A quick search of the question, (what is truth?) returns some interesting perspectives. From a religious standpoint, we can find: “Truth is a self-expression of God.” Psychology Today says: “Truth is a property not so much of thoughts and ideas but more properly of beliefs and assertions.” Then, of course, you have the exchange between Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson in the movie “A Few Good Men.”
But what happens to society when people no longer believe in the institutions we’ve developed to provide for a stable social construct?
Does the court system deal in truth? Perhaps, but in our advocacy system, the defense is actually charged with obscuring the facts to present an alternative version of reality. So, in a sense, it is left to the jury to decide what is true and what is not. Sometimes they get it right, sometimes they don’t.
Does the entertainment industry deal in truth? I think most would agree it does not. But we seek those whose celebrity comes from that industry to tell us what is true. This leads me to a core problem with our social construct today. Is the way we receive our information from a fact-based system, or an entertainment-based one? Are any of the public “news” channels focused on truth, or do they only offer the opinions they believe will draw the greatest number of viewers?
We talk about our first amendment right to “free speech” but the constitution only places limits on what rules the government can implement, and the idea of “free speech” will mean not all speech is true. Whose job is it to decide what is true and what is not? The most recent pandemic of COVID-19 played out against this backdrop. There were politicians, activists, entertainers, and experts all weighing in on what was true. For the average person, it fell down to who could, or should, you believe?
As the virus played out in its mutating forms we saw, in real time, the struggle to control the flow of information and the increasing polarization of opinions based not on a seeking of the truth, but on the control of the population, allegedly to control the virus. Did it work? I’m not sure how you could possibly tell that one method was superior to another since, as far as I can tell, seeking truth was never an objective. What I do know is as of today, here in the United States, there is a statistically insignificant difference between states that exerted maximum control of the populations, and states that began to ease restrictions as soon as they could. The top four most populous states in the nation are California, Texas, Florida, and New York. The top four states in the nation for COVID deaths are California, Texas, Florida, and New York.
As we look towards our government and social media, do the institutions operate to provide truth, or do they operate to control and limit power? What is the truth?
3 comments:
I like the basic Basic evidence qualifications outlined in another John.."That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled..."
Jeannette, I like that too, but we take those words as a matter of faith in our belief in a loving God. If we look at those ideals as we deal with modern technology, can we accept as truth those things "we've heard, which we've seen with eyes" as portrayed in media? I am agnostic in that sense with regard to the truth in reporting.
John,
Who said you "couldn't handle the truth!" I think you handled it just fine!
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