This is a documentary that discusses how normal German people were able to become mass murderers in the 1940s. It includes interviews with former German soldiers who participated in these mass killings, as well as insights from experts on the human mind, and quotations from letters, diaries, and other records. I am posting here because, while it did take place in history, contemporary American people (and others) are every bit as susceptible to falling into this same psychological trap today. We're already seeing some of this, albeit on a much smaller scale. Along the same lines, I strongly recommend Andy Andrews's book: "How Do You Kill 11 Million People: Why the Truth Matters More Than You Think". It is available for $4.59 from Amazon, although strangely, it is more than twice that price in Kindle format. It's a short book, only about 80 small pages, but it's well worth reading.
A large percentage of the American people would willingly participate in a program of genocide if the call for it were preceded by a well-designed media campaign. Those who were wearing the masks a couple of years ago (and especially those who hated those who refused) would probably make up a large portion of the modern Einsatzgruppen, not because they are evil people but because they have shown themselves to be susceptible to a well-designed media campaign combined with socio-economic threats, fear, fake science, and a sense of community. We're not above Nazi Germany, in that respect.
If you found the first video interesting, this one might interest you, as well. I can't comment on it yet because I just started watching it. The first video seems to focus more on the psychological aspect, although I've only just begun watching the second one. Later... Yeah, this one is more historical than psychological. Still interesting, but the video I posted in the OP is more on-topic.
I, too, have no doubt Americans would become mass killers if someone else were doing it. Not only do I see what happened during the "pandemic", but I notice how many people are willing to destroy the nation because of their hatred of one man. I guess it is a bit like the Biblical story of the Jews and Jesus. They had him killed, not because of what he had done or even of any real hated for him, but because the Elite told them to do it.
Interestingly, as I am watching additional documentaries on this subject, the Nazis chose scholars and intellectuals to head the Einsatzgruppen, who were the death squads responsible for the extermination of the Jews and other undesired classes of people in Nazi Germany. They chose people with PhDs in various fields, including historians, philosophers, economists, and medical doctors, to head the death squads because, as learned experts, they could persuade otherwise moral people that these actions were necessary for the greater good of Germany. I see a parallel here. In today's society, probably even more than in 1940s Germany, young people (and some older ones) have been indoctrinated to believe that their brains don't work very well and that they should yield to the experts on everything, even when it might otherwise feel wrong to them.
I agree, just look at all the wars we have gotten into that were not our concern or for profit, those who send them off never join them in battle. Not so in the wars for independence. Many leaders led the battles. I think many things changed after WW1. Although I do agree with our involvement in WW11. And who led us in wars since, 'he who owns the gold rules the world, Federal Reserve.
The army of the elite, Don even Jesus said they were not Jews far as Jews of Abraham, but Jews of their father the devil, aka Jews who turned from God. Or that's my interpretation of it.
Interestingly, the Communists seem to do the opposite. Mao, Stalin, and Pol Pot all targeted the intellectuals for extermination. I guess we know where we are going by who is killed first; if college professors get axed, we're headed toward Communism, but if they lead the charge as they are doing now, we're headed down the road toward Hitler's brand of Fascism.
The Germans targeted the intellectuals who couldn't be persuaded to sign onto the program, but they used those who would.
I think "learned experts" can rationalize anything...that there is no Right and Wrong...that all things are merely concepts that can be intellectualized either way, depending on which of them benefits you in any given moment. The benefit may be monetary, or the benefit may be "position," or the benefit may be some combination of the two. People have had their common sense educated right out of them to the point that the right answer (or position) is whatever you want it to be. Anyone who has worked in a large corporation has experienced this...giving the boss the answer he wants is a matter of job survival. The Masses will line right up with anything if you disrupt their lives and provide a scapegoat. Masks & Vaxes are the perfect example. So are "baskets of deplorables." Or "Christian Nationalists." Or "White Rural Voters."
Part of it may be that the intellectuals have no connection to religion of any kind. While religion can have issues, it is more often the moral grounding of a people rather than the "religion causes war" crap that is dished out.
I think religion is less of a moral grounding than it is a humbling of one's intellect. When people are ego driven, they will discount the obvious in order to maintain position.
Religion is a moral grounding even for Atheists, as they often use the same standards of right and wrong as devout people do though