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Stepford
Citizen Syndrome: Top Ten Signs Your Neighbor is Brainwashed
September 5, 2002
By Maureen Farrell
 Though
much of the world is convinced the 2000 election was a coup
d'etat, and many believe we're being lied to regarding 9/11,
we Americans are unaware of how numb we seem. Not only are
we being coerced into World War III, but at this very moment,
unnamed souls are secretly locked away, the Army's drafted
plans for civilian detention camps and there's a shadow government
buzzing beneath our streets. And yet, we continue to ignore
the oily elephant in the living room.
The administration's Iraq war dance is likewise baffling,
particularly when Dick Cheney says Saddam can't be trusted
- even though, not too long ago, he was trusted to the tune
of $73 million during Halliburton/Iraq transactions. Moreover,
newly discovered memos reveal that Cheney was also involved
in a 1975 cover-up involving the CIA's mind-control experiment,
MK-ULTRA. Back then, the government paid $750,000 restitution
to Army biochemist Dr. Frank Olson's family, after admitting
the CIA slipped Dr. Olson LSD days before his 1953 fall from
a New York City building. When the Ford administration finally
came clean, they promised they'd revealed everything. Yet
according to an article in the "Mercury News," (Scientist's
death haunts family, August 8, 2002) key officials, including
White House aides Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld pushed to
continue to conceal information.
But not only has the government tried to control people's
minds, they've copped to controlling the media, too. Operation
Mockingbird, the CIA's plan to infiltrate America's newsrooms,
was such a success that former CIA director William Colby
boasted, "the Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of
any major significance in the major media." Carl Bernstein
substantiated this, revealing that hundreds of journalists
and news organizations were involved in this subversion. And
though officials have admitted to planting fabrications in
the past, it seems they're still at it. Remember the story
about the terrorist's passport surviving the fiery crash into
the World Trade Center? What could that be but government-issued
pabulum? And what else but full-scale public brainwashing
accounts for the rash of Stepford Citizen Syndrome spreading
throughout the country?
Which brings us to the case in point. Researchers have identified
the following symptoms. If you overhear anyone making the
following statements, assume they've been brainwashed and
intervene immediately:
1) "George Bush is a decent man."
Abraham Lincoln once said, "[I]f you want to test a man's
character, give him power." If he steals power, however, the
nature of his character is no longer in question. This week's
out of court settlement with the NAACP over Florida's foray
into election fraud confirms BBC's Greg Palast's report that
the election was rigged. Yet pundits ignore this travesty,
while referring to Dubya's decency in much the same way our
ancestors spoke of Earth's flatness. Overlooking our thrice-arrested
president's blatant disregard for civil rights, human rights
and the environment, they continue to downplay scandals and
downgrade their role as protectors of the public trust. But
with oft-repeated quips like, "lucky me, I hit the trifecta"
and "if this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a
lot easier," G.W. offers a glimpse at his indecent inner frat
boy. Especially revealing was a Talk Magazine interview, in
which he mimicked death row inmate Karla Faye Tucker. "Please,"
Bush whimpered, mocking Tucker's plea for clemency, "don't
kill me." Gallows humor is only funny when those telling jokes
don't have the power to save people from the gallows.
2) "I have faith in our system of checks and balances."
Certainly, the uproar over Operation TIPs and recent court
decisions on FBI abuses and secret deportation hearings are
healthy signs. Except, of course, that controversial findings
against Ashcroft's Justice Department will most likely be
appealed before the same felonious five who handed down the
2000 selection. Chief Justice Rehnquist has already warned
that, "in times of war, the laws are silent." Then, too, though
the Constitution grants Congress the sole right to declare
war, since 1948, America has been involved in approximately
250 military incursions without one single declaration of
war. The Bush regime has already said they don't need Congress'
approval on Iraq. So much for checks and balances.
3) "We have to defend ourselves, and the war on terrorism
is the only way to do that."
Anyone who believes this war is simply a drive to eradicate
terrorism must be brainwashed. The U.S. has been building
military bases along proposed oil pipeline routes, and has
its eye on the oil and gas reserves in the Caspian Sea region.
All anyone need do is read Zbigniew Brzezinski's "The Grand
Chessboard" or brush up on the Wolfowitz Doctrine to understand
the not-so-hidden agenda behind U.S foreign policy. In recent
appearance on Crossfire, Insight Magazine's Jamie Dettmer
deftly addressed America's aim to control the oil fields in
Iraq. "Nobody has suggested the United States is going into
Iraq to control the oil," Tucker Carlson asserted, leaving
some to wonder if Tucker's bow tie isn't too tight. "Let's
not be unsophisticated about this," Dettmer replied, warning
that, "in the end, if America doesn't restrain itself, [it's]
going to provoke groupings of countries which will restrain
America instead."
4) "Since September 11, George Bush has shown strong leaderships
skills."
Since September 11, George Bush has led us away from progressive
policies and alienated us from the rest of the world. British
papers describe the biggest rift between Europe and the U.S.
in more than 50 years, 85 percent of Germans no longer trust
America, and veteran reporter Helen Thomas bemoans how, "friends
and allies wonder what's happened to the United States." Our
$7 trillion surplus has followed the president's example and
gone AWOL, while unemployment, crime and intellectual numbness
are on the rise. Under Bush's "leadership," the U.S. has become
the kid who picks his nose in class. Those of us who love
America are embarrassed; others are repulsed.
5) "Europeans don't agree with us because they're effete
appeasers."
Europeans don't agree with us because we're wrong. They understand
the geopolitical motivations behind this war, as their press
isn't as censored. In America, however, stories about Enron's
involvement in the proposed oil and gas pipeline though Afghanistan
were squashed, and if you wanted to know about the Taliban's
trip to Texas, you had to learn about it in the National Enquirer
rather than on Meet the Press.
6) "George Bush's administration is filled with solid, foreign
policy pros."
Aside from Colin Powell, George Bush's cabinet is swarming
with neo-conservative ideologues who'd be clamoring for an
attack on Iraq even if the atrocities of 9/11 hadn't occurred.
Despite the chorus of countries opposed, Dick Cheney unilaterally
forges ahead, while Donald Rumsfeld says he's certain America
will receive backing from the international community. Meanwhile,
the international community scratches its head and wonders
what's become of our once great nation.
7) "George Bush is doing an excellent job in the war on terror."
Given limited media coverage, how would anyone know? Unless
one digs through foreign press and alternative media reports,
there's little to go by. When one reads reports from journalists
like Seymour Hersh, however, a different picture emerges.
Stability in Afghanistan is but a myth, warlords carry out
atrocities without intervention, and the State Department
is forced to guard President Karzai. Meanwhile, many warn
that Bush's plans for Iraq could lead to Armageddon. Yet "Bush
is doing an excellent job in the war on terror?" How?
8) "People who say the Bush administration 'let 9/11 happen'
are conspiracy nuts."
Forget the president's odd behavior on September 11. Ignore
that jets weren't scrambled from Andrews Airforce base, or
that the FBI reportedly thwarted investigations. Pretend there
are no connections between the Bushes, bin Ladens and the
Saudis or that Bush #41 doesn't profit from this war through
his connections with the Carlyle Group. Imagine, for a moment,
it doesn't matter that those heading the closed-door investigation
into 9/11 met twice with the former Pakistan intelligence
chief, who reportedly helped finance Mohammed Atta. And never
mind that, despite warnings, only 14 planes were defending
our mainland on September 11. These oddities could be explained
through coincidence and incompetence rather than complicity.
That said, remember this: After World War II, the CIA recruited
Nazi scientists to share information later used in the aforementioned
MK-Ultra program. In the '60s, the Pentagon drafted plans
to kill American citizens and blame it on Castro as a pretext
for war with Cuba. And Army-based concentration camps aren't
merely a gleam in Ashcroft's eye. The brainwashed are conditioned
to hear "conspiracy" and shut down, however, immediately deducing
information isn't true and the messenger is daft. But even
Bill Clinton reportedly asked Webster Hubbell to find answers
to two questions: "One, who killed JFK? And, two, are there
UFOs? " He never found out. And odds are we won't either.
Even so, it's not crazy to demand an independent investigation
into 9/11. Nor is it nuts to wonder why the administration
is doing everything in its power to make certain we never
uncover what went wrong.
9) "The media is liberal."
Ann Coulter complains about the liberal media through the
"liberal media," where she's regularly given a forum, yet
Michael Moore has appeared on less than a handful of shows,
though his book's been a bestseller for six months. During
the election, the corporately-controlled media portrayed Al
Gore in a negative light, while touting Bush's phony ranch-hand
charm, and according to a report in F.A.I.R (Fairness and
Accuracy in Reporting), 75 % of the dominant sources of opinion
on all three major networks are Republican. Yet the brainwashed
continue to believe the media has a liberal bias. Go figure.
10) "Saddam has weapons of mass destruction!"
This phrase has replaced, "Saddam gassed his own people!"
as the #1 mantra of war-mongering dittoheads. But despite
former weapons' inspector Scott Ritter's assertion that there's
no proof Hussein has amassed weapons of mass destruction,
Dick Cheney says there's "no doubt" he's got them and plans
to use them. During the Cuban missile crisis, John F. Kennedy
relayed photographic evidence proving the Soviet Union was
up to no good. Where's the proof now? Why hasn't the administration
won over our allies? Why do so many doubt there is "no doubt?"
Latest polls indicate that nearly half of all Americans believe
the First Amendment "goes too far," proving that Stepford
Citizen Syndrome is now a national crisis. We have an obligation
to rouse our loved ones out of their stupor. If we don't,
the thugs who've stolen America will steam-roll right over
us. And if you can't see that, chances are, you're brainwashed.
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