There are established, undisputed truths we all believe in. One plus one equals two. Humans are mortal beings. Change is constant and inevitable.
However, there are also “facts” that many have long subscribed to that are actually a result of propaganda. Here are some of them, as shared in a Reddit thread from a while back. And chances are, reading through this may shock your belief system, for better or worse.
If you feel like joining the conversation, you can do so in the comment boxes below.
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That god has always been a part of the US government. It was only introduced in the 50s to combat the threat of communism. It always makes me twitch when someone on my Facebook posts something about keeping god in the pledge (which was also started in the 50s) and that people trying to take god out is the reason why bad things are happening.
Most modern Japanese people know absolutely nothing about the atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers in the pacific during WWII.
I was travelling in Thailand and stopped by to see Hellfire Pass and the famous bridge over the river Kwai. A japanese guy was on the tour with us (mostly because there wasn’t a lot else to do in Kanchanaburi) and was absolutely SHOCKED at the stories of POW treatment. Back in Japan, people still commemorate the officers who were able to accomplish building a railroad so quickly for the Japanese war effort. The darker side of this event is simply not mentioned in any history text or school.
I’m Korean and until recently my parents had me believing that leaving the fan on within a closed room overnight would end me via suffocation or something. This was just propaganda developed by the South Korean government to stop people from wasting electricity(if I remember correctly.)
Moral of the story: don’t believe your parents blindly.
Some Americans seem to think that socialized health care is bad, as a Brit i find this very silly.
Edit: I love the replies saying “yeah but we don’t have to wait 6 months to see a doctor” – Thats propaganda for you.
Also, i wasn’t attacking America. There’s no need to start getting defensive and picking things out that might be wrong with the UK. No country is perfect, we all have our problems and our bad politicians.
Pretty much everything about the Pilgrims of early America. The real reason they left is because they were kicked out of England first for being overly religious and really pushy to everyone. Then they went to Holland where they got kicked out again for being jerks. Finally they never intended to land on Plymouth Rock, they ran out of beer and stopped there.
Reagan was a leading cause of the end of the cold war. Reagan was the model fiscal conservative. Reagan was widely popular. Reagan wasn’t engulfed in an enormous scandal where iirc close to 200 felony convictions were made including oliver north which he probably later pardoned.
I lived with a French family for a bit this summer, and they were CONVINCED that chocolate + coffee was very bad for you. I had heard of the French fear of eggs + milk, which was created as a way of rationing food (During WWII?), so I assumed this was a similar thing. I didn’t have the heart to argue, just shrugged and moved on…
That eating carrots can help you see in the dark better.
In WW2 the British were using radar to find enemy airplanes, but to keep radar a secret they told the whole of Britain they were feeding their men carrots. Germany then started feeding their army carrots as well. No, they do not help you see in the dark. The Carotene in them is good for your eyesight though.
The whole midnight ride of Paul Revere. Revere shouted “the Regulars are coming out” while riding with two others, one a doctor he met on the road who was returning from a ‘lady friend’s house’ at the scandalous hour of 1 am. Revere was captured by the British while his two friends escaped. It was the sleezy doctor, Samuel Prescott, who completed the ride, but Revere’s name rhymes with more things, so it’s him we heard about in the poem.
That all government is bad. I think people these days are starting to think that “freedom” and “anarchy” are synonyms, or close to it.
Also, people thinking that America is “the most free country in the world.” I believe this to be highly debatable considering how much of our population per capita is in jail, and that the few things which are legal in this country that are illegal in other developed nations might not necessarily be things that ought to be legal.
That the colonist and Native Americans were bestest of friends.
That gay marriage causes a destruction of marriage in general.
The idea of that most communist countries represented Marxist ideologies. The closest that I can think of was Cuba.
That America “won” the Cold War. They did not, or at least, not in the traditional sense.
And also, with the benefit of hindsight Nuclear Weapons were essential in stopping the Cold War from becoming “Hot”. I’m not denying that we were on the brink of Nuclear inhalation, but there very presence stopped both super-powers from starting WW3.
And finally, I hate to say this because I’m English, but the US did more to kick start the Northern Ireland peace-process that we ever did. To be honest, we were terrible with N. Ireland.
Recall hearing there were a number of made up stories in Soviet Russia about war heroes, social heroes and general sacrifice. Despite people coming forward stating they made up the people, some old generations in Russia find it difficult to believe their childhood heroes never existed and not sure but i think still celebrate public holidays in their honour.
That the Germans were the first to use the concentration camp.
Pretty sure that it was used in a large way by the British during the Second Boer War.
And there were probably many before that as well.
That the democratic party is the left end of the political spectrum and anything beyond is crazy.
That Iran, if left to its own devices and not sanctioned and intimidated by Western nations, will “wipe Israel off the map.”.
That America is a democracy. It’s not – there’s only two parties with near identical political views. What’s more, the engine that powers those politicians are the corporations which invest in both sides. Why do you think Obama couldn’t deliver on so many things? Being POTUS is mainly being PR head of ‘Muuurica.
In the meanwhile, the propaganda machine is running 24/7 to make poor Americans stupid enough to vote on people giving the rich ridiculous tax cuts, fondled by phrases as “wealth trickling down” and “health care is socialism, get out you evil commie!”. It’s coming to an end soon though, the system near imploded in 2008 and the cliff now is closer than ever.
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