Ignorance and Entitlement

The myths we tell ourselves are killing us

[This is a transcript of our podcast released on October 17, 2021]

I started writing this essay on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, October 11. We used to call it Columbus Day, but as people grew increasingly familiar with the true history of Christopher Columbus, attitudes shifted in favor of celebrating our Native American heritage, as opposed to celebrating someone who basically decimated Native Americans.

But there are holdouts in this reclassification of this day of remembrance. There are those who still push the mythology of Christopher Columbus, saying he boldly went where no man had gone before. That he single-handedly proved the earth was not flat. That he made the very creation of our nation possible.

Where do these myths come from? Many of us were taught the tall tales of Christopher Columbus back in grade school. Similar to learning about Santa Claus, we were taught the myth that most people back in the days of Columbus were convinced the earth was flat, and Christopher Columbus proved them wrong. But later in high school we were set straight. We learned that the ancient Greeks not only figured out that the earth was round, but they actually calculated its size with a surprising degree of accuracy. This was nearly 2000 years before Columbus.

So don’t be fooled, all sailors and academics of the day knew the earth wasn’t flat. That’s a myth; one of many that we’ve all been told in grade school, only to find out later in life that they were indeed, myths.

Like I said, there are still some holdouts who continue to push these “Santa Claus” myths well into adulthood. Take, for example, Eric Schmitt, the current Attorney General for the state of Missouri who’s also running for senator next year. In a highly controversial tweet on Indigenous People’s Day, he said, “In 1492 the ‘consensus’ among scientists was that the earth was flat. Christopher Columbus challenged that notion and changed the world forever.”

Now, it’s easy to make fun of someone who so boldly stuck his foot in his mouth — and he did suffer a lot of humiliation, not only on Twitter but on the nightly news — but it troubles me nevertheless that he actually continues to push this myth. It’s dangerous, I believe, because it’s part of a much larger story about ignorance and entitlement.

What does ignorance have to do with entitlement? A lot. In general, when someone has the correct information, he will make a more informed decision. A more informed decision is a better decision because it produces a better long term outcome. This is particularly important for our political leaders. But incorrect information sets the stage for disastrous and dangerous decisions. Furthermore, information that is intentionally incorrect forms the basis of propaganda, which is always used for nefarious purposes.

Propaganda relies on manipulation of the masses through false information. But it’s not so simple to just tell one story to a person and have him believe it. No. Propaganda requires diligence, repetition and consistency. It turns out that it’s fairly easy to fully indoctrinate a young person’s mind, when he or she trusts what is being said and will then grow to adulthood believing these things without question. And these sets of beliefs can motivate that adult to do harm, not so much as a conscious act, but as a natural part of his or her sense of entitlement.

For example, while the flat-earth myth that Eric Schmitt pushed may seem harmless on the surface, consider that he chose to tell his story on Indigenous People’s Day. The timing of Schmitt’s story was intentional; he intentionally disparaged our fellow indigenous Americans by throwing Columbus back at them. He did it on purpose. He did it as a message that said, “We kicked your asses over the past few hundred years, and we’re going to continue kicking your asses into the future. So y’all better stay down and don’t try to ruin our history with this talk of Indigenous People’s Day.”

It’s difficult for me to believe that people weren’t personally hurt by this. And the fact that Schmitt made a perfect fool of himself by getting his facts wrong didn’t make any difference. It was intentional. He intentionally dished out a cold plate of pugnacity for a subset of Americans he considered beneath him.

Originally published at https://www.democracyonthemove.org on October 17, 2021.