smarter than the rest of you louts. heh.
Let's call the thread my "opening salvo". The Aurora fires once. It doesn't mean I'm correct. Just that I make an outrageous claim. And provoke debate. A Zizek moment.
The more general point, that the ruling ideas in a society are, well, the ideas of the ruling elites, and that, therefore, every discussion of ideas is a kind of warfare, in which either one side, or the other, prevails. And, so I argue, the other side is mostly ...
winning.
I think we have to acknowledge that. We're losing, and badly. And, that sort of truth is important to say. Unvarnished.
The other side, in the battle of ideas, is kicking our ass. And it's good to ask about that, what we might do to change that ...
Get rid of abusive posters, for one thing.
Get rid of abusive posters, for one thing.