Book Review--Manufacturing Delusion: How the Left Uses Brainwashing, Indoctrination and Propaganda Against You

Many of us might be surprised to learn that we experienced a collective psychosis in our response to Covid-19 a few years ago. But Buck Sexton, probably best known for the radio show he produces with Clay Travis, has set out to tell us that our time experiencing and responding to the Covid 19 pandemic was precisely that. He provides a fascinating explanation of mass delusion, drawing from his experience as a CIA agent, and compiling an extensive bibliography. And if his analysis is correct, we should be very worried about future efforts to brainwash, re-educate and re-condition our citizens when future crises occur.

Sexton provides a historical background for extensive indoctrination operations to show how they can permeate the minds of ordinary people. He describes how the animal experiments conducted by Ivan Pavlov in Russia were converted to learning how the entire human population could be controlled:

The suppression of private property and persecution of religion had profoundly shaken Russians’ nervous system, causing a mass neurotic ‘breakdown’ characterized by ‘tendencies to succumb to fantastic suggestions.’ Having always suffered from an imbalance between excitation and inhibition, Russians were now totally incapable of seeing things as they really were. Their reflexes 'are coordinated, not with reality, but with words.’

Around the same time, a Dutch scientist, Joose Meerloo, wrote a book entitled The Rape of the Mind, where he extensively described the nature of mind control and propaganda. One of the most devastating approaches was for the government to implement what he called menticide. This approach broke down and deconditioned the people, forced them to submit to the government’s demands and to then identify with the enemy, reconditioning them to a new order. The process had the effect of erasing the minds of the victims so that they could be manipulated at will.

Inherent in mind control is the need for submission, so brainwashing, propaganda and social media are used to condition people into yielding to the progressive agenda.

Another method of controlling minds is the threat of extinction. The threats of artificial intelligence create fear of technology and computers taking over our lives. The agenda of climate change has also created alarming fears among teenagers and young adults:

Sixteen- to twenty-five-year-olds across ten countries points to a massive cognitive hijacking: Fifty-nine percent of respondents were very—or extremely—worried about climate change. More than half reported each of the following emotions: sadness, anxiety, anger, powerlessness, helplessness, and guilt. Over 45 percent said climate-related emotions had an impact on their day-to-day functioning. Seventy-five percent said that they were frightened by the future.

Although there appear to be cracks in the climate campaign, even with the availability of current data, people are still reluctant to modify their beliefs.

One area where we see mass delusion multiplying is in response to the movement against illegal immigration. Although people profess to protest based on their compassion for the illegals and the abhorrent actions (greatly exaggerated) by ICE agents, their demands go much further. Joose Meerloo once again explains the compulsion of the crowd:

Meerloo writes of this desire to join the crowd: In exchange for giving up his individuality, he obtains some special gratifications: the feeling of belonging and of being protected, the sense of relief over losing his personal boundaries and responsibilities, the ecstasy of being taken up and absorbed in wild, uncontrolled collective feelings, the safety of being anonymous, of being merely a cog in the wheel of the all-powerful state.

To combat the many ways that we can be lured into these lies and this state of mind, Sexton offers a couple of suggestions:

As individuals, we can’t control technological advancement. So the best way to prepare for this coming cyber reality is to understand the tactics used to control our minds today and think, as we have in these pages, how to respond to the ways technology can deepen mental intrusions. The battle to maintain our psychological autonomy has only just begun.

He also offers an insightful observation from the 16^th century:

In the sixteenth century, Étienne de La Boétie wrote in his Discourse on Voluntary Servitude: You can deliver yourselves if you try, not by taking action, but merely by willing to be free. Resolve to serve no more, and you are at once freed. I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that you support him no longer; then you will behold him, like a great Colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away, fall of his own weight and break in pieces.

And finally, Sexton offers these heartfelt words:

Our minds and our souls are our greatest treasure; it is our duty to cherish and protect them. So fight for them, no matter what tricks or promises demons deploy.

This poignant statement reminds us that we live in times that are rampant with lies, deception, manipulation, pettiness, power and control issues.

We must fight back. There is no time to lose.