Truth is a funny thing. I recall learning about opposites in grade school. Teachers citing examples such as, big and small, short and tall, true and false. These concepts were taught in this finite way, as if to mean they were unshakable. As I grew older and experienced the world in all of its complexities, I learned that things were just not that simple. That relativism is interwoven into all things. That these ideas that we learn as truths, are all up for interpretation. “Yes he is neat, neat for a boy.” “No it’s small, small for a house.” We work tirelessly in our minds to make sense of things, to understand things in relation to other things we know. Why do this? Why work so hard? It is how we make sense of the world. It is how our mind prevents us from going mad, organizing the constant incoming stimuli based on other stimuli we have previously taken in. Categories are erected in our minds, and these categories are as unique as finger prints, based upon what we’ve known and seen and done. Truths, are immensely personal.
In an ironic twist of fate, the United States, a name claimed during a victorious and unified moment, is hardly united at the moment. And why? A matter of personal truths. The belief systems and varied experiences of the citizens of this country create fragmented realities. Like somehow we are all existing on different timelines, hearing different news, feeling oh so many different things. What is real? What is truth? How do we know what to believe with constant contrasting viewpoints being hurled at us? How do we know what to believe when the powers that be, whether coming from politicians, social media, journalists, or news anchors proclaim such different ideas? Constant divergence. Differing opinions. Differing ideologies. Finding common ground only in that their proclamations are the ultimate truth.
Because we aren’t confused enough already being presented with so many versions of “the truth”, we are also subject to intentional manipulation. A long-standing practice by people in positions of power, shielding citizens from unattractive information, due to fear for their public image, public safety, or sheerly due to narcissistic tendencies and hubris. However, when factored in to the sheer variety of truths that already exist based on personal experiences, the lies and manipulation create even more of a swirly-whirly mess. When facts are manipulated, but millions of people claim them as their truth, the result is yet more fragmented segments of reality.
It makes it hard, and muddled, and perplexing to know what is real and what is not. It makes distorted perspectives more common than clarity and understanding. It leads to bewilderment, immense stress, and ultimately a feeling of unsafety. If I am living in a different version of reality than my neighbor, how can we ever be united? How can we ever get along? How will we ever support one another for the common good of our country? If we know that our brains create categories to organize us and to help us feel safe and secure in our environments, what is the collective psychological impact on our nation due to the ever-changing versions of our country’s narrative?
I wonder if given the nature of relativism and personal truths, if it will ever be possible for our nation to get on the same page. Is coming to a consensus out of the question? Because, even if our realities were streamlined, the manipulation ended, and we were consistently presented with just one version of the truth, people would still interpret it in their own unique ways given their own unique experiences. Because your truth and my truth are likely two different things.