Free thinking

I took a political science course in college, and the professor was talking about the way that the military control people with a thing called thought reform, where everyone dresses the same and eats the same food at the same time as everyone else. They have people march in formation and even sleep at the same time each day. It makes the soldiers work well as a team.
The professor said that political organization does the same thing, even having a common lingo to reinforce unity. The ones who don’t conform are punished, and everyone has some kind of work to keep them busy. This keeps them from thinking as an individual.
I realized as the professor spoke, that it described the way I was being indoctrinated into college!
I asked the professor, "What is the difference between thought reform, and brain washing?"
"Well, it's a fine political line where, if you like what is being done, it's thought reform. If you don't like it, it's brain washing."

So I quit the class and took English instead.