History is written by the victors, yet the facts tend to be buried or edited in order to change a narrative. If enough time elapses, these lies ring true.
History seems fluid – but it should not be edited.
When I was growing in Ecuador – the country where I was born, patriotism was a big deal. In fact, “amor a la patria” (love for the motherland) was the first lesson you’ve heard as a child. For many would have the motto of “Dios, patria y hogar” (God, Country, and Home). It was normal, and expected. Many would argue “as it should.”
But patriotism by itself is not enough, sometimes blind patriotism can create a very false sense of reality. And wanting to believe something does not make it factual. Truth to be told, biases can be embedded in a story and create an enhanced narrative that distorts the actual events as they unfold. I’m not saying this is done [necessarily] with bad intention. But it is a slippery slope.
When a narrative that is “inaccurate” is allowed to be told without it being challenged, it opens the door to many unintended consequences. Particularly, accepting the exaggerated version of the events taken at face value. Give it enough tine, and this inaccurate version will seem plausible, and fast forward some more – accepted as the official version.
Yes, I keep saying version because I don’t want my words to be taken out of context. Afterall, preventing narratives from getting out of context is the whole point for this article. Yet, no matter how airtight we can try to express our facts and analysis – there will be somebody who will surprise you with an interpretation that is completely divorced from reality. If you have been hanging out on social media long enough you know exactly what I mean by that.
Something similar, but spanning a longer term does happen when history is not being captured as it happened. Especially if a bias gets implanted along the way. Some records will be “misplaced” or altogether disappear – especially if somebody finds those inconvenient, and instead finds it pertinent to push certain narratives. But the truth does come out if we seek it pragmatically. It might take a long time to dig it out, but the truth is what it is.
When something is true, it does not matter how complex or simple it is – all the pieces will fall into place automatically, no matter how you try to legitimately measure it. Conversely, a falsehood, no matter how well-crafted it might be perceived – math will not add somewhere. By the way, that is how it is possible to uncover the truth and separate it from falsehoods.
This is happening right now all around the world. Even as close as our beloved United States of America. There is no shortage of propaganda and falsehoods permeating our entire media ecosystem. Being propagated by bloggers, influencers, mainstream media, independent media, pseudo-scientist, etc. There are many falsehoods disguised as facts. And suddenly, “opinions” – no matter how misguided are given the same credence as empirical facts. That’s problematic.
I’ve remember having my first instance of realizing history could be propagandistic when I was still a child in Ecuador. It broke my heart so much that from then on, I became skeptical about many things. It took a while to refine these skills (this journey does not happen overnight). But it was the start of an awakening that has forged my critical thinking – but most importantly my intellectual honesty about what is true and what is fantasy.
Abdón Calderón the Heroic Child
Every child knew this story of patriotism and valor in Ecuador. Growing up, I remember there was also a mandatory exam to ensure you (as a child) were able to regurgitate it as it was officially told by your teachers. And of course, all grownups were also very familiar with the inspiring saga of this Ecuadorian Military Soldier who was not only a teenager – but also a Liberation Army Officer.
The story as it was told during the entire 20th century states that during the Pichincha Battle on May 24, 1822. This is one of the most important battles in the history of Ecuador because it marks an important event in liberating the present-day Republic of Ecuador from the Spanish monarchy. It was taught that during this battle Abdon Calderon was shot in every limb, yet he still was leading the troops to battle despite his injuries. To the point that when he could not hold the flag with his hands, he used his teeth to keep the flag in battle. Yes, his teeth.
Subsequently, young Lieutenant Calderon succumbed to his injuries that same day and was promoted postmortem by Simon Bolivar himself to the rank of Captain after hearing this valorous recount. How much of this story do you think is actually true? Surprisingly quite a bit – but there are also a lot of “artistic license” specifically fabricated as a patriotic narrative to inspire children to love the country, as much as Calderon did.
The person responsible for editing history as occurred was Manuel Calle, who published the book “Leyendas del Tiempo Heroico” (Legends of heroic times) 80 years after Calderon’s death. The book was a best seller on its time, and it targeted civics and patriotism for Ecuadorian kids. And to be honest, Calderon’s life without having to resort to embellishments would have been impressive enough. However, the embellishments were taught as part of official educational curriculums for decades! Even when I was a kid.
So, what really happened? Well, Abdon Calderon y Guaraycoa was born in the city of Cuenca on July 31, 1804. He was the son of a Cuban Colonel and a lady from the city of Guayaquil. His dad was shot and killed on 1812. Calderon was a teenager when he joined the battalion for Patriotic Volunteers. Calderon was actually very active, an served as a junior officer in many significant campaigns to liberate Ecuador from the Spanish Monarchy even by age 17. He also fought alongside General Sucre, who is one of the most prominent liberators in Latin America.
Calderon did receive four mortal wounds in battle during the Battle of Pichincha in 1822. And he refused to leave the battleground. For this act of Heroism Simon Bolivar awarded him the rank of Captain postmortem – and they did not install any additional Captain for that post because his legacy was meant to last forever in the hearts of the Ecuadorian troops.
However, Calderon did not die on the battle ground. Sadly, he agonized in pain for 14 days and finally passed away on June 7, 1822. He was buried in the church located at the Convento Maximo de San Nicolas de Quito. His cause of death was gangrene as a consequence of his wounds. That is the real story of this inspiring young man.
Hindsight is always 20/20. To this day, I don’t quite understand why Calle wanted to exaggerate Calderon’s legacy. The way I see it, the truth is a lot more inspiring when it gets humanized – because it is real. Fast forward to the 21st century and this otherwise heroic story has been tainted by many who don’t know what is true, and what is fiction. And even discard the actual valor he achieved because of the exaggeration planted upon his actual legacy.
This has always been an interesting story for me, because it made me doubt what else was fabricated, exaggerated, or downright inaccurate – yet it was taken as empirical facts by grownups. People I was supposed to look up to as the bearers of truth. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise, because as a Military Analyst, now my job is to poke holes in narratives that make no sense, and find what is the truth buried between all the noise and distractions.
Bringing it full circle to the pages of modern history.
Like it or not, we write the pages of history every single day. We are all part of it, sometimes we just don’t realize it because it might not seem obvious. Yet, we can be on the correct side of history, or being in the wrong side of history. This might not seem obvious for many years to come. But what I can tell you is that if you’re treating other people well, that is a good indicator you’re not on the wrong side.
With that said, as you are in the midst of a battle ground what is right or wrong might seem very subjective. In fact, a lot of people who perpetrated some of the worst crimes against humanity thought that they were doing the correct thing by enacting untold levels of terror against their “enemies.” But remember, dehumanizing anybody is never acceptable. That is why we have international laws that are punitive in nature for those who dehumanize other people.
However, geopolitical situations are a lot more complex than what superficially meets the eye. In fact, they are a lot more complex than what already seems convoluted. Why? Because the truth about geopolitical circumstances is that they are abstract. That is why sometimes they might make no sense to some people. Trying to see something abstract in a concrete manner is not going to be fully assimilated.
And it is in these subtleties that opportunistic entities (or people) can insert additional narratives to the facts. Maybe embellish then just enough to spark that visceral bias. Some might say, “well a little exaggeration is ok” – but it is not. If there is going to be some exaggeration, I am a firm proponent to make it obvious what is real and what is not true. Because otherwise this false narrative might outlast the actual merit for a particular issue, and if discovered, likely negate the entire merit altogether. Like the example I mentioned earlier.
But also, because technically changing the facts constitute propaganda. Propaganda has “some facts” embedded into the narrative. That is the hook, it creates some “attention” that can be scrutinized a couple of inches deep and pass the smell test. But that is where it ends. Propaganda will soon enough show all the flaws in the narrative. As I said before, no matter how sophisticated, math will not add somewhere.
And this is where things turn dangerous. Propagandists will release a very redacted set of datapoints to the people consuming this information. They will hide the points that contradict their narrative. This can happen either wittingly, or unwittingly – surprisingly enough. It is all based on the predisposition of a person’s bias towards believing in a certain narrative. Especially if this narrative has been seeding for years.
At that point facts will not matter – because it becomes about the “feeling” – about that emotional response. And those are incredibly powerful catalysts. It is fascinating to see how people will perform extreme mental gymnastics just so they can “escape” that truth. For them – of course, the truth is considered a falsehood. And if challenged enough, they will tend to become very snappy or defensive. There is a reason for that.
We can call it intuition, we can call it a sixth sense, call it whatever you want to. Many people have an instinctual “right or wrong” button installed. This can be overwritten, but when that happens it creates some sort of bitterness. In other words, unconsciously they know they are not on the right track – hence they get very contentious when challenged, and will naturally gravitate towards their bubble where a confirmation bias will bring them back to their “perceived” normal.
Since I am actually exceedingly cynical, I can tell exactly when this is occurring to people. Sometimes I might engage in conversation – even make them think they are winning an argument. But eventually it will come full circle until they have to realize they have talked themselves into a corner a few times. And no, a lot of times they won’t realize it until perhaps several days or even months later.
But what I am really doing is planting those seeds to “deprogram them” from that false narrative. They might not realize it, but it is for their own good. And that is even why I entertain talking to some “trolls” from time to time. I do it for two reasons. Number one, because I am a decent person and I know they are in the wrong, but they might not have realized it yet – and I want to truly help them. And Number two, because it is part of my research as I study the effects of propaganda on people. From my point of view, that is a win-win.
And the reason why I am doing that is because history is being “edited” every day. And it is getting a lot worse. This is important because as I wrote in my books, authoritarians want to turn rhetoric into action. And this action can turn into very violent campaigns if those people whose biases are being compromised have a proclivity for inflicting damage onto others. And the saddest part is that even good people who have otherwise good intentions can fall victims of that trap. It’s designed to be that way.
This phenomenon is not even a political right- or left-wing type of vulnerability. Sure, for some countries some people on the right will be the more vulnerable, but the same can be true for people on the left. Again, this is not necessarily a political situation, it is a human trait that is extremely exploitable. Although politics could be an optimal vehicle. I have found from all sides in the political spectrum how these implanted biases can overwrite rationality on people, and become extremely defensive – or even go on the offensive when challenged. But when it comes to propaganda, that is exactly the objective. To divide people, and communication breakdown.
But keep in mind that this does not mean that we are just to be railroaded by somebody who is been irreverent during a dialog going awry. At some point when people start to annoy me, I might start the session of making them hit that brick wall a bit faster, and at some point, I’ll plant a mental bomb that will give them something to chew on for a while – maybe give them a couple of nightmares.
They might think they have won a battle of wits (a battle I am not actually fighting with them), but their subconscious will bring them back full circle – eventually. In fact, you can tell that is the case when they re-appear out of the blue with some sophomore-like remark. I’ve seen it a thousand times.
I also do this because other people get to read those interactions and they reach out to me on Direct Message to tell me how they appreciate the dialog I’ve had with the confused person. Most people will just not have the patience to deal with them. And I cannot blame them. But the sad truth is that these confused people can unknowingly be the next group who will perpetuate a lie that gets enough traction, and by the time the truth has time to catch up, the damage was already done – polluting the minds of so many.
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As I wrap my first article for 2024 – this is part of my personal mission and commitment. Many might not have realized it yet, but 2024 is going to be one of the most important turning points in American History. I am not naïve to realize that the battle is uphill, but it will be worth completing the campaign. Afterall, [maybe] my story, just like the real story about the child soldier I mentioned before will not be anywhere as embellished as Calles claimed it to be – but the truth is always more meritorious! HLC