We live immersed in myths. A myth is not a pure, simple lie. It’s bigger than that and not necessarily bad at first. In terms of self-identity at least, we are what we believe we are.
But what really matters is:
We are what we repeatedly do
— Will Durant, summarizing Aristotle's idea
Greeks had a quite pragmatic view of the virtuous person. For Aristotle, this is not something innate, nor a matter of chance. Actually, very few things are innate. A person pursuing virtue is like someone learning how to play an instrument. It is discipline, repetition, patience, consistency. You need to practice, fail, try again. Over time you get good at it.
That’s a good metaphor. As we all know, for some, playing an instrument comes easily; it flows naturally. For others, it's brutally hard, if not impossible.
It is not rare to have a disconnection between a self-belief and real practice. This harms a lot, not only individually. The dissonance haunts forever.
There’s a brilliant text from Franz Kafka about his father:
The main thing was that the bread should be cut straight. But it didn’t matter that you did it with a knife dripping with gravy.
Care had to be taken that no scraps fell on the floor.
In the end it was under your chair that there were most scraps.
— Franz Kafka, “Letter to His Father,” 1919
The same dissonance that Kafka saw in his father also applies to nations.
Myths are very commonly used to straight national identity. Often they are bullshit. A historical moment, a key figure … all this can and will be reshaped to fit. History manipulation is common. The so-called ‘narratives.’
But facts can be verified with concrete evidence, omissions spotted, and nonsense interpretations challenged rationally. History is a science.
You can convince some that a lie is true, but only for some time.
Truth is like a punch in the face. Myths can’t stand long. Too fragile.
Nothing beats the truth.
“He can run, but he can’t hide.”
— Joe Louis, 1946, answering a journalist: “If he runs, will you chase him?”
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