i think that should be fairly obvious... if you have bothered to read zinn and listen to carlin, i would think you must be aware of the general concept of how propaganda and patriotism make people blind (and aggressive - which many are raised to be towards anybody who isn't of their faith or nationality). as to how it works in detail (who does it why, how did it develop, why are people vulnerable to it, etc.), i would recommend reading and/or listening to e.g. noam chomsky and chris hedges.
though i would think zinn himself probably spoke about that...
some aspects aren't covered by them but unfortunately, i can't remember who the authors of various articles on media psychology and sociology i've read were. i'm nowhere near chomsky, who seems to remember everything he's ever read. i only remember the gist. which on this side of the story is that most people aren't raised to question but to follow (which btw also reminds me that you could also check out bill hicks about this for a more "light-hearted" look at it). the media (see chomsky for political connections) takes advantage of that by appealing to their emotions (fact-ridden articles are after all for the "brainiacs" but bill o'reilly "just says it like it is") and sense of self (here you have tendencies among uneducated people - as mentioned before - to mostly identify themselves through religion and nationality). and remember carlin... "what we are, is semi-civilized beasts, with baseball caps and automatic weapons". you just can't expect a lot from most people. or... even a little. no power and gas and the population would be cut in half within weeks.
i am just reminded of a quote by chris hedges that fits in rather nicely... he described a childhood moment with his father, a presbyterian minister - i only paraphrase here, since as i said... memory bad: "i asked my father what the difference between the man with three flags in his car and one with six was. my father replied 'the one with six is an even bigger jerk'". (and though he criticizes patriotism, he still understands and explains why people are drawn to it)
and of course... all of that buildup means that if somebody comes along and asks questions about what they've been told to never question or presents facts that would threaten to destroy that construct, they obviously can't have that. i mean imagine that... you build your whole life around an ideal. and then somebody comes along and questions that. that would mean he would question what you have been doing all your life.
alright... for a critically thinking person, that might not be a big deal. because most of those are rather relaxed when it comes to changing perspectives, admitting mistakes, etc.. but for the average person, that is too complicated, frustrating and confusing (again - brought up to follow).
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