The Use Of Censorship On The Human Brain - 1378 Words

Brainwashing refers to the techniques systematically used to alter a person’s beliefs by using some sort of pressure on the human brain. This technique can be shown in the period right before the peak of the Cold War in the 1950s when the threat of Communism was becoming ever so real. By the thousands, American citizens gained an allegiance to Marxist ideologies and anti-capitalist doctrines. This can be shown in Communist government’s use of censorship of material to â€Å"brainwash† its people, especially subjects pertaining to capitalism. First used in the 1950s during the Korean War, brainwashing was used to describe the methods on how Chinese Communists influenced the actions of their prisoners. This can best be explained by†¦show more content†¦The interrogator would then lightly question the prisoner, who would be unwittingly collaborating with the Chinese, to make a list of some â€Å"problems† with America. This type of foreign coercive p ersuasion used by the Chinese Communist party became more and more outright through the prisoners’ stay at the â€Å"re-education† camps. The physical impacts of Chinese brainwashing were minimal, as the only intention of the Chinese was to convert as many people as possible to the Communist orthodoxy. The concept of brainwashing was key as esteemed psychologist Edward Hunter stated that â€Å"The United States of America is the main battlefield†¦and the people and the soil and the resources of the United States† (Weiner 1). In this quote, he warned the American people not to be influenced by the upcoming threat of Communist manipulation. His primary reason for making this statement was his first-hand experience regarding Mao Zedong’s China. The Korean conflict brought no end to American paranoia as many free American citizens had been arrested and accused of being â€Å"enemies of the state† in Communist China. Many of these convicted America ns then went through a series of rigorous interrogations intended to guilt trip the person into thinking that he/she was the aggressor to the victims in China or North Korea. Furthermore,