The Wave: Propaganda and the Young Mind

Our meeting topic for the July meeting, suggested by Stan, will center around the book "The Wave" by Todd Strasser, which is a fictionalized account of the "Third Wave" teaching experiment by Ron Jones that took place in a Cubberley High School history class in Palo Alto, California.

The experiment was designed to teach students about how easily people can be led to support practices that they might usually consider unappealing or even atrocious. This says much about the power of propaganda and how ideology can shape behavior. From Wikipedia's article on the "Third Wave Experiment":

"Jones, unable to explain to his students why the German citizens allowed the Nazi Party to exterminate millions of Jews and other so-called "undesirables", decided to show them instead. Jones started a movement called "The Third Wave" and convinced his students that the movement is to eliminate democracy. The fact that democracy emphasizes individuality was considered as a drawback of democracy, and Jones emphasized this main point of the movement in its motto: 'Strength through discipline, strength through community, strength through action, strength through pride'."
http://en.wikipedia.o...

The book is short - 138 pages - and multiple copies are available through the Carnegie. You can also probably find a used copy easily.

You can also read Ron Jones' account of his experiment here:
http://www.vaniercoll...

I think this will be an interesting segueway from our June discussion, which included the issue of "child abuse" and the maturity of adolescents. I think that this experiment drives home just how easily young minds can be shaped by ideology, and thus raises questions about what kinds of beliefs and practices they should be exposed to.

Of course, the impact of propaganda and ideology is not restricted to youth - it can twist the psyche of anyone, no matter their age. As secularists, we need to question where the line is between freedom of religious expression and practices that lead to indoctrination, brainwashing, and the violation of human rights.