Thread by @carolynburjoski

Thread

I just listened to a local immigrant dad explain why he is concerned about his children's education.

This is his story about how his former government used propaganda, fear of job loss & social cancelling to gain control over the people:

@Sflecce @canpoli @wrdsb #WRDSB

State-funded media became the only source of information.

The 1st generation saw through the propaganda. They conformed when in public & only said what they really thought in hushed tones in their homes.

Image: Stay quiet! Watch your back. It's not far from chatter to treason.

The State indoctrinated the children to love the Communist Regime. From a young age, children chanted political slogans, waved flags & marched in celebration.

Image: Mid-century USSR text using military service, weapons & flags as the context for children's first reading text:

By time their mandatory 2 years of military service was expected of them (at age 18), the youth did not rebel. The regime could also draft anyone at any time. No one protested because that would be treason. The penalty: death or the Gulag. And the family would not be given a job.

The State owned all the land, industries & housing. Wages & prices were controlled by the State. The bureaucracy was huge and the more it grew, the more ineffective it became.

The government would then give you a "free" apartment based on what you "deserve" (how you cooperated).

Grandma was born in 1924 & hated the regime. Her parents had lost everything & were killed.

But Grandma did not educate her own daughter in critical thinking, since she was afraid of losing it all.

So the daughter (this man's mom) loved the regime.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black…

This new generation didn't understand where they had come from, or what had happened in their country's history.

The Adult's fear of the consequences of speaking up & the government's indoctrination of the school children led to a 180 degree flip in views within one generation!

This dad said, "Now come back to the present here in Canada. Just think about it. You have children who are a clean sheet of paper without any experience.

Imagine what one can do for better or for worse."

He concluded, "When there is nobody to criticize or question, when all non-conforming views are heavily silenced, when there is no widely available non-state media, change happens quickly.

We, immigrants, know this first-hand."

(At this point I had goosebumps.)

The lesson I learned from him is this:

Be humble, Canada. Don't think that this can't happen to us.
Be honest. Say what you really think.
Be brave. Sacrifice what you can for the future of the children.
Above all: Teach your children to think critically.
Now is the time to act