Indoctrination Station

Indoctrinate:
1.	to teach (a person or group of people) systematically to accept doctrines,  especially uncritically

I have been thinking about this word "indoctrinate".  I feel indoctrination happens a lot more than we think.

I ask myself "Is indoctrination a bad thing?".  If those last two words at the end of the definition apply "especially uncritically", then I think it is.  When people are accepting principles and ideologies without critically thinking through them, how can that be a good thing?

I see it happening in our kids lives.  Without exception, our six teens are accepting the ideology they see portrayed on the electronic screens they stare at for hours everyday.  When they get away from the screens, they make sure to plug in their music which confirms the values they watched on the screen.  Beyond that, they hang out with peers who have accepted the same paradigms as them.

Values they have voiced to us in their words and actions:
1) Making money is very important.  Having lots of sex makes you cool.

One of our guys joked with me that he wants to get a girl pregnant in every state in the United States.

Another guy asked me which I would choose if I had the choice between being rich and having a loving family.
I told him I already made my choice.
He chuckled.

"Seriously, if I wanted to be rich, I wouldn't be here with you guys right now.  I would be pursuing a career that would get me the most money."

He laughed again.  "I would choose money.  I want to be rich."

He probably figures that with money, he could get all kinds of girls to have sex with him -- which may be a emotionally cheapened, temporal trade off for love.

2) Getting bigger and better things is very important.  You can tell your worth mainly by looking at the things you have acquired.

When someone gets something new, our guys always want to know how much it costs.
"You got new shoes?  How much did they cost?  Where did you get them?"

One of my guys bought a watch at Wal-Mart.  He told me he bought it on sale and it cost him $200.00.
Who knew Wal-Mart started selling such expensive watches?

3) Lying is ok as long as it helps you get what you want.  Snitching is one of the worst things you could do.

There are too many examples of our guys lying.  I don't want to remember any now.  It takes my energy from me when I think of all the lies.

The Question I find myself asking is:  How do we confront and ultimately change these mindsets?


I asked a circle of teens at a school, "How do you help someone who doesn't want to be helped, who doesn't know they need help?".

One girl answered, "Plant seeds".

I hope the seeds grow soon.  I'm getting tired of looking at the barren terrain.


I have a thought that i don't want to flesh out right now:

When people are indoctrinated into the church but don't think critically, it isn't a good thing.