| Notes | '282-283 Exaggeration and Embellishment\n \nAlthough it is apparently rare and difficult to fabricate a wholly spurious group memory, it is relatively easy and common to take some shreds of historical truth and blow them up into a major, important myth for the group. Social groups exaggerate the importance and positivity of the deeds of their ancestors.\n eg. Exaggeration of U.S. role in WWII\n [283]eg. America discovered by Columbus\n eg. Khmer Rouge & Angkor empire\n eg. Thanksgiving'
'281-2 Fabrication The logical complement to a strategy of denying something that did happen is to affirm something that did not - in other words, to invent a false memory. Despite the seeming appeal of such myths, few examples of complete fabrication can be found. One such apparent fabrication involves Betsy Ross. Everyone has heard the story, although history books do not generally tell it. According to such accounts, George Washington asked Betsy Ross to create a new flag for the new nation. Although Ross actually existed, she did not sew the first American flag. The story was invented in 1876 by some of her descendants in order to create a tourist attraction in Philadelphia.[282] Still, it seems that by and large outright fabrication of collective memory is rare. The implication may be that collective memories are to some extent constrained by the facts. Facts may be deleted, altered, shaded, reinterpreted, exaggerated, and place in favorable contexts, but wholesale fabrication seems to lie beyond what most groups can accomplish. Presumably, a thorough historical search would eventually uncover an example or two of fabrication, but these would be extreme exceptions. Fabrication is thus not one of the standard techniques of altering collective memory for self-serving ends.'
'287-290 Blaming the Enemy An important form of memory distortion involves focusing on actual or presumptive misdeeds by one's enemies or opponents, to the extent that even one's own misdeeds can be minimized as mere responses to the enemy. The ultimate form of this allows one to attribute one's own misdeeds to one's enemies.'
'280-281 Selective Omission Probably the easiest and most obvious way to distort collective memory involves the selective omission of disagreeable facts. Events that make one's social group look bad can often be ignored or expunged from its memory. To the extent that a group can succeed in deleting the bad side of its past, what remains will be mostly positive, and this will provide a good foundation for a positive collective self-image. For example, nearly every school course in American history mentions the Dutch purchase of Manhattan island for $24... [cites Loewen] 281 The omission is presumably not motivated by a simple wish to preserve the belief in the naiveté of the Native Americans. It was the greed of the White settlers that led them to do whatever they felt was necessary to get the land they wanted, and so they deliberately paid the wrong tribe for it. Viewed in its proper light, the deal was an utter swindle, but by presenting it as a great bargain the dishonesty of our forefathers is greatly concealed. [BUT THE DUTCH AREN"T OUR FOREFATHERS] '
'277 Like individuals, social groups have important memories that help them define themselves, understand the world, and structure their motivations. Also like individuals, social groups may often find that a literal, objective record of the facts is not always the most helpful way of satisfying those interpretive needs. As a result, social groups (again like individuals) will sometimes gradually distort their memories in systematic ways. Most groups, like most individuals, try to maintain a positive image of self. Because the reality of events does not always fit that desired image, it is necessary to choose between revising the image and revising the meaning of events. The latter choice is the one of self-deception, and so it is the one discussed here. But this does not mean groups never revise their self-appraisals in light of the facts.'
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