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US Government Denies Existence Of Mermaids
The U.S. National Ocean Service has released a statement confirming there is no scientific evidence for mermaids.
Interesting – I didn't realize this was a subject of debate.
Apparently it wasn't until Discovery Channel's Animal Planet network ran a spoof documentary titled "Mermaids: The Body Found." The channel's own press release labels the show "science fiction." This wasn't enough for some viewers and according to the BBC, the National Ocean Service received a couple of inquiries about the fishy folk. To keep the public from reviving the superstitions of illiterate 19th century sailors, they made a public denial of something they never thought they'd have to deny.
When I read this I went through the predictable range of reactions. First I laughed, then I felt smugly superior, then I said, "Hey, I need to write this up for Gadling!" Then I did something I didn't expect.
I got very, very afraid.
The public dialogue is awash with ridiculous assertions: Obama is a Muslim, the Moon landings were faked, all foreigners hate America, aliens regularly visit Earth to anally probe drunk farmers, etc., etc. Last week we even learned that some radical ultra-Orthodox Jews believe Hitler and top Zionists plotted to create the Holocaust so the Jews could create Israel. I'm still shaking my head over that one.
This level of ignorance is the result of many factors, but one cause rules over them all: a complete lack of context. Our schools teach us so little about the world that it's easy to believe anything. Even the most basic knowledge of history, biology, evolution, oceanography, or folklore would guarantee that someone wouldn't believe in mermaids, yet some people who went through the educational system of the most powerful country in the world lack this knowledge.
It's easy to laugh this off when it's about mermaids. It's not so funny when educated people seriously ask me if I had to pack a two-month supply of food to live in Ethiopia, or if Spain still has roving gangs of bandidos.
And if you think nobody is encouraging and profiting off this rampant ignorance, think again. The Republican Party of Texas included as part of its 2012 platform that it opposes the teaching of critical thinking in schools. And no, I'm not picking on the GOP. All politicians manipulate public ignorance to further their own ends. With elections coming up, it's time to get educated.
This is why I love travel. It gets rid of my ignorance and teaches me that I'm ignorant about things I didn't even know I was clueless about. To paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, it changes unknown unknowns into known knowns. Example: five years ago I thought all of Somalia was in chaos – then I learned about Somaliland. OK, I thought, it's safe for Somalis. I still assumed that it was too dangerous for foreigners. Then I actually went there and checked. Guess what? I'm still alive!
Knowledge is the great weapon of national freedom and personal liberation. If more people got out of their comfort zones and investigated their assumptions, maybe the American public would never have been convinced that one group of people were ignorant savages and needed to be pushed off their land, or another group of people were too stupid to take care of themselves and needed to be enslaved, or that another group of people had more loyalty to the old country than America and needed to be forced into internment camps for the duration of World War II.
This ignorance of "the other" is still rampant today and can turn ugly at any time. It's in our own best interest to get out of our comfort zones. We don't have to leave the country to travel. Our comfort zone ends at the other side of the tracks.
Always question, always be suspicious of an authority's motives, and keep exploring.
Photo of the Sip 'n Dip Lounge in Great Falls, Montana, courtesy Flickr user vsmoothe. That woman is a human actress in a mermaid suit, in case you're wondering. And yes, I totally want to go swimming with her.
And if you think nobody is encouraging and profiting off this rampant ignorance, think again. The Republican Party of Texas included as part of its 2012 platform that it opposes the teaching of critical thinking in schools. And no, I'm not picking on the GOP. All politicians manipulate public ignorance to further their own ends. With elections coming up, it's time to get educated.
This is why I love travel. It gets rid of my ignorance and teaches me that I'm ignorant about things I didn't even know I was clueless about. To paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, it changes unknown unknowns into known knowns. Example: five years ago I thought all of Somalia was in chaos – then I learned about Somaliland. OK, I thought, it's safe for Somalis. I still assumed that it was too dangerous for foreigners. Then I actually went there and checked. Guess what? I'm still alive!
Knowledge is the great weapon of national freedom and personal liberation. If more people got out of their comfort zones and investigated their assumptions, maybe the American public would never have been convinced that one group of people were ignorant savages and needed to be pushed off their land, or another group of people were too stupid to take care of themselves and needed to be enslaved, or that another group of people had more loyalty to the old country than America and needed to be forced into internment camps for the duration of World War II.
This ignorance of "the other" is still rampant today and can turn ugly at any time. It's in our own best interest to get out of our comfort zones. We don't have to leave the country to travel. Our comfort zone ends at the other side of the tracks.
Always question, always be suspicious of an authority's motives, and keep exploring.
Photo of the Sip 'n Dip Lounge in Great Falls, Montana, courtesy Flickr user vsmoothe. That woman is a human actress in a mermaid suit, in case you're wondering. And yes, I totally want to go swimming with her.
Filed under: Learning, North America, United States
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ana Jul 5th 2012 11:39AM
Well Said and Oh So True!! Thank you..
Chuck Jul 5th 2012 1:42PM
American voter makes statement regarding Federal Government replying to Idiots!
QUIT WASTING MY DAMN TAX DOLLARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Vicky Wiley Jul 5th 2012 1:43PM
Sounds like a woman on our local news that was vehemently opposed to the movie "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter". She looked like she was old enough to have KNOWN Lincoln! She also sounded like she thought vampires were real. The author is right, more people need to travel & I think more schools need to take the "pass/fail" approach to history classes, as well as other mandatory classes. But, if you don't want/can't travel, STAY HOME & don't bother everyone else with your stupid ideas & theories!
MMS Jul 5th 2012 1:42PM
The thing that I find most offensive about this story that wasn't mentioned is that our government spent man hours and money to put out this statement.
The absurdity of government spending never ceases to amaze me
Sean McLachlan Jul 5th 2012 6:46PM
Curing ignorance is never a waste of money.
mom of three Jul 5th 2012 6:46PM
While I agree with the gist of this article as it never ceases to amaze me the stupid things that people believe, I have to say I find his comment of "or another group of people were too stupid to take care of themselves and needed to be enslaved", offensive & ill-informed and just outright stupid. Slavery has shown up throughout all of world history, (not just here in the USA as some people like to pretend), and I am pretty sure that was not the cause of slaves being captured and forced to work. Maybe this author should keep going in his quest for information.
ELE Jul 5th 2012 6:47PM
ignorance is Bliss.
waagtod Jul 5th 2012 6:47PM
To those of us in the know, it is and always was, obvious. There is no shortage of stupid people. That is why Donald Trump is thought of as a leader, why people think Olive garden is an Italian restaurant and how the Governor of Florida is a giant lizard. But don't feel bad, they don't know they are stupid. Just tell a person that you are surrounded by idiots and they will gladly throw their fellow morons under the bus. Like my dad always said "Thank god for stupid people, it's how I got rich"!
JB0007 Jul 6th 2012 11:10AM
Have you seen Rick Scott, Gov of FL? He IS a giant lizard, and I apologize for offending all giant lizards everywhere.
J.E.B. Jul 5th 2012 6:47PM
Tell that to Daryl Hannah,....and the mermaids at Wikiwatchee.
Larry Jul 6th 2012 1:48AM
First you can't fix stupid . Second Obama is a musilim , he said so himself .
Steve Jul 6th 2012 11:10AM
A guy I worked with from West Africa told me mermaids do exsist in West Africa ,but they are huge fish with sort of human like facial features and anyone who don't believe in Aliens in the past need to look no futher then your Bible and US Military incidents since the forties all around the world !!! Some one tell me whats a (Chariot of fire) is and Giants ,falling angels and men of long ago mean,it means not human !!!
jmaeaaaachest Jul 6th 2012 11:10AM
Just in case, let's print up some "Mermaids For Obama" bumper stickers.
Flea Jul 6th 2012 11:10AM
So now we know that Mermaids DO exist!! Otherwise our goverment wouldn't deny it!!!!
KheSahn068 Jul 6th 2012 11:09AM
I have been scuba diving since 1971, started in Florida and have been all over the world several times. Right now, I am on a boat in Bimini suiting up for a dive. In all my years, I have never seen anything that would make me believe in Mermaids, unless you want to count that time at the Hugo Bar in the Bahamas’, or, maybe that time Cancun when we decided to do a night dive after visiting Hellies Place, hmmmm....or maybe that time in the Fiji Islands after we finished off that keg of beer provided by the locals. Well, let me just say that maybe there might have could be mermaids and the government is covering it up. OH, WHAT THE HE**. We did see a mermaid at Pacific Ocean Park (POP) in Venice back in the 1960's, for sure!
fix Jul 6th 2012 11:10AM
People believe everything they see or hear in the media. Example, the original War of the Worlds radio broadcast. Not much different than the mermaids "documentary".
roxanne Jul 8th 2012 3:02PM
And people are too quick to believe what the government says...remember Area51 didnt exit