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evergreen
I found that recently the SGI has been focusing on Brazil. Although, the USA national leaders say that they have the members that are best connected the "heart of their mentor." Recently at a large youth meeting the leaders showed clips of SGI Brazil and their thousands of youth at a convention - crazed out of their minds, crying because they felt connected to their mentor in life. The youth leaders then said something about how the youth of Brazil were leading the way for all of us, then tried to make a connection that the American youth needed to match Brazil's fervor for kosen-rufu, etc.
And here's another charismatic leader who focused on getting the youth to help him achieve his goals:
------------From the Rick Ross archives, "Brainwashing" page------------------------------------------------
Nazi brainwashing started with Germany's youths
The Tuscon Citizen/August 15, 2006
By Peggy Larson
Hitler proved it. A government or other organized entity can have a profound influence on what people believe and how they act on those beliefs. Particularly is this true for young people. An award-winning book for teenagers and adults provides proof in the chilling "Hitler Youth: Growing Up In Hitler's Shadow" (Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Scholastic, 2005).
The author relates information regarding the means that the Nazi party used to mold the German youth through popular youth organizations, special activities, propaganda, and appeals to support their fatherland. The defeat and consequences the German people had suffered at the end of World War I left a citizenry anxious to regain pride in their country and a more favorable economic future. Hitler and the Nazi party provided them with hope and a cause to embrace with total commitment.
One of the many means the Nazi party used to influence young people was the organization known as the Hitler Youth, officially formed in 1926 with 6,000 members. In a mere 13 years, this and related organizations, including those for young women, influenced a generation of teens and preteens to an unbelievable degree. By 1939 when Germany invaded Poland, Hitler Youth membership totaled 7.3 million and its ranks had contributed greatly to the formidable German Army.
And she quotes another author, Karl Paetel, stating that the Nazis, "rode to power on the shoulders of politically active youth."
Hitler stated, "My magnificent youngsters! Are there finer ones anywhere in the world? What material! With them I can make a new world."
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And again -- look at brain science! Cognitive scientists know that the human brain is NOT finished developing at eighteen. The part of the brain that does critical thinking and assesses risks generally does not finish maturing until
the mid-twenties! Eighteen-year olds make better soldiers than thirty-year olds...the younger soldiers will tend to believe that they are immortal, and nothing is going to happen to them. Older soldiers are much more aware of the risks they're taking -- and to ask, "Is this really worth it?"
And of course there are other reasons, social and practical, as well. You get older, you've got kids to raise, bills to pay. You hear some new idea, and you're thinking, "Yeah, sure, that's fine, but my kid needs new shoes, and the roof leaks."
People also want "internal consistency." If you've done things in a certain way for years, it's harder to change habits. Changing habits and attitudes can also mean admitting that the way you did it before was wrong, something that people don't like to do -- this means that you're not being consistent with yourself, something that can be unsettling to a person.
Advertisers know this well. I read once that if a person doesn't smoke by the age of 21, the odds are very low that he or she EVER will smoke. No, marketers, cult leaders, Army commanders, and religious leaders know: Get 'em when they're young! Changing the old farts' minds can be done, but it's a lot more work.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2009 01:08AM by tsukimoto.