2007-06-10 Does ideology need to be based on truth?

This is a fascinating book in that it raises (again) the issue of the relationship between ideology and 'truth'. This book is still a required text in many university syllabuses, despite the fact that Menchu's account is manifestly fictional. Her 'humble' illiteracy is a lie. Her father's enforced conscription is a lie. The account of the death of one brother is a lie - and the other brother described as dead is apparently alive and well. Her own contemporaries in Guatemala are mystified by her narrative. Despite these things, this book is still doing the rounds, and within the world of political correctness, particularly where the ideology of the left is being advanced, apparently truth does not need to be 'true' to be valid. In Menchu's own words, it is "her truth", a truth that does not required the real world in order to exist. Is it moving? Yes. Is it harrowing? No doubt. Will it encourage idealists to embrace the left? Sure thing. Is it true? Well that's an entirely different thing.