Why do schools continually teach their students lies about the story of Columbus? Instead of telling

The truth of Columbus is on my blog under "Convenient Memories" - http://pjbradbury.blogspot.com/

It's the same as the "truth" of fluoride - it kills and the "benefits" were only dreamed up by Alcoa to avoid having to pay a $40 million fine for pollution in the 1940's.

Truth is what you want it to be and people believe what they're told as it's too much work or too scary to see reality.

This question goes to the very heart of what education is.

It assumes that there is a truth out there and that we can get at it.

Well, sorry, but there isn't any absolute truth. History is not science: it doesn't depend on theories based on facts. It depends on theories that select relevant facts.

We, in the History and Teaching trade call it "bias".

Allow me to present you with an example:

In Germany in 1933, schoolchildren were told (quite truthfully) that the first Germans came from the Caucasus and that they were a race that mastered all the local people. They were also told, quite truthfully, that the Jews were imported much later from the Middle East and that they were, therefore, not natural Germans.

In Germany in 2009, these ideas are forbidden by law. Nowadays everyone, no matter what their origins, is equal.

Tell me, therefore, who is right and why?

Notice how the facts are presented quite truthfully - the Germans really did come from the Caucasus and the Jews really did come from the Middle East much later - but the spin on them - the bias - determines which facts are chosen.

I am sure your teacher got the facts right (didn't s/he?)

What surprises me is that s/he didn't let you make your own bias up for yourself.

The lie will continue because of power and control. The white race loses a bit of power when we are force to acknowledge the truth....and they can't have that so keep the lie to keep the power....shame, shame, shame.

When the legend becomes the truth..we believe the legend. It makes a better story. Just look at the Ride of Paul Revere. Or the truth about the Alamo.Even the truth about 9/11 has been and will be distorted to a point that our Grandchildren won't be taught the truth.

Analogous to icon Mel Gibson's film "Apocalypto" New World explorers, from Columbus to Cortez, brought Christianity ashore serving to replace Indian, Myan human sacrifice with love and church construction. It's no coinkydink that a ginormous percentage of them are still Catholic.

Now if people would prefer to return to human sacrifice, simply rent the film.

-Abe Normal

"Put that in the bank and smoke it," (Nahn Tradishunal).