Great book for the information and for the author's harrowing experiences in war-era Europe, and for his experiences working with POW camp brainwashees. More importantly (IMHO) he delves deep into how totalitarian regimes use propaganda as a tool to cause people to censor their own thoughts, words and deeds. A POWERFUL lesson for our time with many contemporary parallels.
The book is well-written, but please keep in mind, this is a book for serious study, not laid out for entertainment value. If you are expecting a novel, this will seem dry and boring to you. If you are expecting a dusty textbook from the 50's, you will be pleasantly surprised. That said, the modern reader may need to pace themselves to get through the material, there is a lot, and the author is not intent on conserving paper nor ink.
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This item: The Rape of the Mind: The Psychology of Thought Control, Menticide, and Brainwashing
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If raised by narcissists, then this book is for you
This book has done more to help me piece together the early life events that led to my adult apathy and feelings of brokenness, guilt, and shame than any other psychology book -- including books like The Drama of the Gifted Child, For Your Own Good, The Body Keeps the Score, and King, Warrior, Magician, Lover.You might ask how all the segments on totalitarianism relate to parents and authority figures in a child's life? Well, the archetype for totalitarianism is the Steward who falsely thinks himself King: the shadow Steward. I learned from JRR Tolkien that the difference between the Steward archetype and the King archetype is that the King has the skills to expand his dominion. To do that, he must train and mentor so that each person matures; he employs a balance of Steward and Magician energy as well as a balance of Warrior and Lover energy. The Steward, however, can only control. The Steward in isolation is a dictator.Well, narcissistic parents are essentially dictators whether or not they're aware: they don't allow any emotional spontaneity (freedom) that they perceive will threaten their sense of dignity or power over the child. With children being inherently developmentally narcissistic well into their teen years, they sacrifice emotional spontaneity (freedom) for parental love. I learned the essence conveyed in the two most recent sentences from Dr. Alice Miller. That said, it's thanks to Joost Meerloo's Rape of the Mind that I could see my damaged psyche's puzzle piece by piece.When you read about the torture and forced confessions, look back to when you were scolded or belted by a parent just because they were in a bad mood, or you were surrounded by mobs of peers at school ready to humiliate you if you (re)acted with emotion and spontaneity.The book concerns itself way more on psychodynamics of children -- despite not trying to -- than books that actually focus on childhood trauma.Bonus: the book also happens to teach you about what happens when governments get their hands on the most subversive techniques available in psychology.
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Blessing C
