About indoctrination

The word “indoctrination” has been in the news a lot, but the meaning has been twisted to serve political goals. Governors of several states, including Arkansas, claim they want to stop “indoctrination” of school children by prohibiting access to certain books and teaching material.

The thing is, while they claim to oppose indoctrination, that is exactly what they are doing!

Indoctrination is the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically. To do this, you withhold information which doesn’t support your position, leading people to uncritically accept it. Some states (including Arkansas) are doing this by banning books and by requiring approval of school curricula by the authorities. Not only that, but Arkansas is promoting educational materials with a specific ideological bent. To confuse people, they claim knowledge is harmful, falsely asserting efforts to “groom” kids and that learning history will make people hate each other.

Really, learning about others is a great way to better understand and thrive in the world. The best defense against indoctrination is the wide availability of information about the world.

When our leaders say they are against indoctrination, understand what they are really saying is they favor indoctrination in their viewpoint while suppressing anything which might challenge their goals. We may not be able to stop politicians’ efforts at indoctrination, but we can point out they are the guilty ones.

RANDAL HUNDLEY

Little Rock