I feel like this is more important than ever in the world of internet cattle-shoots and brilliant algorithms designed to tweak our emotions and push us to react.
But what is the truth?
I’m pretty sure truth is not:
- Theories and odd info-drops “hidden” on a digital network for only a few to understand.
- Any politically partisan view of the world.
- Any conspiracy that is so vast, that not one of it’s perpetrators has been sloppy enough to not slip real proof.
- A meme, or set of pithy memes.
- An opinion, no matter how brilliant or balanced.
Instead I know truth to be:
- What can be seen, heard, touched, tasted or felt live, in person.
- What makes us feel calm, even when difficult.
- What the wise have taught us about treating each other with love and compassion.
- The ability to change.
- Change itself.
I just read an article about 4,700+ Chinese Facebook accounts recently suspended for impersonating Americans, with likely intention to interfere with our elections.
Can you guess which party these accounts appeared to boost?
A: Neither. Most of the accounts had contradictory stances within them – argu-meming both sides of important issues by copying the most viral content from other platforms on hot topic issues.
What was the point of this?
A: Likely not to win a point of view, or to sway people to a particular “side,” the aim was to propagate the notion that our country is irrevocably divided. Word-salad-with-emotion approaches are great at this. People insert their own fears into the content and act accordingly.
So, if we can’t find the truth “out there” on the binary-code internet, where can we find it?
I know how to discern the truth for me, but do you know for you? That’s what matters, that’s what literally becomes matter in the real world that you will be forced to live in.
I am slowly learning that my outrage is not useful, in fact, it’s often counter productive to what I really want to see. I am also slowly learning that consistency is not necessarily a virtue, nor appropriate. These fake accounts “feel” real because they act like actual humans: emotional and inconsistent. But unlike flesh and blood people, fake people don’t care too.
