Ah, patriotic education. This sounds very familiar to this child of the Soviet Union. Worked out great for that country! https://twitter.com/politico/status/1301006958208716800

If there is one thing that always works in making one love his motherland it's being told by authority figures day in and day out how wonderful, great, exceptional and just it is, in the face of most available evidence.

Yep, being taught Politinformatsiya in schools surely made us not notice food lines, shitty clothing, the fact that we only had two TV channels, inability to travel to most countries, and the fact that Germany, the country we beat in the war, was a paradise compared to ours...

Likewise, I'm sure a DeShaun or a Shakia in the Baltimore ghetto are only a couple of Patriotic Education classes away from truly appreciating how just and full of opportunities America is for them. They will walk out of their inner city schools full of appreciation and gratitude

Of course, once the cognitive dissonance reached the tipping point and all of us, and we finally saw that we were lied about some things, it didn't take much to make us stop believing everything. And so, we went to stand in front of tanks. And the country died...

Always run, don't walk, from people who tell you they can teach you and your children how to love the Motherland. They are always, without exception, the worst monsters you will face.