I don’t know if you can quite make that comparison. North Koreans don’t really have a way of informing and educating themselves out of this belief. Adult Americans, while also preconditioned by a purposefully weak education system, could know better if they chose to seek out more perspectives.
Additionally, thanks to - as you succinctly put - the lack of education - I’d argue even more specifically in regards to media literacy - it is quite hard for many folks to realize what is and is not true, as well as how to figure out how to tell which is which using critical thinking skills.
True it’s not the same as North Korea, but the issue is similar. Cult-like thinking that should not be taken as “fake” or “under duress” necessarily… but as a result of generational propaganda effectively radicalizing a populace for what you’d otherwise call absolute lunacy.
The Germans weren’t faking their love of ol’ Dolph… and the Italians didn’t fake their love of “el duce.”
I don’t know if you can quite make that comparison. North Koreans don’t really have a way of informing and educating themselves out of this belief. Adult Americans, while also preconditioned by a purposefully weak education system, could know better if they chose to seek out more perspectives.
Ever heard of the term “manufacturing consent?”
Additionally, thanks to - as you succinctly put - the lack of education - I’d argue even more specifically in regards to media literacy - it is quite hard for many folks to realize what is and is not true, as well as how to figure out how to tell which is which using critical thinking skills.
True it’s not the same as North Korea, but the issue is similar. Cult-like thinking that should not be taken as “fake” or “under duress” necessarily… but as a result of generational propaganda effectively radicalizing a populace for what you’d otherwise call absolute lunacy.
The Germans weren’t faking their love of ol’ Dolph… and the Italians didn’t fake their love of “el duce.”
They genuinely worshipped them.