Testifying to the Truth in a Post-Truth Age

Friends, as I read the news and social media, and as I watch people react to the news and social media, I’m convinced we are facing a truth crisis. Remember, back in 2016, the Oxford Dictionaries word of the year was “Post-Truth.” A word that is becoming increasingly pertinent for today.

Let’s be reminded of four things that we need more than ever.

Truth over Tribe. What is true is not what is good for my tribe. Truth is what is, well, true. It’s true even when it’s inconvenient, scuttles the narrative, or is injurious to my tribe.

Remember, people once knowing pushed the lies that:

• The Jews were the reason why Germany lost the War.

• There is no famine in the Ukraine.

• Cigarettes are not addictive.

• Iraq has weapons of mass destruction.

• Russia stole the election from Hillary.

• Dominion voting machines stole the election from Trump.

• There are no harmful effects from puberty blockers.

Why did people believe the lie and perpetuate the lie? Sometimes it was because they had the wool pulled over their eyes, because they trusted the wrong people, because it confirmed their prejudices, or because they didn’t look closely enough. But others looked at the lie, knew it was the lie, but ran with it because they were too invested in the party, the tribe, or the faction.

As Orwell wrote in his novel 1984:

“And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. 'Who controls the past' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.”

Telling the truth is not a crime. Whistleblowing is not a crime. Questioning the narrative is not a crime.

The truth is never our enemy. The truth, Jesus taught, sets us free!

So follow the truth, even if it leads you away from your friends, family, politics, and party.

I once wrote a commentary on 1 Esdras in the Apocrypha. It’s not a bad read, mainly about Ezra and Nehemiah stuff, but a few other interesting anecdotes. But one line stands out, 1 Esdras 4:41, which reads, “And all the people then shouted, and said, Great is Truth, and mighty above all things.” Amen to that!

So precisely how does one stand up for the truth? Well, several things are required!

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Beware of confirmation biases. If people are telling you stuff that you want to hear, you are more likely to accept it uncritically. If someone saying something about “X” which reinforces your disgust with “X,” then take a moment to consider how truthful it really is.

A lot of media is not just reporting events, it is advocacy for a particular position, whether for trans-rights or gun-rights, so take it all with a grain of salt.

Media outlets should earn our trust, never assume it. Don’t offer it unconditionally.

So read discerningly and always be critical, even when you’re reading what you want to hear.

This is why I like Ground News, because it factors in the bias of each news outlet. It is designed to help you find your blind-spot in the news you receive.

Get out of Your Echo Chamber. The best way to avoid confirmation bias is to read stuff away from your preferred news outlets.

You may not like the CNN, Fox News, Newscorp rags, the Guardian, the ABC, or Fairfax press, but if you want to be genuinely informed rather than just have your presuppositions confirmed, then you need to have a diverse diet of sources for forming an opinion.

Listen to podcasts and read articles by people who are different to you, but who at least seem thoughtful.

Don’t just follow journalists and pundits because you despise who they despise. That’s a recipe for getting seduced and suckered.

A diverse diet of news opinions is why I listen to the podcast Spiked and read Quillette.

Get some diversity in your news diet.

Fair and Free Elections are Better than Winning Elections. When it comes to democracy and legal proceedings, it is better to lose fairly than to win based on a lie, cheating, or rank intimidation.

Remember, if you compromise democracy to get your party into power, what’s to stop someone else from doing it?

There are some funny lyrics from the musical Evita where Col. Peron sings:

It's annoying that we have to
Fight elections for our cause
The inconvenience—having to get a majority
If normal methods of persuasion
Fail to win us applause
There are other ways of establishing authority

The sad thing is that there are people who genuinely think that way. Victory first, tinker with the votes later.

But as history shows, a fair democratic loss is better than one-party rule. Government works best with the consent of the governed. Once you normalize cheating and fudging elections, it is hard to go back to a real democracy.

Otherwise, what else am I missing?