A corporate dystopia Our children are being brainwashed. Not overtly, mind you, and not in any way violent enough to alarm most parents, but subtly and persistently, powerful entities are programming and transforming the next generation of American citizens into obedient assistants and mindless drones. Without the necessary measures to prevent it, our future will be in the hands of men and women who, instead of using a well-cultivated intellect, will pretend to attack the problems of their time with "Just do it." and “Why ask why?” instinctive responses from their wasted childhood, leaving real power in the hands of their programmers: Coca-Cola, Nike, Disney and others. By allowing corporations free access to the minds of our children (as many of us do), we take the first bold steps along the road to the Brave New World. To ignore this threat and treat it as non-existent or only minimally significant is to invite Huxley's dystopian vision into our world. By doing so, we prepare for a decidedly dark tomorrow. For the uninitiated, Huxley's Brave New World society initially appears to be just pure science fiction with no visible ties to reality. After all, there is no government-controlled genetic engineering of humans in our world. We don't center our children's education on pleasure and maintaining happiness. We have no drugs, or soma, to keep us in a state of physical bliss and emotional contentment. Yet for all its fantasy, there are several uncomfortably close connections to our world in Huxley's disturbing vision. For example, although there is currently no centralized system of large-scale genetic engineering, recent… middle of paper. .....attachment to apathy and, more importantly, teaching our children to do the same.[In] Huxley's vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to worship technologies that nullify their ability to think. -From Fun Until Death by Neil PostmanWorks cited Coca-Cola Company. Annual Report 1997. Atlanta: Coca-Cola Company. 1998. Available online at: http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/investors/index.htmlHays, Constance L. "Salty Mathematics Textbook with Brand Names Raises New Alarm." New York Times March 21, 1999. Available online at: http://www.nytimes.comHuxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Time, Inc. 1963. Postman, Neil. Amusing yourself to death: Public discourse in the age of entertainment. New York: Viking. 1985.