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Lies We Learn In School
The ever-changing facts of history, science, and society
Most adults are cynical about all the facts we learned as children. In the USA, beginning with the myth of Christopher Columbus ‘discovering’ America, and right on through to the questioning of systemic racism and sexism in our shared history, we are understandably skeptical about what we are taught.
The fact that we celebrated Columbus as a national hero with a holiday cannot be changed, but as with all dynamic systems history can be updated, and so it is.
In the year 1800, a man named Mason Weems invented a rather twisted version of honesty.
“I cannot tell a lie,” says a young, repentant George Washington who inexplicably cuts down a cherry tree. But little George almost certainly didn’t say, or do this. We ought to learn a lot from the idea that a story meant to praise honesty is itself, a lie.
That we teach children about honesty by creating myths and misinformation should be a true lesson to us all.
Whitewash, greenwash and hogwash
People today are far more concerned with revised history, such as sanitizing slavery. What is left out of the narratives has become just as important as the stories told to cover up for past sins. A small faction of Americans today would prefer to whitewash enslavement, the Jim Crow era, and the continuing struggle for civil and equal rights.
Social justice movements such as Black Lives Matter or intersectional feminism should be looked upon with open minds, but we are not socialized to have open minds so much as we have strong feelings and opinions based largely on what we are taught to believe.
Many are aware that the most important news about the warming world itself has been obfuscated and thus misleading by those vested interests who don’t want to lose the profits of fossil fuels.
When we add reversals to how we view history, it can become confusing, and create a mismatch between learning and trust.
The age of misinformation
We are supposedly in the information age. Yet, a very large chunk of every bit of information we receive is…
