The Definition Of Myths In American Politics

"Widely held but false idea" is one dictionary definition of myth in common usage. For reasons that are still unclear, myths abound in recent American political history. Perhaps the most glaring and consequential was the myth that Iraq under Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. There are other cases in point. For instance, Barack Obama is a Muslim born in Kenya and therefore not an American citizen. Poor people are poor by choice, another commonly heard myth. These are myths, yet they are widely believed in certain circles. They are spoken as truth often enough that people begin to believe them without looking into the actual truth. A myth related to the economy is, a rising tide lifts all boats. This saying was much more accurate when we were an industrial society and manufacturing products created the majority of jobs. However, it is much less true today when the economic tide is one of finance and money manipulation which lifts the yachts but not the rowboats of the majority of us. We find myths thrive in all areas of life. …show more content…
In his 1962 Yale University commencement speech, John F. Kennedy was speaking of the myths on both sides that perpetuated a Cold War in a dangerous way. Over 50 years later, no assessment comes closer to describing much of our current political world. Reason and facts are sacrificed to opinion and myth. Demonstrable falsehoods are circulated and recycled as fact. Narrow minded opinion refuses to be subjected to thought and analysis. Too many people subject events to a prefabricated set of interpretations, usually provided by a biased media source. The myth is more comfortable than the often difficult search for