The Truth is Out There

Every man has a different version of the truth.  We, each of us, look out at this world through different eyes.  And each of us only can discern a small piece of the truth.  The old story of the six blind men and the elephant is a folk tale that illustrates this idea.  And that is why we band together and try to come up with a consensus account of how things “really” are.

And that was why when the country was essentially united after World War II the news networks were highly respected and at the same time took seriously their responsibilities to appear objective.  Well, that’s a different planet than the one we live on now.  Can you imagine trusting the version of the news that was read by a “reporter” from ABC or NBC, never mind MSNBC or CNN?

Now you might say, “What does it matter if the news is accurate?  There’s nothing we can do to change what goes on around us.  Why not just go with the propaganda version?”  And sometimes, I almost feel the same way.  Why bother?

But there is a good reason to scratch out the facts.  In the Bible it says, “The truth shall set you free.”  And this has a very specific meaning that relates to the soul of the believer.  But the statement is also true in the broadest sense too.  The truth is another way of saying objective reality.  It is a claim about the nature of the universe we live in.  It is the belief that if we could know definitively the truth of a particular claim then that truth would define reality for anyone and everyone.

So, if you lived in Hiroshima or Nagasaki and even if you did not believe in the atomic theory of matter, sometime in 1945 you would still have been constrained by that objective reality to experience the onslaught of the atomic bombs dropped on those cities.  And if you had believed in the reality of those weapons, you might have gotten out and survived.  And if you lived at ground zero and stayed you would have died even though you did not believe in the possibility of those weapons.

Now granted, being aware of things like the motivations of RINOs or the willingness of the FBI to use their agents to instigate incidents to harm their political enemies is hardly equivalent to knowing that an atomic bomb is headed for your location.  But the difference is one of degree not of kind.  Always and everywhere having or lacking accurate information is the difference between rational planning and blind luck.

All those people who listen to Fox News and NBC and hear what a great candidate Nikki Haley would make in the general election and believe it, will never understand why she would be John McCain or Mitt Romney in a dress.  They haven’t bothered to educate themselves on the facts concerning Haley and the positions she espouses.  And they don’t understand that whether she wins or loses we lose if she is the candidate.  Because if she is the Republican candidate then all the candidates are leftists.

And the same goes for the other facts that are out there.  People claimed that Paul Ryan or Mitch McConnell wanted to enact a conservative agenda but even when a conservative president was in office, they did nothing.  This should have been enough to prove these claims false.  Bill Barr assigned a special prosecutor to investigate Russia-gate and after four years not a single person was convicted of a felony.  That should have shown that the Deep State doesn’t allow its people to be subject to normal justice.

So, this knowledge is mostly of a negative type.  It mostly tells you what won’t happen.  But sometimes it’s the opposite and in those cases, it could also save your life.  I’d say the January 6^th event is one of the best examples of that.  Ashli Babbitt probably never imagined that a federal agent would shoot and kill her for trespassing in the Capitol building.  She was unaware of the truth.

As discouraging as the current reality is, understanding the important facts is crucial to surviving and thriving in this complicated and deceptive environment.  But don’t despair.  There is plenty of ignorance of the facts on the other side too.  And one day it will have its consequences.  So, hang in there.