In our second discussion with Salim Mansur relating to the history and ideas behind ‘neoconservatism,’ we find ourselves once again confronted with the Noble Lie: the belief that some people (the ‘elites’) are endowed with a natural right to rule other people (the masses).
In stark contrast to the principles upon which America was founded (and to the expression of these principles in the American Constitution), the various ‘noble lies’ that slowly crept into the American consciousness resulted in what Salim calls the ‘warping’ of America’s culture.
Among the manifestations assumed by the Noble Lie was one called the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), a foreign policy initiative calling for America’s ‘Full Spectrum dominance’ to rule the nations and resources of the entire world.
Selling that idea to the American people, in a nation conditioned never to go abroad ‘looking for monsters to slay,’ became a fait accompli with American acceptance of the twin myths of ‘American exceptionalism’ and of a ‘chosen people’. Indeed, the establishment of the state of Israel, largely supported by Christian Zionists in the ‘bible belt’ of America, became another justification for America’s going abroad looking for ‘monsters to slay.’
The seemingly benign and altruistic motivation to spread ‘democracy’ throughout the world has turned into a reality of perpetual war. Though advocates of democracy claim to be driven by noble purpose, the reality is another matter.
Tracing the roots of the Noble Lie back to Plato, Salim describes how various ‘noble lies’ are shaped and constructed through the narratives of religious beliefs, mythologies, and legends. As fictions, they are technically ‘lies,’ but lies with purposes assumed to be noble.
Sadly, Noble Lies have been used to hide truth. But when in conflict with truth, ‘noble purpose’ becomes little more than virtue signaling where no virtue exists.
All nations and cultures have histories expressed through ‘noble’ narratives that, when shared by their people, help maintain the stability and values of the given culture.
In this context, we must caution ourselves not to assume that because a narrative is fiction, it must also be a lie. Of course, it is always possible to technically argue that, being fiction, any given narrative is not factually true. However, as we have observed before, the power of fiction is no fiction, especially when it reveals truths in ways otherwise difficult to share among the masses.
Fiction is not fact but representation, ideally of a truth, or under the motivation of ‘noble purpose’, of a falsehood. But at the root of the Noble Lie we find an ‘Ignoble Truth’: that too many prefer the Lie rather than face a reality whose truth demands their attention and action.
For those seeking to achieve, not a Noble Lie, but a Noble Truth, perhaps getting the narrative Just Right might be a good place to start.
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