Skewed Definitions

And the fairytales that gaslight us

We’re inundated with fairytales that shape our perceptions of reality here in the west: Hollywood, mainstream media, podcasts, and influencers of all kinds all contribute.

Are we aware of their profound influences? Here’s the story as I understand it:

Once upon a time, there were great nations that brought democracy and enlightenment to a primitive world. If you work hard, you’ll make it in these nations. We are the good guys in a crazed and evil world. People are violent and looking out for number one, and no one can be trusted. We’re all supposed to live in huge houses. Rich people and celebrities should be revered. There are dangerous people that we have to be aware of (insert the identifiable group here).

Are there others that come to mind? How do they stack up to reality as you experience it?

I’ve been thinking about how skewed some of the stories we’re presented with are these days: being against Israel’s genocide makes us anti-semitic, being a socialist means we want everyone to be the same, people are born racist and there’s nothing white people can do about it, the west is bringing democracy to the rest of the world. And don’t even get me started on climate change.

Let’s unpack these.

Being against the genocide Israel is committing against Palestine makes us anti-semitic. Even though Jewish people often lead the protests against this genocide and speak out about it, this is what we’re supposed to believe. Those courageous people are referred to as self-hating Jews.

Being against genocide is about supporting fundamental human rights. It’s not an attack on those who are committing genocide. Objecting to this ongoing genocide is objecting to the murder, displacement and erasure of an identifiable group of innocent people in clear violation of international law.

This accusation of being anti-semitic is meant to silence us. Journalists and social media are being censored, and worse. As a result, many are unaware of this ongoing genocide, armed and supported by our western governments. Our governments and other groups and corporations want to keep their complicity secret.

Being a socialist implies a desire for conformity. I’ve often heard this, and it makes no sense. When the means of production are publicly owned, and not in private hands, there’s no profit margin needed. Price gouging doesn’t take place as much. Money isn’t as easily funnelled to the already rich at the expense of the rest of us.

It means people’s needs are met, not that they’re having to conform to anything.

People are born racist. Babies just want to connect; they don’t care about the colour of people’s skin.

People are taught to be racist through movies and popular culture, through history, family, and through highly biased news sources in ways both subtle and ubiquitous.

Some people have learned to judge people by skin tone, by the degrees they hold and by their social status. Others judge people by their actions, the way they treat others, and how honest and caring they are. I’m part of the latter group, and if people meet that criteria, I don’t care about much else. Skin tone, religion, gender identity — none of that really matters to me. And there are many others like me.

The west is bringing democracy to the rest of the world. This almost feels like a joke, but if you don’t get out much and watch a lot of Hollywood movies, you may have been convinced of this.

First of all, when politicians and the media can be bought, as they can here in the west, that’s not democracy. It means our governments are serving the interests of the rich, and not the general public.

Secondly, if it needs to be brought to a country through coups, assassinations, colour revolutions, or any other number of shady practices, it’s not democracy. Democracy means people get to choose what kind of government they want through a democratic process.

A very wealthy man once told me that socialism and democracy are not opposites. Socialism and capitalism are opposites, and democracy and dictatorship are opposites. We need to keep these distinctions in mind.

Climate Change. Oh, why not? I’m part of a group that’s writing a series called ‘Clearing the Air’ which addresses climate misinformation. Instead of writing an explanation of why there is so much misinformation, I’ll provide you with the links to the articles we’ve published so far.

Clearing the Air: What is community in a time of climate crisis?

Clearing the Air: Big oil makes big bucks

Clearing the Air: Buying the truth about climate change

Clearing the Air: Listening to climate scientists

January’s column will be about climate change and our pocket books. Stay tuned.

It’s so important that we get our facts straight and from reliable sources, since it’s what we base our opinions, and often our decisions, on.

Also, it’s important to put all of these pieces together so that we have a well-rounded worldview that hasn’t been twisted by those with vested interests in keeping us ill-informed. What we don’t know can hurt us, and we can’t afford to believe the lies we’re being fed.

All of these pieces are inter-related, and we can’t let ourselves be confused and disempowered by this kind of mis- and disinformation.

When we believe these skewed views, we feel like there’s probably something wrong with us, and not the system that’s causing so many problems. And we don’t have an accurate view of the big picture.

Here’s one more: the latest country the west wants to destroy is led by the new ‘Hitler’ of the day. We’re supposed to loathe and fear this unimaginable and irrationally evil character. We’ve heard that about leaders of Iraq, Libya and countless other countries. How often will we fall for this? The latest ‘Hitler’ by today’s (western) standards is Vladimir Putin, the leader of Russia. Karl Sanchez of the Geopolitical Gymnasium provides translations to Putin’s speeches, as well as the speeches of other foreign politicians. I hope you’ll check them out and judge for yourself.

We can’t afford to have the wool pulled over our eyes in these precarious times. If we’re alive today, we have an obligation to have a clear idea about what is actually going on, and do all we can to leave a better world for those to come. There’s lots to do, and the first step is having accurate information.

Knowing this and taking action will help us to be grounded in reality, and will bring us the joy of working in solidarity with others in a profoundly meaningful way.

Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to it.

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I love the BDS campaign and the effect it’s having on Israel’s economy.

Here's an excellent list of products from Israel: https://boycott.thewitness.news/browse/1

Here's a way to help others not in your bubble to boycott Israel: https://www.cjpme.org/stickies_2024_en

And here's where you can support Palestine by buying a keffiyeh: https://www.hirbawi.ps/