The Truth Illusion
The Illusion of Truth is a sober look at the most challenging issue facing America today: truth. What it is, what we can prove to be truth, and what are the implications for societies and entire nations when its citizens have opposing views or different versions of reality.
Another version of reality? Like a parallel universe of what is real and what is fake? Is that a thing? Isn’t reality just what happens in front of you, and if you all saw it happen, then it’s real?
Yes, but it turns out that the context of American society today is what matters. Your particular context shapes reality and when and how these events fit into the larger framework of history as you understand it.
Evidence is another aspect of determining truth. Still, in today’s world of alternative facts, conspiracy theories and fake news, the message being effectively delivered to all of us via social media, it may not be as clear-cut as might be expected.
There is a civil war brewing in America, primarily over political divisions between Republicans and Democrats over race, sexism, media manipulation, and the spread of misinformation. This divide has spread to other parts of the country, driving a divide among ordinary Americans.
America is now a place where a shared reality no longer exists, and democracy is threatened by its misunderstanding. Respected traditional authority figures such as politicians, scientists, teachers, and journalists are no longer trusted and accused of spreading false or distorted facts to achieve their goals.
George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘1984’ comes to life as Big Brother Winston’s character is tortured into believing that “2 + 2 = 5” and “2 + 2 = 4” when he insists that the facts are objective , the truth has long been manipulated by the state.
Americans don’t seem to trust anyone anymore, big business, education, family and friends, science or the media. This is directly related to the loss of trust in its leaders, from a high of 77% in the 1960s to a sharp drop to 25% in the 1980s under Reagan and Bush Sr. The Watergate scandal of the 1970s didn’t help either. By the time Obama and Trump arrived, confidence was at an all-time high of 15%.
So what happens when a society suddenly only trusts people who share their views?
Democracy is threatened when people are encouraged to believe lies, leading to more chaos, violence and destruction.
And to quote Ethan Zuckerman, a media researcher on civic issues: “That’s probably when democracy dies.
It’s a bleak view of the future of Western democracy, and hopefully it will get better.
