Myths and Nonsense
When I was a little boy in the evangelical church, they would show us articles about Noah’s Ark being found. Sometimes, it was explorers, sometimes U.S. Air Force reconnaissance – but the story always had the same purpose validating literal interpretation as a way of viewing the Bible.

It was all nonsense of course, just a useful myth to give the kiddies a theological push in the right direction. I am sure the adults who pushed this stuff never thought they were doing any harm.
But teaching children nonsense is wrong and unwise. At the very least when we grow up and find that we’ve been mislead, we might be angry and resentful.

The article below talks about the myth of the black confederate soldier. I wish that it would finally exterminate the vile idea that Black men fought against the Union. But I don’t think it will have that effect.

There’s an old joke in business that if your job depends on believe nonsense, you’re going to believe nonsense. For many the idea that the South fought a noble cause is part of their self image. It’s hard to face the fact that slavery was the motivating cause that resulted in the deaths of 625,000 Americans.

The rise of the myth of the Black confederate soldier is part of the fascist and neo-fascist revival we are seeing on social media and on the streets of some of our cities. Fascism is a disease of the mind. For many people are unable to develop their own significance. Doing a good deed, analytical thinking and having strong experiences, the three gateways to self development is beyond them. So, they grasp the final empty straw of racial superiority and it must feel wonderful. You rise in the morning and the task of proving yourself and your value is done. You look in the mirror and see yourself as the end result of history, perfect in every way. It must be intoxicating.

These kinds of myths have long life spans and go away only after centuries. When the Normans conquered England it too centuries for the idea of Norma superiority to gradually merge into the idea of equality between the resident Anglo-Saxons and the Normans became the rule.
And so it will be here. We have some centuries to go. But one day, our descendants should we manage the job before of us of saving our planet, will be one race and one people.

James Pilant

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/13/black-confederates-civil-war-myth-kevin-levin