Have I been brainwashed?

Today was eye-opening. I knew the Covid-19 situation is pretty bad in India until I understood it's actually devastating. For the sake of my sanity, I was not on Instagram, hardly read newspapers or watched the news. Whatever little I knew about Covid was through my mom who has been hooked to Inshorts notifications lately.

But today was different. My brother gave me a reality check through the countless anecdotes he has seen since he started volunteering for Covid relief work. And that made me contemplate why have I not been concerned or aware enough about the situation —
Option A. Because of my privilege — — — — Yes
Option B. Because I have been brainwashed — — — Let's check that out.

An article by Psychology Today talks about 14 signs of brainwashing. So feel free to play along and check the scores at the end. Here is my score:

1. They act personally offended when someone criticizes their favourite political leader (/party)— Umm yes (1)
2. They assume everyone in the opposing party is an idiot — Some are (0.5)
3. They assume bad motives by those in the other party — No (0)
4. They agree with every single position their party takes. — No, not a bhakt, you guys (0)
5. They love it when something makes the other party look bad — even if it’s bad for the country. — No(0)
6. They favour anti-Indian practices if they benefit their party — Maybe (0.5)
7. They cut off ties with people who differ from them politically — No, not a child (0)
8. They get all their news from a single source — which they swear is unbiased — haha, def not (0) [My Sources: Hindu, ET, Bloomberg, NYT, ForeignPolicy Affairs — Articles, Website (not Instagram :))]
9. They can’t name a single action their favourite politician has taken that they disagree with — I do see a positive aspect in things. (1)
10. They can’t think of a single redeeming quality in the other party’s politicians. — I like dislike AAP, but that’s it. (0.5)
11. Their political views take precedence over their seemingly deep religious or spiritual convictions — Sometimes, yes. (0.5)

MY SCORE — 4/11

I’d still say I was blindsided by the superficial victory and the short-lived superiority India enjoyed from its Vaccine Diplomacy. Our steps were miscalculated, strategies were flawed, monitoring was lazy and our confidence in state machinery and health infrastructure too high. But I have finally acknowledged that my privilege helped me escape this reality — Indeed I was brainwashed by the invisible deep-rooted political polarization, my political ideology, my privilege, my indifference (which I thought was necessary for mental sanity), my pragmatism, and the idea that somehow I and my dear ones will remain protected as if we deserve it more than others.