I mean, maybe it would look like your middle or high school. My middle and high schools taught me that the civil war wasn’t about slavery. Like if you circled “slavery” on the multiple choice “what was the civil war about” test question, it would be marked wrong. This was in state-funded public school too, not some ultra-conservative private school or homeschooling. And that’s only one example of the conservative propaganda that was fed to us in school. Some of the most conservative people I know were straight-A students. For people who live in liberal areas, it can be difficult to even comprehend how deep the conservative lies go, and how soon they start.
Saying “just send them back to school” is reductionist, because they did pay attention in school. They simply never questioned what the school had taught them, and took the info at face value. And that is honestly a large part of conservative conditioning; Don’t question the authorities. Don’t question the church. Don’t question the leaders. Don’t question your teachers. If someone is a higher authority or social status than you, you take them at their word. A child’s place is to be seen, not heard. If someone has been raised to never question authority, can they really be blamed for failing to do so when in school? Conservative ideology is rooted in conformity. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. And questioning conservative authority is historically rewarded with a big fucking hammer.
Tbf, that reeducation would realistically look like your local middle & high school curriculum 😂
I mean, maybe it would look like your middle or high school. My middle and high schools taught me that the civil war wasn’t about slavery. Like if you circled “slavery” on the multiple choice “what was the civil war about” test question, it would be marked wrong. This was in state-funded public school too, not some ultra-conservative private school or homeschooling. And that’s only one example of the conservative propaganda that was fed to us in school. Some of the most conservative people I know were straight-A students. For people who live in liberal areas, it can be difficult to even comprehend how deep the conservative lies go, and how soon they start.
Saying “just send them back to school” is reductionist, because they did pay attention in school. They simply never questioned what the school had taught them, and took the info at face value. And that is honestly a large part of conservative conditioning; Don’t question the authorities. Don’t question the church. Don’t question the leaders. Don’t question your teachers. If someone is a higher authority or social status than you, you take them at their word. A child’s place is to be seen, not heard. If someone has been raised to never question authority, can they really be blamed for failing to do so when in school? Conservative ideology is rooted in conformity. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. And questioning conservative authority is historically rewarded with a big fucking hammer.