I recently posted a couple blog entries about Community. I have a couple more to post. But, before I share more thoughts about Community, for a change of pace, here are some thoughts about Truth.
In college I majored in Philosophy. I think my study of Philosophy helped me throughout my life and my career. I learned about how the world works (cosmology), how we learn things (epistemology), how to make good judgements (logic) and how to make moral decisions (ethics). But the foundation of all these studies was truth. If we start with the truth, we can learn and do the right things. In logic, if you start with a faulty (untrue) premise, your conclusion will be wrong. Mahatma Gandhi held Satyagraha, or Truth Force, as the basis of his philosophy and nonviolent actions. Martin Luther King Jr. also believed in its importance in his actions during the Civil Rights Movement. On the other hand, Stephen Colbert, on The Colbert Report, sarcastically based some of his opinions on “truthiness”, rather than truth.
Sometimes it’s difficult to know the truth. As with science, our understanding of what is true can change as we learn new information that might require us to change our understanding of what we believe is true. Long ago, people believed that the earth was the center of the universe. Now we know the center is the sun. People used to believe that the earth was flat. Now we know it is round. We have been able to see that from space. But some people have a hard time adjusting their understanding of things based on new information. And some people don’t want to change their understanding. Some people’s understanding of things is based on gut feeling or intuition, instead of facts. Some people don’t want to see things change because it will result in their losing power or control over things or over their lives. There are still, after all, people who believe the earth is flat.
So, it’s frustrating to me that there is so much untruth around and how much it is influencing major aspects of our society. The Washington Post claimed that Trump told 30,573 untruths during his presidency. His lies continue to influence people to this day. He is still voicing his belief that the presidency was stolen from him in the 2020 election. This, despite the fact that he lost 61 out of 62 lawsuits that were brought after the election, claiming that the election was stolen. This, despite the fact that many judges who ruled against his claims were appointed to the court by him. This, despite the fact that numerous studies have found no evidence of widespread voter fraud. A recent poll shows that 61% of Republicans believe that Joe Biden did not win the 2020 Presidential race. And the results of Trump’s lies about the election include that more than half the Republicans running for congressional and state offices in the 2022 general election are election deniers (Washington Post).
The lies of voter fraud that Trump and his followers keep repeating have the impact of making people believe that there is massive voter fraud and they can’t trust their local and state election officials to accurately count the ballots and report accurate results. This is a basic attack on our democratic system. Many Republican candidates will not commit to accepting the results of their races (unless they win, of course). This is a recipe for disaster.
Tucker Carlson’s show on Fox News is the most watched show on cable TV. What he says influences many conservative viewers. He speaks as though he is providing his viewers with facts and the truth about current events. However, in a slander suit brought against Carlson in 2020, Fox lawyers argued that viewers should not literally believe what Carlson is saying, that he is not stating actual facts and that he employs exaggeration. And the judge (appointed by Donald Trump) bought the argument and dismissed the suit.
The question of truthfulness and making decisions based on facts has even reached the Supreme Court. In the recent Dobbs decision, which reversed Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s decision was based on the historical prohibition of abortion, going back centuries. However, a number of historical associations claimed that the history cited in the decision was incorrect. (Additional information here.) It has also been reported that, in the case of a Washington state high school football coach who led a prayer on the field after games, Justice Gorsuch’s majority opinion got a lot of facts about the case wrong. In her dissent, Justice Sotomayor raised this very issue.
We need our politicians to make their decisions and policies based on the facts as best we know them. We need politicians and voters to support the integrity of our voting system and pledge to abide by the certified results of our elections. News outlets and journalists frequently try to present both sides of an issue as legitimate (Republican and Democratic, conservative and liberal) without regard to the known facts or truthfulness of each side’s positions. They need to be more critical of the positions they report, presenting the known facts related to the positions taken.
During the campaigns for the current mid-term elections, Republicans have claimed that Democrats have caused an increase in crime. But data shows that crime has increased equally in red and blue states. And the truth is that the murder rate (number of murders per 100,000 people) is greater in Republican than in Democratic states. Republicans claim that Democrats are responsible for the recent increase in inflation. But the truth is that a rise in inflation is a problem around the world, caused by supply-chain problems following the pandemic, disruption to food and energy production caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, increased corporate profit margins and other factors. Republicans claim they are better guardians of the economy than Democrats. The truth is that Republicans’ belief that giving tax cuts to the wealthy to stimulate the economy (supply-side economics) has never worked and the economy does better when Democrats are in control.
Last week Nancy Pelosi’s husband was beaten in their California home by a man who broke in and was arrested by the police in the home. Afterward right-wing personalities promoted misinformation and falsehoods about the attack. This is reminiscent of Alex Jones denying that the Sandy Hook shootings actually occurred. Former president Trump shared these lies with his followers on Truth Social.
This week President Biden gave a speech about democracy, in which he pointed out that the lies about the 2020 election have led to violence (such as the attack on Paul Pelosi). He urged Americans to “confront those lies with the truth.” There is certainly a place for disagreements between political opponents and between political parties. But those disagreements should be handled with civility and respect, not with violence. We need to bring back respect for the truth. If we do not, we only have more divisiveness and violence to look forward to. And that's the truth!
