Sorting fake news from gospel truth
Hitler’s chief propagandist, Joseph Goebbels, said, “A lie told once remains a lie. Repeated 10,000 times, people will believe it’s true. Then it’s the truth.” People who watch Fox News believe that CNN and Washington Post are “fake news.” They know their tribe is always right and facts are wrong.
Humans are the only organism that impose a code of ethics based on ideas like ideology and religion. Arguably it is for the well-being of people. The fact is often, it is a way for the powerful to keep their power. Karl Marx called it “super structure” created by those who own “means of production.” So he called religion “opium of the people.” Japanese historical novelist Ryotaro Shiba called it “Kyokoh” — “artificial systems of thoughts.” Napoleon Bonaparte called it a “pack of lies agreed upon.”
Yuval Noah Harari, a historian at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, puts a positive spin on those sets of ideas. He says, “Gossips helped us to co-operate. Mythology maintained law and order. Money gave us something we can trust. Contradictions created culture.” Only humans act on mentally conceived ideas. They enable us to act voluntarily against natural instinct, making us distinct from other animals. Could it be the result of eating the forbidden fruit?
Money, for example, is powerful because people have faith in its value. Its importance surpassed religion for many people. But the fact is, it is amorphous imagination held commonly. Its based its worth on trust. Its value is dependent on faith in what’s on paper. “Bitcoin” is such a system invented recently, worth billions of dollars traded publicly. Once that trust is lost, it’s worthless like Venezuelan and Zimbabwean currencies. “Nation” as a concept has the power to bind people together, to create laws and transform a bunch of strangers into a cohesive entity called “country.” But it is an artificial notion that is based on the history agreed upon and the myths commonly shared.
Harari helped me to rejuvenate my belief in the importance of art, music, myths and religion. They make us think and give us ideas. Ideas are powerful and can bring benefits to the real world. They can delude us, too, like opium. Since the beginning of civilization, humans fought over differences in doctrines and ideologies. Millions died for them. How do we distinguish gospel from fake news? It requires wisdom. What is wisdom then? Good question! Tadashi (Tad) Mitsui
Lethbridge