The Most Dangerous Lie Ever Told
Before the COVID pandemic, one of my favorite past-times was going to the movies. My husband and I were AMC A-List members, which allowed us to attend up to 3 movies each week. While we rarely saw 3 movies each week, we were definitely regulars at our favorite AMC theaters.
One movie that continues to stick with me is Inception by Christopher Nolan. For those who have not seen it and want to be able to watch it without any spoilers: STOP READING NOW. For those who have seen it or don’t care to read anything that divulges aspects of the movie, please continue to read.
The movie gets its title from a key tactic that Leonardo DiCaprio’s character uses within his work. Inception plants an idea into someone’s mind in a manner that the individual does not realize their mind has been manipulated. Done well, inception leads the individual to believe that the idea originated within their own mind. In the movie, we see the dangers of inception hit close to home when DiCaprio’s character uses the tactic on his own wife.
This notion of inception is something that I have repeatedly come back to as I have thought about how conditioning works. All of us are a product of the conditions that we grew up in and currently live in, mixed with the evolutionary wiring that helps us stay alive moment-to-moment. When we combine our nature and nurture, it becomes easy to assume that the things that we believe and how we behave originate from the core of who we are. Those of us who choose to explore who we authentically are, usually undergo a process of questioning and reflection. It is through this process where we begin to gain clarity and increasingly work to differentiate the fundamental truths of who we are from how we have been conditioned to be.
When I reflect on the cycles of violence that continue to play out across our world, it occurs to me that the conditions that perpetuate this violence are rooted in THE most dangerous lie ever told – that there is a hierarchy of human value. When we really think about every single system of oppression, they all boil down to a belief that some humans have less value than other humans. The only thing that shifts and changes is the dimension that we’re using to assign value, all of which are completely manufactured. Complicating matters even further, is that this hierarchy of humans lie is fueled by another lie – one of scarcity – and both are supercharged by our pack animal survival wiring that biases us towards our “own group.”
While these inceptions continue to live and breathe, it does not lead me to despair. I’m not going to lie, though. It is sometimes hard to reckon with the fact that it does not matter that these are lies; that what matters is that people believe they are true. I have to force myself to remember that this is the power of conditioning at play. This awareness, though, does compel me to understand why people – including myself – often act against our own interests and in ways that separate us from one another. It also challenges me to seek more compassionate ways to expose the lies. Ways that are grounded in love and forging connections.
What also helps to counteract feelings of despair is knowing that I am doing this work in solidarity. Working side-by-side with folks who have committed to continuing the work of countless known and unknown ancestors who did everything they could to make sure that successive generations would be better off than they were. This too is often easier said than done, since I know that I’m working to help build a liberated world that I will not experience in my lifetime. However, when I remember the fundamental truth of who I am, I get back to work.
Reflection Questions
What is your active practice for discerning what is true from what is not true?
What are you actively doing to help build a liberated world?
For those who have not seen it, I highly recommend watching Javier Bardem share his reflections on the genocide that has unfolded in Gaza over the course of this last year.
Comments