Humans seek comfort in Myths

One would like to believe that our human behavior would favor our always wanting to seek the facts and truth irrespective of how painful the reality, over comfortable myths and stories. Unfortunately many times our emotional well being takes precedence over our intellectual integrity. I place myths into two categories, the benign white lie, and the insidious type that causes personal and financial harm. We often times choose our own constructed myths or those of others in order to soften the landing of what may turn out to be a painful reality.
Our egos dictate that we want to feel that we are a member of the best religious faith, graduated from the best college, live in the best nation, drive the best car, or wear the most fashionable clothes Constructing myths is just not about feeling safe and comfortable; the essence of the issue is also about being loved and accepted.
Madison Avenue is very skilled in manipulating our emotional needs and has learned to use symbolism, metaphors, and “Buzz Words” to mold our psyches. Car manufacturers equate cars in their advertising campaigns with sexual prowess, masculinity, and economic status. The advertising peddlers use such words as luxury, tough, power, speed, agility, elite, in a class by itself, and other words that evoke an emotional charge. These advertising myths seem to play well on many of our needs for status, sexual attractiveness, and uniqueness.
Through public relations and the mass media our government leaders have been able to capitalize on our fears and doubts in order to manipulate us financially and personally. Nations are skilled in crafting myths about the importance of loyalty, patriotism, and military service. Unfortunately it is usually not the power elite who buy into the hyperbole and propaganda, but the masses who are brain washed into the virtues of losing one’s life or limbs for service to ones country. Sacrificing one’s life for ones country is only a fool hardy myth that perpetuates added violence. Just think if every soldier in every military was convinced to be an army deserter, then we might be closer to a more peaceful world. Of course if soldiers will not fight then the rich and powerful will have to physically risk their own lives and do their own fighting. Young idealistic men go off to war and die so that rich old men will live to obtain more bounty.
Religion and God are probably one of the oldest manufactured myths that mankind has perpetrated in order to control the masses and create an ethereal answer to unanswered scientific questions. This theocratic mythology on its face is probably not harmful, but when corrupted by man’s dark side it has been a draconian tool to oppress, murder, create unnecessary guilt, and deny human rights. Myths which are not basically harmful such as Adam & Eve, Noah’s Ark, and the Virgin Mother are scientifically and logically unacceptable. People who are religious say that they embrace faith, but I not want to confuse the faith concept with positive thinking. Faith is type of myth that is a manufactured story which does not properly answer a scientific question.
Another myth that some of us embrace is that somehow a lavish wedding will lead to a more successful marriage. My experience with wedding parties is that they are vehicle of status, one up manship, and an expensive myth. I like a good a party as well as the next person, but to spend tens of thousands of dollars for a one day event for the average person is major misuse of money. Instead of the $1,500 spent on the one time use of a wedding dress, and $25,000 on the wedding, if this same money was used as down payment on a home that second choice would be more sensible. I have yet to read any statistics that said that an expensive wedding will lead the couple into a more loving and enduring relationship.
Our attitudes and guilt around death and dying in this country are also steeped in myth. Somehow the idea of an expensive funeral and burial headstone may cause the bereaved family to feel that they loved the person more. Once a person is dead they cannot feel or transmit love. My choice and that of my mate is to will our bodies to the local medical school, where our organs maybe transplanted to save another life, or our bodies can be used for future medical students to learn anatomy. The money I saved on a wasteful funeral can be put to better use as a donation to a positive charity.
The myth that we are in a functional family has caused many of us untold anguish and visits to our therapist. If those of you in the minority were fortunate enough to have grown up in a relatively functional family, then you are blessed by the assumed healthy family myth.
The myth of the diamond or precious stone has enriched countless jewelers, manufacturers, and diamond mine owners. The wedding ring with the inserted diamonds is a great myth that has been spun by the owners of the DeBeers Diamond Co. and has created a market for bankers and jewelers to make a great deal of money from the credit diamond sale business. In reality a piece of useless jewelry has none or little value in fostering a successful marriage.
A myth that many of us accept is that if we are a member of one of the two major political that these special interests are operating independently for the benefit of our own welfare. In reality the political party game is fixed, akin to professional wrestling by virtue of high level leaders in the Bilderberg Group, Hudson Institute, Wall Street, Trilateral Commission, International Bankers, and many other high level self interest groups and think tanks. Our votes do count, but unfortunately our minds are molded by partial and disinformation to cause us to use fear instead of logic and data to make our political choices. The turn-around of a majority No, to a majority Yes on Proposition 8 was engineered by religious groups such as the Mormon Church. These hateful religious groups used unverifiable myths about homosexuals to bend the minds of the ambivalent masses. The myth that Obama was a liberal that would always work in the best interests of the working class was in reality overshadowed by the fact that he received three times the campaign contributions from Wall Street than McCain received.
I find that the myths, or lies promulgated by our government leaders today is even more harmful than the fraudulent information that has been traditionally disseminated by religious communities. I find such myths created by our government that Oswald killed JFK, that we lend money to other countries out of altruistic motivation, that the North Vietnamese attacked us in the Gulf of Tonkin, that Osama bin Laden caused 9/11, and that we go to war because we genuinely care about people in third world countries are myths and outright lies constructed to the highest degree. Our government’s fraudulent myths about “9/11” will probably go down as the quintessential lie of our modern history.
Everyone wants to be on a winning team or think that they have the pipeline to all right answers, but if they accept myths in place of demonstrable facts, then they will only set themselves up for harm to themselves and others. Reagan said, “Trust but verify”. Let’s behave as adults and accept uncomfortable truths, as opposed to embracing a placating harmful myth.