The description of how citizens of Germany under the Nazis, as well as other such authoritarian propaganda states, were swept along by its sociopathic leadership using propaganda, intimidation, censorship and isolation seems to be related to what happens to members of cults. It's well known that cults use the same tactics to mentally, and sometimes physically isolate members from outside influences and even from freely communicating with or supporting each other. Isolating citizens, neighbors or members from each other separates them from their positive social instincts and normal human impulses of solidarity or empathy allows the leaders to have their way despite the underlying reluctance of the individual and isolated citizens or cult members. (The goal of propaganda, censorship and intimidation is not so much to convince people but to isolate the from each other and from alternate contradictory information and ideas. That is, keep them alone and in the dark.) Of course, this phenomena can also be seen in other times, places and circumstances and result in similarly appalling horrors in which individually decent people can end up participating in terrible evil led by skillful and corrupt psychopaths. Which is why we need to keep connected and broadly informed.
The description of how citizens of Germany under the Nazis, as well as other such authoritarian propaganda states, were swept along by its sociopathic leadership using propaganda, intimidation, censorship and isolation seems to be related to what happens to members of cults. It's well known that cults use the same tactics to mentally, and sometimes physically isolate members from outside influences and even from freely communicating with or supporting each other. Isolating citizens, neighbors or members from each other separates them from their positive social instincts and normal human impulses of solidarity or empathy allows the leaders to have their way despite the underlying reluctance of the individual and isolated citizens or cult members. (The goal of propaganda, censorship and intimidation is not so much to convince people but to isolate the from each other and from alternate contradictory information and ideas. That is, keep them alone and in the dark.) Of course, this phenomena can also be seen in other times, places and circumstances and result in similarly appalling horrors in which individually decent people can end up participating in terrible evil led by skillful and corrupt psychopaths. Which is why we need to keep connected and broadly informed.