American Indoctrination

       “Everything has a purpose”. As an English major, I have heard this phrase many times. Whether it was in regards to a poem, a fictional story, or even an analysis of a movie, professors have told me on several occasions that nothing an author adds to the story is by accident. Even if it is a miniscule scene that seems unimportant to the plot but maybe significant to a character, the author placed every piece intentionally. Let’s apply this same logic to another system familiar to us. 

The American education system began when the colonists arrived in America and realized they wanted all citizens to read, write, and speak in English. They believed being educated would make them more civilized. Education became an important mission and all people went to school in shifts so as to continue working to earn a living at the same time. Another reason, a reason that has only become bigger as the years go by, is to indoctrinate the children. The immigrants coming to the Americas were from all over Europe, speaking Irish, Polish, German, Russian, Italian, French, English, Ukrainian, and Romanian. However, it was collectively decided that those in school should be taught English as a primary language and forget their native tongues. For some time, the Germans had their own language alive by teaching it but this operation was soon shut down as the government heavily enforced speaking and learning English in schools. 

As mentioned previously, there were plenty of immigrants who crossed the ocean to come to this land (as the Native Americans already existed here). Not many of them spoke English but they were colonized by the British. They decided that English should be the standard, national language and therefore they got to work to achieve this goal. However, while getting everyone to learn English, they would not allow for them to speak their native languages at all and frowned upon practices from their cultures. The image of the United States of America, the culture, and the language was to be reinvented without taking heavily from any specific European culture. 

With this being said, the best way the government deemed fit to push this agenda was through the school system. Everyone had to go through school and this is where the ideals of a new nation were enforced. The indoctrination of the American people continued in other forms as well such as hygiene, diet, clothing, and accentless English. A white, cultureless society was and still is pushed. Anything that was traditional or ethnic was shunned. The white cultural other has always been a minority and anything remotely traditional is considered backwards, uncivilized, or uneducated. 

In addition, the schooling system today still plays an active role in this goal. This is done through what is taught in schools: national pride and history. All countries teach their nation’s history in a positive light but the atrocities committed by the United States government are sometimes entirely erased from history to show the country as powerful and merciful. This brainwashing makes people believe that this country is innocent of harming so many groups of people or the idea that what they did was “not so bad”.

“Everything has a purpose”. As an English major, I have heard this phrase many times. Whether it was in regards to a poem, a fictional story, or even an analysis of a movie, professors have told me on several occasions that nothing an author adds to the story is by accident. Even if it is a miniscule scene that seems unimportant to the plot but maybe significant to a character, the author placed every piece intentionally. Let’s apply this same logic to another system familiar to us. 

The American education system began when the colonists arrived in America and realized they wanted all citizens to read, write, and speak in English. They believed being educated would make them more civilized. Education became an important mission and all people went to school in shifts so as to continue working to earn a living at the same time. 

Another reason, a reason that has only become bigger as the years go by, is to indoctrinate the children. The immigrants coming to the Americas were from all over Europe, speaking Irish, Polish, German, Russian, Italian, French, English, Ukrainian, and Romanian. However, it was collectively decided that those in school should be taught English as a primary language and forget their native tongues. For some time, the Germans had their own language alive by teaching it but this operation was soon shut down as the government heavily enforced speaking and learning English in schools. 

As mentioned previously, there were plenty of immigrants who crossed the ocean to come to this land (as the Native Americans already existed here). Not many of them spoke English but they were colonized by the British. They decided that English should be the standard, national language and therefore they got to work to achieve this goal. However, while getting everyone to learn English, they would not allow for them to speak their native languages at all and frowned upon practices from their cultures. The image of the United States of America, the culture, and the language was to be reinvented without taking heavily from any specific European culture. 

With this being said, the best way the government deemed fit to push this agenda was through the school system. Everyone had to go through school and this is where the ideals of a new nation were enforced. The indoctrination of the American people continued in other forms as well such as hygiene, diet, clothing, and accentless English. A white, cultureless society was and still is pushed. Anything that was traditional or ethnic was shunned. The white cultural other has always been a minority and anything remotely traditional is considered backwards, uncivilized, or uneducated. 

In addition, the schooling system today still plays an active role in this goal. This is done through what is taught in schools: national pride and history. All countries teach their nation’s history in a positive light but the atrocities committed by the United States government are sometimes entirely erased from history to show the country as powerful and merciful. This brainwashing makes people believe that this country is innocent of harming so many groups of people or the idea that what they did was “not so bad”. 

To conclude, the United States has been indoctrinating people from its formation, whether it be children or adults. Even today, children are being taught to love and defend this country from a very young age and when they become adults, they continue to be blinded by the sins of this country.

“Everything has a purpose”. As an English major, I have heard this phrase many times. Whether it was in regards to a poem, a fictional story, or even an analysis of a movie, professors have told me on several occasions that nothing an author adds to the story is by accident. Even if it is a miniscule scene that seems unimportant to the plot but maybe significant to a character, the author placed every piece intentionally. Let’s apply this same logic to another system familiar to us. 

The American education system began when the colonists arrived in America and realized they wanted all citizens to read, write, and speak in English. They believed being educated would make them more civilized. Education became an important mission and all people went to school in shifts so as to continue working to earn a living at the same time. 

Another reason, a reason that has only become bigger as the years go by, is to indoctrinate the children. The immigrants coming to the Americas were from all over Europe, speaking Irish, Polish, German, Russian, Italian, French, English, Ukrainian, and Romanian. However, it was collectively decided that those in school should be taught English as a primary language and forget their native tongues. For some time, the Germans had their own language alive by teaching it but this operation was soon shut down as the government heavily enforced speaking and learning English in schools. 

As mentioned previously, there were plenty of immigrants who crossed the ocean to come to this land (as the Native Americans already existed here). Not many of them spoke English but they were colonized by the British. They decided that English should be the standard, national language and therefore they got to work to achieve this goal. However, while getting everyone to learn English, they would not allow for them to speak their native languages at all and frowned upon practices from their cultures. The image of the United States of America, the culture, and the language was to be reinvented without taking heavily from any specific European culture. 

With this being said, the best way the government deemed fit to push this agenda was through the school system. Everyone had to go through school and this is where the ideals of a new nation were enforced. The indoctrination of the American people continued in other forms as well such as hygiene, diet, clothing, and accentless English. A white, cultureless society was and still is pushed. Anything that was traditional or ethnic was shunned. The white cultural other has always been a minority and anything remotely traditional is considered backwards, uncivilized, or uneducated. 

In addition, the schooling system today still plays an active role in this goal. This is done through what is taught in schools: national pride and history. All countries teach their nation’s history in a positive light but the atrocities committed by the United States government are sometimes entirely erased from history to show the country as powerful and merciful. This brainwashing makes people believe that this country is innocent of harming so many groups of people or the idea that what they did was “not so bad”. 

To conclude, the United States has been indoctrinating people from its formation, whether it be children or adults. Even today, children are being taught to love and defend this country from a very young age and when they become adults, they continue to be blinded by the sins of this country.  

To conclude, the United States has been indoctrinating people from its formation, whether it be children or adults. Even today, children are being taught to love and defend this country from a very young age and when they become adults, they continue to be blinded by the sins of this country.