Chris Hedges's Essay 'The Destruction Of Culture'
Many notice our descent into fantasy began much earlier than just the recent election. Our patriotic identity is complicated and messy; however, it has always done nothing short of staunchly protecting our ideals. But as Chris Hedges explores in his essay, “The Destruction of Culture”, serving an agenda rather than the truth can be precarious. Hedges is a former foreign correspondent, who beared witness to the gruesome horrors of war in various parts of the world. He notes, “By destroying authentic culture -- that which allows us to question and examine ourselves and society...It is replaced with a warped version of reality. The enemy is dehumanized; the universe starkly divided between the forces of light and the forces of darkness,” (Hedges
…show more content…
Science has made it clear that we are much more likely to believe what we want. In 1957, Leon Festinger became developed the cognitive dissonance theory. The term was created to describe conundrum of how our conscious, when faced with conflict with one’s beliefs, makes justifications in order to reduce the importance of that inconsistency because of internal discomfort. (McLeod). While our past collective experiences as a country had a detrimental role in shaping our mental polarization, research like that of Festinger’s proves that our psychology too makes the Post-Truth world’s approach to politics all the more attractive. Beyond that, scientists have also made significant headway in studying our sensory perception to prove that our realities are not as reliable as they seem. Molecular biologist Richard Axel wrote “Scents and Sensibility: A Molecular Logic of Olfactory Perception” in order to showcase what his research discovered about sensory perception, “Colors, tones, taste, smells, are active constructs created by our brains out of sensory experience. They do not exist as such outside of sensory experience,” (Axel 3). He concludes that the biological reality we perceive is simply a reflection of our own internal capacity. Therefore, our perspectives are in a position to be undermined when we feel entitled to treat our opinions as universal
Science has made it clear that we are much more likely to believe what we want. In 1957, Leon Festinger became developed the cognitive dissonance theory. The term was created to describe conundrum of how our conscious, when faced with conflict with one’s beliefs, makes justifications in order to reduce the importance of that inconsistency because of internal discomfort. (McLeod). While our past collective experiences as a country had a detrimental role in shaping our mental polarization, research like that of Festinger’s proves that our psychology too makes the Post-Truth world’s approach to politics all the more attractive. Beyond that, scientists have also made significant headway in studying our sensory perception to prove that our realities are not as reliable as they seem. Molecular biologist Richard Axel wrote “Scents and Sensibility: A Molecular Logic of Olfactory Perception” in order to showcase what his research discovered about sensory perception, “Colors, tones, taste, smells, are active constructs created by our brains out of sensory experience. They do not exist as such outside of sensory experience,” (Axel 3). He concludes that the biological reality we perceive is simply a reflection of our own internal capacity. Therefore, our perspectives are in a position to be undermined when we feel entitled to treat our opinions as universal