This is one of my favorite articles I’ve written. Short and to the point.
Brainwashing Our Children
By Devon White
Every child, in every culture, is the inheritor of the customs and culture of its ancestors. We raise our children to be more or less like us. If we use toilet paper, so do they. If we use our left hands to wipe, we’ll all be shaking with the right.
In another sense, we brainwash our children. We train them, hypnotize them, or “mold” them in the Montessori way. This enculturation is so ubiquitous and so pervasive, that for most people it goes unnoticed. The fact of the matter is we have been brainwashed to ignore the practice of brainwashing.
For years, people have feared and/or scoffed developments and interest in brain technology and brain programming. Words like “brainwashing” have been wholly abused and misrepresented to such a point that the concept of knowing and learning how to use your brain is considered odd by many people.
Our most natural behaviors have been demonized and condemned. It is time to reclaim our language and our natural tendency to shape the minds of young and old alike. It is time to brainwash…out in the open.
Be proud my friends. Say it with me…
“Hi. My name is (fill in your name) and I am brainwashing my child to use toilet paper.”
“I am programming my daughter to be a Christian.”
“I am hypnotizing my son to speak English.”
This kind of frankness will do wonders for a widespread understanding of the human mind. Not only can it help us manage our responsibilities in the formation of our children and their worlds, but it can also enable us to direct our behavior with more honesty and intention. Above all it can keep us aware of the many, different realities that can and do exist within each of us.
When it comes to raising children, remember, we make the grass green, or blue, or whatever color we choose. We are responsible for establishing the foundation of our children’s reality. So enjoy. And may you encounter tools useful for the creation of truly great realities.
