202 Myths we want to believe

In a women’s group Saturday at a suburban church we were discussing materialism. "The world" is a favorite topic of Christians, and consumerism truly is our golden calf. So not much has changed since Moses’ day. I mentioned the ABC 20/20 Friday night news program hosted by John Stossel, "Lies, Myths and Downright Stupidity; Stossel’s List of Popularly Reported Misconceptions." I believe he has written a book by this title.

One of the myths, # 7, was that "Money can buy happiness." It fit with our discussion. Everyone agreed it is a myth. Sure, we’ve all heard the proverbs and the songs, but still virtually everyone thinks, more is better. He cited a study that showed money does buy happiness if your family income is below $30,000, but by $50,000 it doesn’t affect your sense of well being at all.

A number of the myths in Stossel’s book have to do with wealth, the good life, or even all the issues politicians fight over.

10) Cold temperatures give you colds. Not so--it’s viruses.
9) We have less free time than we used to. Not so. People were asked to track their time, and were watching 3 times more TV than they estimated. 36 million golf; 65 million camp; millions go to the beach; millions flock to sporting events (more than go to church I think)
8) Families need 2 incomes just to survive. Not so, in most cases. It’s a choice. One of the women in the interview group who insisted she had to have a part time job was using the money for a third car (2 drivers in the family).
7) See above--money and happiness.
6) Republicans are for small government. Not so. No Republican administration in 75 years has reduced government. The Bush Administration has grown government by 25% and has increased domestic spending in education, labor, the environment, etc. beyond anything in the Clinton Administration.
5) The rich don’t pay taxes. For this a Democratic Presidential candidate was interviewed and he really dropped the ball--and evaded the question, because he wants taxes on the rich to go up. The richest 1% ($300,000 and up) of Americans pay 34% and the top 5% (over $125,000) pay more than 50% of all federal taxes.
4) Chemicals are killing us. No. We obsess over it, however. A group of children were interviewed and their fear of chemicals was striking. In Uganda two to three million people die annually because the USA won’t make and sell DDT. “It’s fine to be a rich, white environmentalist,” says Amir Attaran on the show. “It’s not so fine if you’re a poor black kid about to die of malaria.”
3) Gun control is making a difference. Not even close. For this they interviewed convicted felons who said they’d never purchased a gun legally, so the laws made no difference to them. They feared armed citizens more than the police or jail they said.
2) We’re drowning in garbage. No. This myth got started with that floating barge of garbage back in 1987. There are plenty of landfills, and many become useful space after compacting and resurfacing.
1) New York harbor is filthy and polluted. For this myth, Stossel jumped into the water. I’m not sure I would do that to prove a point. He isn’t looking quite as healthy and vibrant as he used to.

Myths are hard to give up, especially if they give your life meaning and definition, and especially causes to work for. There’s plenty out there to do for others--just open the Bible to find your “to do” list. It will also take care of the free time problem.