Why the Rest of the World Thinks Americans Are Brainwashed

From the YouTube webpage:

What if the most effective propaganda isn't on a poster or a state-run news channel, but in the songs you sang as a kid, the history class you sat through, and the pledge you recited before you could even spell it? How much of what Americans believe about their own country is actually true, and how much of it was carefully engineered to keep you from asking that question?

As someone who's lived in over a dozen countries and spent a decade studying cults, dogma, and thought control, I started noticing patterns in American culture that people overseas find absolutely bizarre, but most Americans never question because they've been marinating in it since birth. From an America-centric education system that barely acknowledges the rest of the world, to Cold War binary thinking that still shuts down policy debates today, to the "Land of the Free" myth that crumbles under even a casual glance at the data, we're breaking down seven forms of propaganda most Americans don't even realize they grew up with.

We'll explore CIA-backed coups against democratically elected leaders like Mohammad Mosaddegh in Iran, Jacobo Árbenz in Guatemala, and Salvador Allende in Chile. We'll look at why the U.S. ranks 57th in press freedom, how "Under God" and "In God We Trust" were Cold War marketing decisions (not founding principles), and why the Treaty of Tripoli explicitly stated America was not founded as a Christian nation. We'll examine a military budget larger than the next ten countries combined, the Princeton study showing average Americans have "near-zero" impact on policy, and why the concept of American exceptionalism functions less as a belief and more as a social enforcement mechanism designed to silence dissent.

Chapters:

0:00 - Introduction

1:26 - US-Centric Education

2:43 - The Cold War Binary

5:47 - The Land of the Free Myth

9:05 - The Military Budget

10:40 - The Pledge of Allegiance

12:24 - The Christian Nation Myth

14:25 - American Exceptionalism

Wow !
447k subscribers to that channel.

They can't be Americans; must be from other countries.

Brainwashing has been going on since forever. Here's one of the first recorded examples (7^th century BCE):

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The Book of the Law Found - Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. He did

"My tax collectors need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings"

Yeah, right.

"I have found the book of the law in the temple of the Lord"

Yeah, right.

Political propaganda is everywhere.

The implication is that it’s only the US that does this, but I’m skeptical that this is the case.

1 hour ago, MigL said:

Wow !
447k subscribers to that channel.

They can't be Americans; must be from other countries.

Not sure why; I’m not a subscriber but I’m in the US and aware of the story behind “In God We Trust” and “Under God” from the cold war, the Christian nation nonsense, Land of the Free issues (e.g. “What to the Slave is the 4th of July” by Frederick Douglass, and CRT, though not the perversion of it by MAGA), military budget, etc. US education is US-centric, but I imagine all countries emphasize their own history in education and have propaganda (we had a recent thread that touched on this happening in the UK). The whitewashing can be countered by going beyond what you learn in grade school (more education, and reading on your own)

I concur. There are variations in other countries for sure. There are some differences for which there are reasons (e.g. education in Germany acknowledges other European countries more due to shared history and, at times, territories), but at least had been to other issues (e.g., the way colonialism is addressed was certainly fairly one-sided or even absent for some countries). The cold war had of course an entirely different perspective and impact, depending on in which region you were from. It is also not unique that countries have grand (and whitewashed) narrative about themselves. I will say that the one in the USA seems to be taken less critically especially in relation to the exceptionalism part. But again, I do see similar mechanisms elsewhere, under different guises and sometimes with somewhat different purposes.

But in many cases this all falls more or less under the umbrella of social coherence and assimilation. One important aspect that US society has, at least as an ideal, is the relative ease to be accepted as a full American, regardless of your ethnic background, if you are in line with these concepts . It is a bit like patriotic chest pumping that makes you part of the in-group. In Europe it can be more difficult to become part of the social fabric because these concepts are often also tied with your heritage/ethnic background and are less superficial (and hence, harder to get accepted into). I.e. I see it as a different flavour that is perhaps a bit more obnoxious to non-Americans, but not really something unique as the description seems to suggest.

Edit: reflecting on the title of the video specifically ("Why the Rest of the World Thinks Americans Are Brainwashed"), is because they want to feel smug and ignore their own particular brand of brainwashing. The US is a bit obnoxious and extroverted about that, compared to other countries and right now the USA is fracturing at its seams. At the same time, and perhaps uncomfortably so, Europe is experiencing its own issues, including the challenges with breaking from the USA, and considering them brainwashed just makes things easier (and hey, we are enlightened, so we can ignore all those far-right Russian-friendly parties in or near the seats of power).

Yes, I suspect all countries have some kind of semi-mythical self-image, reflected in songs, poems, art and sculpture. Britain, or before that England, certainly does. Hundreds of years of self-regarding pomposity, in fact. No one can escape some degree of unconscious national bias.

In the case of the States, I am sceptical of the more conspiracy-minded assertions in the OP, regarding the motives. It is natural to want to take pride in what you think is good about your country and celebrate it. We all do it.

Of course there are blind spots, which perhaps only a historian, or someone who has lived overseas for a while and then returned, may become aware of. In the case of the US the glaringly obvious one is to do with slavery, in the midst of all the pompous celebration of freedom and all men being equal. But one should not throw out the baby with the bathwater. There has been much to be proud of as well.

Edited 4 hours ago4 hr by exchemist

24 minutes ago, exchemist said:

In the case of the States, I am sceptical of the more conspiracy-minded assertions in the OP, regarding the motives. It is natural to want to take pride in what you think is good about your country and celebrate it. We all do it.

I think the form is that many Europeans notice. It is weird to have the American flag in residential homes for example or regular proclaiming to be the best country, national hymns at sport events, pledge of allegiance and so on. I suspect it comes over as willful lack of self-reflection, whereas other countries at least have the decency to pretend to do so.

28 minutes ago, exchemist said:

n the midst of all the pompous celebration of freedom and all men being equal.

With a focus on "men".

28 minutes ago, exchemist said:

But one should not throw out the baby with the bathwater. There has been much to be proud of as well.

That part is currently also weaponized by European far right parties, especially in Germany. I.e. framing it as lack of pride in German history, and diminishing the role of Nazi Germany in the glorious (and fake) 1000-year history of Germany.

I spent many evenings ( in my 20s and 30s ) in bars and clubs of Western New York; had many friends there, and it felt like home, but ...

25 minutes ago, CharonY said:

I suspect it comes over as willful lack of self-reflection, whereas other countries at least have the decency to pretend to do so

I get the impression that Americans are self-absorbed, and don't ( or don't want to ) realize that there is a whole big world outside their country.
Ask any Canadian or European, and they'll be able to name all States and capitals of the US.
Ask any American and they won't know how many provinces Canada has, or the founding members of NATO, or even what the Gulf of America was previously called ...

44 minutes ago, CharonY said:

I think the form is that many Europeans notice. It is weird to have the American flag in residential homes for example or regular proclaiming to be the best country, national hymns at sport events, pledge of allegiance and so on. I suspect it comes over as willful lack of self-reflection, whereas other countries at least have the decency to pretend to do so.

With a focus on "men".

That part is currently also weaponized by European far right parties, especially in Germany. I.e. framing it as lack of pride in German history, and diminishing the role of Nazi Germany in the glorious (and fake) 1000-year history of Germany.

Yeah but…if you talk to a Frenchman in Normandy, he will admit Americans have their good points. 🙂

Germany didn’t exist as a country until the c.19th, of course. England has existed for 1000years, but that’s probably only because we are on an island.

53 minutes ago, MigL said:

I spent many evenings ( in my 20s and 30s ) in bars and clubs of Western New York; had many friends there, and it felt like home, but ...

I get the impression that Americans are self-absorbed, and don't ( or don't want to ) realize that there is a whole big world outside their country.
Ask any Canadian or European, and they'll be able to name all States and capitals of the US.
Ask any American and they won't know how many provinces Canada has, or the founding members of NATO, or even what the Gulf of America was previously called ...

Yeah also Americans also think as States as hugely diverse entities, comparable to Europe and it it was difficult to explain to them that no, just because they are next to each other France and Germany have very different identities and it is not really comparable to differences between, say, Louisiana and Michigan.

42 minutes ago, exchemist said:

Yeah but…if you talk to a Frenchman in Normandy, he will admit Americans have their good points.

Hmm hard to say. Beyond the aftermath of WWII and during the cold war there was always some ambivalence towards USA among the French and there had been of course various tensions because of war in Iraq and other issues. I would be surprised if they are not at an all time low right now, though. But of course, almost every non-autocratic nation has bad relationship with the USA right now.

A bit related to that point it is also interesting how different generations of Europeans have assessed the role of the Allies over time and especially how the US sees themselves (which goes to MigL's point).

48 minutes ago, exchemist said:

Germany didn’t exist as a country until the c.19th, of course.

Some historians argue that the idea of German identity started even later than that. The unification of 1871 followed significant efforts to build a national identity but in many ways was more structural than a true identity and there was a lot conflict between various groups (e.g., protestants vs catholics, Bavarian nationalist against everyone else and so on).

While there have been nationalist movements in the 19th century predating that, they generally had limited traction and arguably only stabilized in shape somewhere in the 20th century using a "voelkisch", i.e. ethno-racial sense of identity. The Nazis (the original version as well as the current diet-version) use this idea of a German Volk to project the identity well into the past, before these notions existed in that form.

51 minutes ago, CharonY said:

Yeah also Americans also think as States as hugely diverse entities, comparable to Europe and it it was difficult to explain to them that no, just because they are next to each other France and Germany have very different identities and it is not really comparable to differences between, say, Louisiana and Michigan.

Hmm hard to say. Beyond the aftermath of WWII and during the cold war there was always some ambivalence towards USA among the French and there had been of course various tensions because of war in Iraq and other issues. I would be surprised if they are not at an all time low right now, though. But of course, almost every non-autocratic nation has bad relationship with the USA right now.

A bit related to that point it is also interesting how different generations of Europeans have assessed the role of the Allies over time and especially how the US sees themselves (which goes to MigL's point).

Some historians argue that the idea of German identity started even later than that. The unification of 1871 followed significant efforts to build a national identity but in many ways was more structural than a true identity and there was a lot conflict between various groups (e.g., protestants vs catholics, Bavarian nationalist against everyone else and so on).

While there have been nationalist movements in the 19th century predating that, they generally had limited traction and arguably only stabilized in shape somewhere in the 20th century using a "voelkisch", i.e. ethno-racial sense of identity. The Nazis (the original version as well as the current diet-version) use this idea of a German Volk to project the identity well into the past, before these notions existed in that form.

Oh sure the French are distinctly ambivalent towards the US, resenting particularly the "cultural imperialism" of American film etc. And of course now de Gaulle's suspicions about the long term reliability of the USA have been amply vindicated. But one should give the past its due. Visiting Normandy one is left in no doubt of the debt of gratitude felt for American commitment and sacrifice in liberating France. And rightly so.

1 hour ago, exchemist said:

Oh sure the French are distinctly ambivalent towards the US, resenting particularly the "cultural imperialism" of American film etc. And of course now de Gaulle's suspicions about the long term reliability of the USA have been amply vindicated. But one should give the past its due. Visiting Normandy one is left in no doubt of the debt of gratitude felt for American commitment and sacrifice in liberating France. And rightly so.

I think touches a thing in the American psyche that I have noticed. There is often not a lot of space for nuance. Europeans do recognize American contributions, but they see the good as well as the bad. Many Americans on the other hand tend to have more black and white view on things and the current government exemplifies that to an ugly degree.