Is the information presented to us in history textbooks really true? The short answer to that is, not really. I think it would be difficult to deny that the telling of history is a subjective endeavour. Much as we would like to think otherwise, life does not naturally follow a narrative; humans craft them according to their own perception of events and the world around them. And our collective story about Thanksgiving is just one example of this subjectivity in action.
Just as the video below points out, our understanding of history — much of which is embedded into various curriculums throughout North America — is corrupted by lies, half-truths, and propaganda. As the saying goes, history is written by the victors. But many of us, particularly children going through the education system, are woefully ignorant of this truth.
The first point brought up relates to Native Americans. We may have learned about some of their cultural practices in school, but what hasn’t been taught is the fact that, upon European arrival, our world witnessed one of the biggest genocides in history. We published an article about this a couple of months ago titled “What Really Happened When Columbus ‘Discovered’ America: A Real History Lesson.”
The video also reveals that turkey really had nothing to do with Thanksgiving, which is really a tragedy considering more than 45 million of these beautiful birds are killed every single year just for this holiday. When not forced to live on filthy factory farms, turkeys spend their days caring for their young, building nests, foraging for food, taking dust baths, and preening themselves. Unfortunately, today they are regarded by many as a holiday centrepiece, despite the fact that they have wonderful and distinct personalities, just as dogs and cats do.
Here is a great video put together by PETA that actually shows the truth about most of your Thanksgiving turkeys. Despite containing no graphic images, NBC decided to reject the ad.
An Age of Mass Propaganda
We are living in an age of mass propaganda. Naturally, many of us are curious about what is happening on our planet, and sadly, many flocks to mainstream media outlets to get their daily dose of ‘news’ — even though many have been outed several times for disseminating misinformation and outright lies. We have been subjected to this kind of biased news ever since Operation Mockingbird, a secret campaign run by United States Intelligence agencies to influence the media, first took effect.
One example of such dishonesty is the global war on terrorism. We’ve written about this in depth and provided a lot of evidence showing that this so-called war is a complete farce — a lie used to brainwash the masses and justify horrific actions in other countries.
Another great example is the food we eat, specifically Genetically Modified Foods and their accompanying pesticides. In the Western world, we are told that they are completely safe, yet 19 countries around the world have banned the growing of genetically modified crops. Their decision to do so was based on science demonstrating the dangers GM foods pose to human health and to the environment. You can find out more information in the article linked above regarding that.
There is a reason they call it television programming, or tell-lie-vision. Don’t be afraid to turn off your screens, educate yourself, and do your own research. If you’re constantly relying on mainstream media for your information, rest assured, you won’t be informed at all.