How Does the Government Influence Society to Label Those Who it Deems Unpatriotic? When you think of America, the words ‘great’, ‘freedom’, and ‘democracy’ most likely cross your mind. This may be because the American government has conditioned it’s citizens, against their own instincts, to be patriotic at all costs and to regard their country as superior. Growing up in America means hearing the national anthem during every sporting event, pledging allegiance to the flag every school day, and being entered into the Selective Service System upon turning eighteen years old. Utilizing this tactic of drilling democratic ideas into the minds of citizens creates compliant people to follow the rules -- social or lawful -- that the government puts into place. However, citizens are only human, and so by conditioning them to comply, the government is also forcing them against their instincts. Robert Ardrey, author of Cain’s Children, proved in his work that humans are naturally unruly creatures, who must choose between natural and learned responses (300). Most certainly there will be a citizen out of the many who will succumb to their animalistic tendencies, and fail to follow governmental rules. So what …show more content…
These lists were called “Slacker Lists” and were made available to the public (When “Slacker” was a Dirty Word, 2014). The government branded these people and created a negative meaning to being a believer in peace. This affected not only those who actively dodged the draft, but even just speaking out against war was cause for opposition. Trumbo is a great example of the branding and shaming that came with defying war during that time period. As Bohrman mentioned in the interview with Trumbo, he was blacklisted from Hollywood, having to go under the radar after his anti-war book printed. He was labeled as a communist, anti-American, and even