Indoctrination in the U.S.A.?

From grade school and up, we have been programmed to believe that our government system is ideal; flawless; we are the true free nation. Our books, contrary to that of other countries, are not indoctrinated, are not written falsely, and contribute to a national sense of democratization. On the whole, we do not question this system, but if we did, would we find that the system is a fallacy? Rather, the question should be, would we know if it was at all?
Here in the United States of America, we do not learn about Mathew, Peter, John, and Paul in public school education. We are not taught the proper prayer to Allah or of the sacred scrolls from the Torah. In Egypt, however, it’s very natural for students to be taught straight from the Koran. In fact, examining the curriculum from that of a sixth grade level, we can find that an emphasis is placed on the work ethic of the individual, clearly outlined from sections of the Qur’an (1). With 90% of Egypt being Islamic, versus the United States, (whose religion varies greatly on ethnicity, location, and environment), it’s easy to see why the Egyptian school system would implement Islam in their core curriculum. If the United States decided to teach Islam as a core class, on the other hand, the people would rally and fight whatever clause instated it. With this being said, it would be nearly impossible to indoctrinate all of our textbooks here in the United States. People would notice what was being taught, and at some point or another, they would speak out against it, as not everyone in this country has the same core belief.
In the United States, we seemingly have rights that many other countries do not, including the freedom of speech, press, the right to peaceably assemble, the right to bear arms, and the right to freedom of religion. We have countless different sources of information, from radio to television to the daily newspaper. There is no opposition towards obtaining information from word-of-mouth. There is not one government official who maintains control over all of these sources; therefore, if the United States were to transmit a set opinion to the whole country, it would be nearly impossible.
Sure, many news-broadcasting channels have political preferences, but those are subject to change after time. Most channels are opposing rivals of one another, and compete for viewers by presenting information that likely adheres to one side of the view or another (for example CNN and FOX). This is not the way that all countries operate their media. In Egypt, there are fewer news stations, and although the country’s economy is free-market based, the few news stations do not present various different viewpoints. Most of Egypt’s media is government controlled through the State Information Service, and the three largest news-broadcasting stations, Al-Ahram, Al-Akhbar, and Al-Gumhuriya, are government owned and operated. Nearly all magazines and newspapers are by printed by one of seven government-owned printing houses (3). What makes Egypt’s control over foreign politics even stricter is the control over these three laws: The Press Law, the Publications Law, and the Penal Code. These three laws allow the Egyptian government to issue and stipulate fines or imprisonment for criticizing the president, members of the government, or any members of state.
When it comes to the bottom line, the United States of America and the Republic of Egypt are two very different countries. The United States houses countless ethnicities and religions, whereas Egypt is primarily dominated by Egyptians and people of the Islamic religion. American media is operated through the free-enterprise system, while Egyptian media is government owned and maintained. So, on the whole, indoctrination in the United States is practically infeasible.


References
1. Guindy, Adel. Islamizing Egyptian Education. Middle East Quarterly. 2009: 76-79
2. Sherbiny, Naiem. America: A View From Egypt. Social Research Online. 2005. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2267/is_4_72/ai_n16129794/?tag=content;col1
3. Gross, M. Pamela. Egypt. Press Reference. http://www.pressreference.com/Co-Fa/Egypt.