War and National Conflicts
Wars shape nations, but the narratives surrounding them are often manipulated to justify aggression or obscure failure. Here, we explore how gaslighting has been used to mask the true costs of conflict, altering public perception in the name of patriotism or survival.
The Civil War and Reconstruction
The "Lost Cause" ideology reframed the Confederacy as fighting for states’ rights, distorting the Civil War's true cause—slavery. This manipulation of history continues to shape public perceptions, erasing slavery’s central role and distorting the legacy of Reconstruction.
The Vietnam War
The U.S. government framed the Vietnam War as a fight against communism, masking the conflict’s complexity. The Pentagon Papers exposed how the public had been gaslighted into supporting a prolonged and costly war under misleading pretenses.
The Cold War Proxy Wars
The U.S. and Soviet Union gaslighted their citizens to justify proxy wars in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia as battles for freedom or against imperialism. These conflicts masked human rights abuses and covert operations from public view.
Nanjing Massacre and Japanese Wartime Atrocities
Post-WWII, Japan gaslighted its citizens and the international community by downplaying or denying wartime atrocities like the Nanjing Massacre. This revisionism softened Japan’s role in the conflict, obscuring the truth for future generations.
Nuclear Arms Race and Cold War
During the Cold War, both sides gaslighted their citizens by downplaying the existential threat of nuclear war, framing the arms race as necessary for national security while obscuring the catastrophic risks posed by nuclear conflict.
The Syrian Civil War
In the Syrian Civil War, both the Assad regime and opposition groups manipulated narratives to justify their actions, often downplaying war crimes. This gaslighting prolonged the conflict, obscuring the true humanitarian crisis on the ground.
The Iraq War and WMD Claims
The U.S. invasion of Iraq was justified by claims of weapons of mass destruction. When this narrative was proven false, it became clear the public had been gaslighted into supporting a war based on inaccurate information, leading to a prolonged conflict.
Please note: The topics shared in this section are examples and not intended to be an exhaustive list of gaslighting or poetic truth instances in history or modern times. Please visit the website regularly, as our team continues to research and add new topics on an ongoing basis.