How did we the people, in the words of Paul Craig Roberts, become insouciant "sheeple"?
One could write a book on the subject, but here for the sake of brevity, let's look at some of the more salient, contributing factors.
First and foremost, ending the military draft in 1973 after we left Viet Nam. The impact of this factor cannot be overstated.
At the height of the Viet Nam war by 1967 and on into the early 70's, resistance, defiance, protests and demonstrations on college campuses nationwide against the government's war was the order of the day.
Maybe it wasn't a majority, for sure there was Nixon's "silent majority" and the "Love it or leave it crowd" that wrapped themselves in the flag, but this was a nationwide movement against war.
So what has happened since?
By ending the draft, a large segment of the population, college age men (and now women) that were at the heart of the Viet Nam war resistance, ever since '73 have no personal stake in resisting our wars.
The powers that be realized they didn't want to face such resistance to war again and in one fell swoop easily passed legislation ending the draft which effectively ended any major resistance to the government's waging war.
But certainly there are other factors at play. In an evolving process over time, factors working in concert contribute to where we are today:
Indoctrination-starting in elementary school, "Pledge of Allegiance", national anthem, "God Bless America", America the beautiful et al then reinforced with
"Enemies", America needs enemies, Communism, terrorism, demonization, Fidel Castro, Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, now Russia's Vladimir Putin, Syria's Bashar Assad, Iran
Fear-Communists, terrorists, 9/11, Islamaphobia, illegal immigrants, with dissent = traitor
Security-"Homeland Security", militarization of police, extol the military "working in defense of our freedom", "Support the Troops", militarism, drone strikes, even torture
MSM-complicit enabler of the government, extolling triumphalism, reinforcing the indoctrination, propaganda, fear, demand for "security"
Consumerism-marketing, beyond all need, the corporate takeover and mallization of America
Distractions-latest electronic gadgetry, Smart phones, texting, games, movies
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