I believe
In the last weeks, it seems that everyone in the media is talking about post-truth. Well, it is right to talk about that, especially in this complex political situation. But, what is post-truth in a few words?
“Describing debate that is based on passion and emotion rather than reason and evidence” Collins.
This is not an invention of the last years, well, the word dates back to 1992, used for the first time by Steve Tesich, but the concept is something that has always existed. Think about all the times we believe in what we want to believe and not in what is true. In relationships, in the workplace, in families. It happens frequently in our minds. We listen to what we want to listen to.
Even history has always been modified accordingly to the winner rules.
What has changed is that it has worsened nowadays. All the political debate has been transformed by post-truth. Our life has been changed by it. Even in everyday life.
With the social networks and the overwhelming technology, most of us tell the story that he/she feels to tell, not the real and complete story. And we start to believe in what we read and see, this kind of partial real story. We overlook some details and we build up a new reality, which is more suitable for us. A kind of dystopian reality. Another example is Reality Shows. They are called ‘reality’ but they are as fake as toy coins. However, the majority believes that they are a true story, or at least they follow the people in the reality games as if they are true.
And that’s the point. In what do we really believe?
We believe in what we feel. Despite the proofs, the evidence, the truths. Despite all of that.
Nevertheless, what I believe is that, in recent years, ‘they’ have started controlling even what we feel. And for ‘they’ I mean the power, the people who rule the world (multinationals, bad governments…).
When we are free, our feelings towards truth are different. We are keen to feel and believe in positive and critical thoughts and opinions. In these last years, the power has reduced our freedom (not physical freedom) enchaining us in a consumeristic and digital world. So we don’t recognise the truth because we don’t know what we feel, entrapped in a world which obliges us to be what we are not, to believe in what we don’t believe, to feel anger, a lot of anger and fear.
And now has come the Brexit vote, the US presidential election, which have ridden on anger and fear feelings and have instilled post-truth news and information in our brains. It’s a matter of control. They control us through every bullshit that they tell us.
So it is time to stand up and fight for truth and real feelings. We need to believe in truth.
