Saturday, February 2, 2013

On Truth and Change


I wanted to share my thoughts on something I am noticing more of lately.  Over the years, I have made the case that in our lives that truth is truth and fundamentally there are not two or more truths to anything.  Just like like an equation in algebra; although there may be multiple ways to get to an answer, in the end, the final answer can only be one thing and is usually simplified to its most basic form - a form that is for that equation the only truth that can be.  Of course, we all have our individual perceptions and opinions about a thing, but that does not change the fundamental truth of a thing's origin or the provable fact of its simplified state of being.  Black is black, white is white, good is good and evil is evil.  Each of these things can be proven as truth in the context of their implied or intended state of being or application.  We can each feel a certain way about a thing, and a thing can elicit emotions in each of us.  Important as they may be in our daily lives, neither feelings or emotions determine truth, effect fact, or change evidence. 

For instance, one might argue that because the sound coming from a passing train is different for one listener (based on their position relative to the train as it passes) than it is for a second listener (based on his position as the train passes) that there are two answers; two different sounds heard. Of course that argument would be invalid because only one equation would be used to explain the sound the first listener heard, and the same equation would be applied to the sound the second listener heard. Both answers would then be the same - the listeners heard the same sound, in the same way, just not at the same time.  Had the listeners stood together, the sound heard by both would be the same.  The certain fact that sound move slower than light explains why both listeners heard a different sound. The one truth is that the equation to determine how the sound of a train is transmitted at sea-level on earth to a listener in relation to the passing train the listener sees is immutable; it will always remain the same equation or function.  Math proves fact is truth.  Philosophy also backs up facts and proves beliefs; ideas and observations are 'a posteriori' truth.  Whereas those who would attempt to confuse and manipulate others, do so by trying to enforce their positions 'a priori'.  That is, they attempt to do so without empirical knowledge or data.  Instead they are emotionally driven and strive to control others through the same by manipulation.  Science proves fact is truth.  Truth is truth and whatever the subject of conversation, truth is not relative to an individual or group.  It is the same for all.  Truth is not 'a priori', but rather and always 'a posteriori'.  If I cut myself, do I not bleed?  Is my blood not red like yours?  

Shakespeare was a master of truth.  In his day those who spoke truth were executed.  Luckily Shakespeare was also a master of subterfuge, and he used it in order to communicate the truth without upsetting the status quo of his time, those who as in our own time relished in their ignorance and power over the ignorance of others. Everything is not relative, especially when taken as a whole and applied to the many, or the majority.  No matter how much an individual wants something to be, or wants others to believe a thing, that thing is not necessarily the truth.  Fox News is a perfect example and contrast to what Shakespeare was doing.  As much as Fox News wants people to believe certain things, and they do their best to twist things to fit a specific agenda, the things they broadcast rarely turn out to be factual or true in entirety (or at all) as presented.  In many, dare I say most cases, most of what Fox News presents is patently false and intentionally misleading.  They simply produce a picture of how they want others to perceive them.  Their goal is to keep others living in a fictional bubble.

Which brings me the long way around to my point.  I have been noticing a language and philosophy recently in media, news and general dialog that is beginning to change toward the very notion that, in the end, at the end of the day, no matter how much you want the sun to remain in the sky….it won't ….because that's just not how things are.  From the studios in Hollywood to the beltway of Washington, over the past couple of years I am hearing more and more impassioned cries for rational thinking, attention to the facts and an insistence on changing course where the status quo has led mankind astray.  For example, Secretary of State Clinton, in her outgoing remarks the other day, made the statement that the republican party just refuses to live in an evidence based world.  These types of statements, no matter who or what the subject, seem to be a reflection of our changing lexicon and possibly testimony to the next step we take as a species out of the darkness and into the light.  I am hearing them spoken and infused in conversation from late night TV shows to the very news media itself.  In fact, Fox News as of last week has had its lowest viewership in 10 years, which is testament to the point I am making.  Either people have seen Fox News for the poison that it is and are leaving in exodus….or a lot of it's viewership has passed away.  That was poke at the fact that most of Fox's viewers are 50+ years old, living in the past and entrenched in outdated and false ideas about the world.  In any case, it may be that we are waking up en mass to a clearer sense of reality.  It may be that those without vision and without the best interests of mankind have led us for much too long.  The powerful and the rich are not driven by truth.  They are driven by greed and a desire to maintain control.  These past 10 years have challenged that control, their power and their systems of manipulation and propaganda across the planet.  Global weather pattern changes that are causing unprecedented catastrophe, rampant pedophilia and murder of innocent children around the world, manipulation of world economies and markets, poverty, starvation and War that has crept across the Earth for more than 100 years without rest.  Only over this past century has Planet Earth endured so much at once at the hands of man. It seems that the tide may be changing.

So it gives me encouragement, and a renewed hope to hear the language in our collective conversation change.  I am encouraged to hear the intent behind the words change where they matter most.  We cannot go on living as a people in the dark, clinging to ancient, irrational and obsolete beliefs that prevent us from moving on, and forward.  Glints of hope are emerging across the world more and more that indicates that many others agree and also see the truth. The next giant leap for mankind may not be our embarkation to the stars, but rather our ability to move the majority forward.  Some will be left behind; those who choose to cling to the old ways, to hatred, racism, greed and paranoia.  But the needs of the many have and always will far out way the needs of the few.  Who knows, maybe this could lead to a new age of enlightenment for mankind unseen in previous history.  No matter where it takes us, if this trend continues, wherever we go will be wonderful. May the Force Be With Us.