The villains who weren't

To avoid remembering the truth of a difficult past or experiences, perhaps, over time many create alternate false realities. Over time, they often slowly end up re-writing history and events. Often creating villains and enemies that never were such. The problem is that when many others end up believing that version of history, one is eventually living in a false world which could be called living in the valley of the shadow of death. The problem is that where does this leave the villains who were created along the way, who never where such? Obviously, not in a good place in the eyes of many, but this happens over and over.

All this can apply in both the macro and the micro worlds, meaning it can apply or happen to families, or even countries, for instance. How does one get out of situation such as this one? Basically, by accepting reality and replacing the lies with the truth, which could end up being a difficult path traced back to many possible points of deviation.