Topic > Brainwashing: Fact versus Fiction - 1078

Brainwashing could be explained through two opposing claims: first, by social traditions that have been victimized by authoritarian regimes, and second, by political opponents who They respond to certain fiascos that contradict their religious and political beliefs by claiming that their citizens are victims of brainwashing or thought reform. The reason brainwashing is an inaccurate phrase is because POWs tend to claim to have been brainwashed so as not to be held responsible for revealing classified information, no scientific experiment has found evidence to measure how this is done brainwashing and many people may not. They are not brainwashed against their will. Many scientists, as a result, argue that studies on brainwashing are useless because it is a propaganda technique used by powerful state leaders to manipulate and control citizens under their authority. Let's compare today's Germany with Nazi Germany (1932-45). Although the personal lives of Germans were totally controlled under Hitler's rule, today they have fully recovered into a peace-loving democratic state. There are many reasons to think that, first, many Germans perceive the Holocaust and the Hitler era as a shame for the German nation: "The Holocaust fills us with shame," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany after 1945 managed to overcome the terror of Nazi control and accept the return to Germany of approximately 190,000 Jews. Second, Germany's continued support for the formation of the State of Israel (helping its economy and military strength), analysis according to which brainwashing is only a temporary technique that fades over time, according to Kathleen Taylor, “a State which expects its citizens to be politically sophisticated,...... middle of paper......es like, persuasion, influence, propaganda that affects a certain individual or group is defined only by the psychologist as free will. The following essay concludes, however, that the real victims of mind control are those who were exposed to unethical experiments during authoritarian regimes and the Cold War period. Works Cited Bowart, W. (1978). Operation mind control. USA: Dell Publication Co., Inc. Merkel, A. (2008, March 18). Merkel admits Germany's 'Holocaust shame'. CNN. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/03/18/germania.israel/Persinger, M. A. (1938). Religious and mystical experiences as artifacts of temporal lobe function: A general hypothesis. Percept Mot Skills, 57(3 Pt 2), 1255-62http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6664802Taylor, K. (2004). Brainwashing. University of Oxford: Oxford University Press.