I am a fan of History. Though I ask a lot of weird questions I don't recall being asked when I was taught it in class. "Why did they do that?", "Did they even consider what they were doing is wrong?", etc.

The "Why did they do that" question is one that is asked sometimes. It has another simple one word equivalent. MOTIVE. Yet it seems that question is really asked on the BIG PICTURE large activities of "Why did X invade Y?" Yet, that is usually the result of many smaller things building up and happening. There are a lot of smaller things that had MOTIVE that lead up to those actions.

I bring this up as I do believe we have a mental PLAGUE (beyond simple epidemic) that has been with us for a long time, and it is known to do a great deal of damage that also seems to get very little notice in History.

Source: www.mindvirus.com

Each of us tend to be convinced we are right... we are not wrong.

We even have pretty big defense mechanisms when it comes to this within our own mind. We will often wiggle, squirm, and find any way that we can to not have to admit we are wrong. This often comes in the form of seeking a scapegoat to blame it on. Another common method is mis-direction (aka red herring) where we distract away from that topic so that it is no longer mentioned, and no longer discussed as we've given something ELSE interesting to talk about. Then there is the go to weapon of choice. The Ad-Hominem attack. Attack the messenger. Attack the person that is pointing out this wrongness. Challenge everything we can come up with about them. Name Call, Label, Stereotype, Belittle, Condescend, etc. I also wrote another article last week about false dichotomies which is another defense mechanism to try to protect our false narrative.

Source: Fermentation

If we happened to have secured a following or have some of that "authority" over others which really we shouldn't have then all of our attacks are amplified. Most of our followers will fall for Appeal to Authority and believe it must be true simply because we are the one saying it and they follow us.

Source: Truly Fallacious

This sets the stage for the point I wanted to make...

History

We've heard the saying "History is written by the victor" which is true. I have kind of a different view of History. I view it as a quest to know the TRUTH about the past. For this reason my variation on this popular platitude is "History is EDITED by the victor". History still happened, but the victor can edit it so that those who were not present likely will have no clue what parts they want edited out.

Source: Drupal

I admit to having a personal crusade of sorts. I am a TRUTHER, but to me that doesn't mean the derogatory thing it has somehow become today. I am simply one who seeks the truth, even truths that are uncomfortable to me. As such I also consider those who deliberately spread falsehoods and edited narrative as the enemy to my purpose.

Source: stevecha.net

This activity has made me look at History in different ways from many people, though I believe more people are starting to do so. These days we are approaching History more and more with forensic like sciences. We are learning things that show the edited (and sometimes simply forgotten) parts of history. @luzcypher posted an article about a couple of those over the weekend. That is the very tip of a very large structure (pyramid). There is a lot of that type of information. There are also examples of cases in the modern age.

Then something more interesting. I do not recall hearing anything about the Death of Senator Nancy Schaefer. Do you?

Source: Fight for Lilly

History is EDITED by the victor

Right now an ad-hominem attack is going on. It is called FAKE NEWS. With knowing that history is edited by the victor, and having plenty of evidence it has happened throughout recorded history, that essentially could make most of the news in history as technically FAKE. If it is edited to paint something other than all of the information available related to something, then it introduces bias, and attempts to steer people one way. In other words, it is fake in the sense it is not showing the truth. It is showing a mirage.

Source: fodey.com

What do we do?

Well with the historical evidence there that Fake News has been around for a very long time, and is likely to continue to be around the best thing we can do is train our own minds. Train ourselves to think for ourselves, recognize when we are being stubborn and reacting with mental defense mechanisms about things we are wrong, stop looking for scapegoats, and stop trying to use red herrings simply because you do not want to confront the topic at hand. Each of us is as much at fault as those who use these same techniques.

We have to be willing to admit we are wrong. The truth of the matter is we are SO OFTEN wrong. Yet admitting such a thing is a rarity.

Source: The Ephesus School

Consider...

• Council of Nicaea (1st and 2nd) - changing Christianity forever
• Burning of the Library of Alexandria - IMO one of the greatest historical tragedies.
• Crusades
• Inquisition
• Salem Witch Trials - example of how defense of being wrong can get out of hand.
• McCarthyism - aka Red Scare - similar mentality with new targets seems alive and well today.
• Revolution
• U.S. Civil War
• Any Government, Nation, RULER
• Religion

So what happens when evidence is found that our historical teachings were wrong? It seems more often than not these same attack mechanisms come into place. Do people really want to know the truth? It seems more often than not they are more interested in maintaining the dream they live in.

Steem On!