The Third Wave, An Amazing Experience

Steve Conigio was a high school student like any other. One day, in the history class he had with Professor Ron Jones, he asked an interesting question: “How was it possible that the German people, the ordinary citizens, claimed ignorance about what was happening to the Jews?”  Your teacher was ruminating; I didn’t know what to say to him. This was the beginning of a bewildering experience with the human mind, which was called “The Third Wave”.

Ron Jones decided to take a week out of his classes to teach students in practice how a free society had been transformed into a fascist regime.   He followed a careful plan and thus managed to prove his point: subjected to certain constant pressures, many human beings end up accepting totalitarianism as the norm of life.

The discipline

The teacher started the process using persuasion. First, he tried to convince students of the beauty and grandeur of the subject. He ordered them to assume a very rigid body posture in their desks and severely corrected even the slightest flaw.

The students quickly assimilated the new parameters and Jones wondered how far he would be able to take them. Then he introduced new norms, such as the requirement to address him as “sir,” or the obligation to stand up and step aside before speaking to the class.

Interestingly, the group’s productivity increased significantly. The more passive students soon became more interested and participative.  Everyone seemed to respond positively to authoritarianism.

the sense of belonging

On the second day, Professor Jones wrote on the board a motto that summarized what had been learned the day before: “Strength through Discipline” . And added a new phrase: “Strength through the community” . Then he told them about the importance of belonging to a group. He invented stories to reinforce the idea.

Later, he had each student repeat the two mottos learned on two occasions. They were very satisfied and seemed to experience more and more the feeling of belonging to the group. In the end, the teacher invented a greeting with his hand so that the members would recognize each other. It was then when other students learned of this new “community” and asked to join.

the step to action

On the third day, a mandatory card to belong to the Third Wave group was implemented and more than 200 students asked to be admitted. An initiation ritual was also defined, in which new members should swear allegiance to the group’s principles. Everyone was also warned about the need to watch over others so that they would not break the rules.

It didn’t take long for accusations to start arriving. “Informers” proliferated, but the idea was growing at full steam. Students who had once stood out the most now found themselves disoriented and passive. Those who were previously isolated suddenly joined the group without any major problems. Even the dean of the school started to use the length of the “Third Wave”.

The pride

The next day Professor Jones arrived at his class and found a group of 80 students, completely silent and attentive to what he had to say. The professor spoke of national pride, of the importance of making the country the best nation on the planet. He then invited them to a public meeting, exclusive to Third Wave members, at which a presidential candidate would announce a government program for the nation. Everyone was excited and started to prepare the activity without any changes.

Discover the experience

The last day of the experience began with preparations for the demonstration. In the auditorium, Jones greeted the students who responded with the agreed gesture. They were also asked to repeat the mantra (Strength through Discipline!) and they did it several times, with full conviction.

Soon, Jones turned on a television so everyone could meet the expected leader. The image remained blank. Little by little, anguish began to spread and a long silence ensued.

It was then that Jones took the microphone and said these words: “Listen carefully, I have something important to tell you. There is no leader. There is no national movement called the Third Wave. You were used, manipulated, and you are no better than the German Nazis you studied.”

Then there was a film about the Third Reich. Some wept; others simply got up and left in silence, disappointed.

Image courtesy of James Vaughan.