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| Image by Mark Runge |
by Kim Carlyle
“One believes things because one has been conditioned to
believe them.”
—Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
Humans are not rational beings—humans are rationalizing
beings. Research in cognitive science
has shown that people form beliefs first, then they seek evidence consistent
with their beliefs. Because the latter process occurs instantaneously most of
the time, people think they’re being rational, logical thinkers when they are
simply responding intuitively, viscerally. These gut feelings, these emotional
responses, are the cumulative product of past experiences, social mores, and
other types of conditioning.
Indoctrination begins early and continues throughout life.
Little Americans pledge allegiance each morning; older ones, before the game,
sing praises to a striped, starred, rectangular cloth; and some watch Fox News.
Humans also tend to closely identify with cultural subgroups (Democratic Party,
NRA, KKK, USMC, etc.) and robotically adopt their biases, prejudices, and
positions.
Mythology—the collection of stories that belong to a culture
and help define it—is part of our cultural conditioning that provides a helpful
cognitive short cut, sparing us the burden of critical thinking. Our stories
and myths convey the values, beliefs, and history of the “American Experience.”
Told and retold, the mythology becomes “Our Truth.”
Myths can be based on real truth but embellished for effect,
or they can be entirely fabricated. And they can be beneficial. The story of
young George Washington and the cherry tree, while a falsehood in itself,
teaches that honesty is the best policy.
Myths can be detrimental as well, inciting fear and hatred
and even leading to genocide. For example, communism is inherently evil and
must be stopped from spreading by whatever means are necessary—so let’s kill
those commie gooks by the millions.
Malignant myths are often supported by subthemes that appear
to be benign. For example, the notion that growth is good and necessary for the
economy leads to expansionism, exploitation, imperialism, military aggression,
and degradation of our life-sustaining ecological systems.
The collection of stories of a particular culture provides
its core narrative, its sacred mythology. The American core narrative myth goes
something like this:
After discovering America, Europeans settled the wild new land, brought civilization and religion to the indigenous inhabitants, and began to make use of the abundant natural resources that had been waiting for development. In North America, they invented a new form of government based on equality, freedom, and rule by the people. Following God’s plan, they expanded their nation across the continent, carefully resettling the few original inhabitants as needed. As a model of human cultural and political achievement, the United States began to realize, and then actualize, its mission of bringing freedom and democracy to the rest of the world, especially the underdeveloped nations. As holy Crusaders for justice, Americans have saved the free world on several occasions. The U.S. state department, along with associated agencies, has worked to encourage less fortunate nations to evolve toward our advanced level of political and economic achievement; when necessary, it has assisted with the process of total makeover. At times, advancing the mission has required use of overt military force, but only as a last resort when all other options had been exhausted. The proof that the U.S.A. is the pinnacle of human achievement is the high standard of living that its citizens enjoy—the American Way of Life—and to which all nations aspire.
The portions of the above narrative which are not entirely
true are printed in italics. But this story—which today can be summarized as
“We are the good-doers saving the world from the evil-doers”—is the basis of
our collective self-image and our world view and, therefore, our foreign policy.
Of course it is self-delusion. The rest of the world has a much different
perspective. Consider this passage from Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t be Wrong
by Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow:
One of the biggest myths is that D-Day was an American landing. In reality, the majority of the troops were British and Canadian. Another is that the Americans defeated the Germans, while, in reality, the Soviets were doing this pretty much on their own by D-Day. [Another myth is propagated in] the film U-571, which tells the story of American sailors who captured a German submarine in 1941, a major strategic breakthrough because they got ahold of the very secretive German encryption machines. The film’s story is true, with the exception of one major fact: the sailors who captured the submarine were British, not American. The United States wasn’t even in the war in 1941. None of these myths are created on the orders of the White House. They are perpetuated by a multiplicity of agents, probably in good faith—who all believe them—with the overall effect of spreading the American world view without shooting a bullet. This is what is meant by soft imperialism.
But “hard imperialism” is also a reality. Many parts of the
world have suffered horribly from America’s military might and economic
overreach which have been justified mindlessly and automatically by our
distorted world view and self-image.
The real danger of a myth-driven culture (and all cultures
are myth-driven) is that unscrupulous leaders with selfish interests can
manipulate the myth and, by this means, arouse the people to commit actions
that benefit the leaders at the great expense and suffering of the people.
History abounds with examples. From an interview by U.S. Army Captain Gustave M. Gilbert of
Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring in his jail cell during the Nuremberg War Crimes
Trials (18 April 1946):
Göring: Why, of course, the people don’t want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally, the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship.Gilbert: There is one difference. In a democracy, the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars.Göring: Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.
This manipulation is called propaganda. Clearly, the
American people have been willing, if unwitting, victims of this weapon of mass
deception. It has been an ongoing process throughout our country’s history, as
new stories, legends, and bold lies are piled on to the Great American Myth.
Recall the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s statue by “jubilant, liberated Iraqis,”
the contrived “heroism” of Jessica Lynch, and the fanciful tale of Pat
Tillman’s death in an enemy ambush.
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| U.S. Marines bring down the statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad’s Firdos Square. (DoD photo) |
The process is greatly enabled by the ever-consolidating
oligopoly of the news and entertainment industry which is wholly subservient
and accommodating to the wealthy and powerful who craft and direct the message.
The process is simple—tell the lie and repeat it, repeat it, repeat it. And
it’s easy—whole myths or mythological subthemes can be invoked by a single
sentence (e.g. “The Marine Corps builds men”), a phrase (“Old Glory”), or even
just a single word (“terrorist”).
Since human thought process (or lack thereof) allows people
to be so easily manipulated, it is extremely important that we become and
remain mindful of our world view and its derivation, that we challenge the
conventional “wisdom,” and that we make every attempt to be objectively
discerning about important matters. And we would do well to reform the American
Myth.
Mythologist Joseph
Campbell described the archetypal hero who is transformed by a
journey/trial/quest and returns to his people with important new insights, an
essential message that will then transform his culture. Such heroes include
Buddha, Jesus, and Mohammed.
We have such heroes today. Some of them have journeyed to
areas victimized by U.S. foreign policy. Some are peace activists; some
traveled as soldiers but returned as peace activists. Others have journeyed to
inner cities and rural regions—areas victimized by U.S. domestic policies. Still
others have witnessed the plunder and devastation of the natural world. Their
stories, their work to improve the whole community of life, must be made known
and become the major part of our Great American Myth (as well as the Great
Universal Myth).
Of course I understand that rationalizing beings, such as
you and I, rely reflexively on preconceived notions derived from myths—those of
our cultural indoctrination and those we choose to believe. But just imagine a
mythology not of a divisive, dualistic, we-versus-them ethos, but one rooted in
solidarity—oneness— with other humans
and with all life. This is the narrative I choose to nurture; and the one that
informs my bias. I do what I can to promote the new stories. I know it’s an
uphill battle against potent prevailing sentiment and the powers that drive it.
But one important story in my mythology is The Little Engine That Could—I think
I can, I think I can, I think I can…
The new mythological theme that we can promote—at least I
think we can, I think we can—can be simply stated: The essential Truth is We
are One.
