"Truth is after all a moving target
Hairs to split,
And pieces that don't fit
How can anybody be enlightened
Truth is after all so poorly lit..."
–Rush, Turn the Page
Heck, both our daughters may even already know, and are just letting the magic of childhood ride out as long as it can. We tell them the truth otherwise about everything else. Or, more accurately, we tell them our truths.
Yes, our truths. Truths that have been defined and refined since we were children. My wife and I are fairly intelligent people, fairly well-informed. Like everyone though, we have our biases, and yet are still socially progressive on issues related to racism and sexism. We believe we can be objective when weighing the facts as we know them about any issue. We empathize, we sympathize, we fight the good fight. But we're still biased and our truths are tainted by those same biases.
Don Quixote battled windmills because he truly believed they were dangerous giants. Daredevil "Mad" Mike Hughes was killed in a rocket launch, one where planned to finally determine for himself if the earth was as flat as he believed it to be. We all believe what we want to believe if it fits our narrative at that point in time. We may all carry emotional baggage with us throughout our lives, but can't forget the added weight of confirmation bias in our psychological backpacks.
Someone I know shared a social media meme filled with conspiracy theories including the fact that coronavirus was created on purpose. Our government has taken away our freedoms to control us during this pandemic. The peaceful protests were a ruse for the #BlackLivesMatter movement to purposely loot and destroy property. So many others as well. I'm probably not even writing them out again correctly because they were so outlandish in the first place, with little to no factual bases as far as I knew. This based on reporting and historically accurate essays debunking these theories. Unfortunately, media perpetuates them, our leaders perpetuate them, either to inform or to misinform, more the latter of late. Our own education system has downplayed, even erased, systemic racism and inequality activities and issues since the founding of this country.
I asked this person if she really believed all these things in the meme she posted. She responded she did. I was saddened, but didn't respond. I only thought about her children and grandchildren, and what they will believe and what their truths will ultimately be.
These days some people use the phrase "agree to disagree" a lot. A difference in opinion and robust debate are important -- keeping each other honest, as they say, and seeing things from different perspectives. But, how can we agree to disagree when there's no basis of fact on what it is we actually disagree on? How do we debate purposefully destructive propaganda that's distributed to diffuse debate? This is true no matter where you find yourself along the great political and/or ideological divide. Instead, we sit around our tribal campfires scrawling our truths in the dirt, howl at the moon and to hell with everybody else.
We can even mask it further by saying we choose love instead of choosing to take a stand on an issue. Both are equally valid in their own right, but not when it's about indirectly blaming those who choose to take a stand on something that affects their lives and livelihoods. My wife articulated it well:
Our hope is that people choose to live their lives with love and light. And that people can still do so in the worst of conditions. What is inherently false is that all people choose their circumstances. Unfortunately, one of our deep rooted cultural norms is to blame a person for their circumstances and not to consider the overlying foundation. We are privileged to have had the opportunity to work hard, provide for our families and take time to enjoy life. This is not the reality for all people and the complexities of why it is not a reality is part of why people choose apathy. We all have a choice, yes. I hold people in high regard that choose to go into the darkness with hearts of love for the betterment of all lives.
Conspiratorial propaganda is as old as the spoken word, and if we don't look for whatever facts are available to either support or refute a "reported" truth, then how can we agree to disagree? Like ever? There may be a nobility in seeing the world differently, of challenging the status quo and finding new truths. But when we agree to disintegration, there will never be a greater societal or spiritual connection for our children and grandchildren, nor an investment in healing the humanity of today and tomorrow. We need to agree it is all our responsibility.
Other "Days of Coronavirus" posts:
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