A call to take a stand on the lies of humanity

Ideas, thoughts, and resources from the permanently curious.

Living

World

Politics

A call to take a stand on the lies of humanity (7/12/03)

If you haven't happened across snopes.com yet, do so now. It is basically a collection of refutations of urban legends, which we all seem to get in our email boxes. Remember the one about business travelers having their kidneys stolen and waking up in a bathtub filled with ice? Have a look at snopes' take on it. Amazing, isn't it? They've really researched it and put the story in perspective.

So... quick question: why isn't anyone doing this for the lies of history? The holocaust deniers? The moon landing sceptics? I see lots of refutations but there isn't a single body actually taking a public stand on stuff as simple as those. It creates confusion in the minds of those who don't have the time or knowledge to make heads or tails out of these things. Someone, trusted, should be taking a stand and defending it, so we can look to them for understanding.

Why am I talking about such a harmless thing? Because it isn't harmless. Some rather main stream folks in even a country like Egypt promulgate these myths as if they are fact, perhaps not knowing better themselves. I wonder if those folks in Egypt know , they share a place in history with Hitler and even the Russian Okhara. I wonder how many people accept these myths as fact and help OBL because of it.

We've seen the results of that help. This isn't a harmless issue. Someone, or some organization, needs to start taking a stand on what is true and what isn't. Soon.