Many people are really good at looking you straight in the face while spouting outrageous falsehoods. I have no clue when people first began lying, but it was probably shortly after they developed language—or maybe before. But numberless humans have also carried an innate sense that there’s something valuable about raw truth.
After WWII, when Americans were feeling especially virtuous for having helped deliver the world from fascism (characterized by strict obedience to a leader or the state), ironically, conformity was popular as a lifestyle choice. We wanted stability and were willing to forego certain freedoms to feel it. We swallowed our textbooks whole and meekly accepted the dictates of teachers, leaders, holy books, and doctors. Anything in print or in the news had to be true. Men, women, minorities, and children were expected to stay in their place—whatever the society deemed that to be at the time. Women were bound to husbands, men were bound to concepts of masculinity, and any children who claimed they had been sexually assaulted by family members were quieted. People who fell outside the norm were generally ostracized or worse.
Since then, American culture has enjoyed a surge of acceptance of diversity that unsettled the far right. The observations revealed by science broadened our concepts, even if we couldn’t quite believe it all. Most of us aren’t trained in how to interpret and assess studies or arguments. We know statistics can be reframed to support lies, and so we stand on tiptoe, always ready to turn away—a fact not wasted on the manipulators. As science and technology become more sophisticated, our naivete frays and feels threatened, replaced by opinion that can careen wildly between fact and fantasy. Frightened people look for someone to tell them what to think—but not anyone who makes them feel stupid—someone dynamic, tough, and sometimes funny, like on TV.
Ironically, at a time when critical insight is essential, education has fallen from grace, partly due to the fact that many schools didn’t keep up with the intellectual and practical demands of society. Research that can be skewed in presentation to illustrate conflicting conclusions seems to prove there is no truth, so many follow the most persuasive reports…or people. They want simple rules they can enforce to feel in control. Integrity is too difficult to identify and has too many gray areas, so it’s trivialized.
The old idea has reappeared that society should force everyone to believe and behave the same way and punish anyone who deviates. Even the Pope has come out against individualism. Now, when we desperately need to be able to work together, benefitting from diverse ideas and talents, we begin to distrust everyone everywhere. Is my laptop really infiltrated by hackers? Will an immigrant make me look inept? Is vaccine safe? We pile those or similar questions on top of confusing, dehumanizing modern life. We huddle in tiny groups of people we perceive as being like us.
But we really are capable of learning how to cope with the deluge of information dumped on us daily. We need clear, honest priorities. We need to be willing to listen, knowing perfection is an illusion. Love and friendship or the survival of our world must take precedence over stuff or control. We can sort those who are more trustworthy from the users, whoever and wherever they are. We can forgive mistakes. It’s frustrating and exhausting work but worthwhile to discover people and ideas we can believe in. Goodness exists but, like life itself, it must be nurtured and honored—in others and in ourselves.
