“You are brainwashed when you take on an idea which isn’t yours” – Source: Anthony de Mello.
De Mello argues that most of our values were given to us and we accept them without question.
Take, for example, the border between two countries. The nations of both countries are repeatedly told that the position of the border must not (or must) change.
A large number of people in both countries are prepared to die to protect this border even though it is, in reality, a man made construct often put in place many years before the current population were born.
De Mello argues that you can spot a brainwashed concept because “the moment you are attacked you feel stung”.
For example, if you said to someone from Holland, “Dutch people are boring” and they instantly jumped to the defense of that population instead of say, questioning the speakers motivation, they are brainwashed in a certain aspect.
Even though ‘Holland’ and ‘being Dutch’ are both man made concepts, none of which were their making, they feel the need to defend them.