Living in Unreality
Correctioms are Necessary to Healthy Dialogue
I've been on a long journey over the past few years to accept the fact that I don't know much about the world. In casual conversation I likely let this slip more than I would like, but that's the best part about it: it's okay if I'm wrong. However, when it comes to relaying facts, I work to be as accurate as I can be with my speech. I try not to over exaggerate or extrapolate. For some, this more of speaking may be dry and boring. But, I feel (I have no facts to back this up) that this is a necessity in the modern world. Pithy statements and short form videos are what capture attention. Attention is not my goal (though it would be nice), finding the truth is.
In this search, I have come to realize that I truly abhor all authority1. Authority breeds contempt, and even hostility, for anyone counter to the accepted narrative. This can be seen in anthropology with the Clovis-First theory, in the intelligence community with the Iraq WMDs, and in science with the denial of heliocentrism2. I do understand, pragmatically, the essential nature of gatekeepers, though. Look at 99% of the books pushed to Kindle everyday to see the lack of them in action. I also believe that the endless stream of information, regardless of actual understanding, is a plague. It dilutes just as much as it illuminates3. But I'm not sure how to fix that problem.
The more ground-up version of this is zeitgeist. My skepticism of simple, overarching narratives often puts me at odds with the many, which can become tiresome (especially to my wife). Along with that, my more conservative views of the world seem to require more self-scrutiny to ensure that I am not written off immediately. I'm fine with that. Being held accountable is necessary. But the problem is that this accountability seems to go only one way4. This has been especially true since 2020. When a plurality people believe that hundreds of unarmed black people are killed by police every year, we have a serious problem to face. There is no corrective mechanism pushing back on falsehoods like this.
I'm not trying to turn myself into a martyr. I truly enjoy learning and the challenge of determining my own view of things has been enlightening. I just worry that far too many people do not do the same. I do not care about those that are content living a life without crossing these paths. Honestly, more power too them. I care, mostly, about those that have authority or are within the zeitgeist that are not challenging their priors. Those that are content living in their bubble of unreality spewing falsehoods endlessly. They are those that state confidently that Israel is committing a genocide while also yelling “from the river to the sea.” They are those that cried for police to be defunded from their gated houses on private roads. They are those that believe that another Trump presidency would bring about the policies that he did not pursue the first time. They are those that believe that riots are righteous for their cause only. They are those that state that the vaccine prevents COVID, but still wear a mask in public.
I could go on for hours listing these unreal statements that permeate throughout social media and legacy media alike. I don't know how to solve this problem. Perhaps this is merely a problem of authority and zeitgeist aligning. There is no corrective mode to be found in this scenario. There is a only reinforcement mechanism that is pushing us ever further to the fringes. My hope is that one side or the other, the zeitgeist or the authorities, reverse course. If not, as is stated in every control theory class, the system will explode.
This may seem obvious based on my previous essay
This perhaps would be better stated as in religion, though the Roman Catholic Church was also the gatekeeper of science for centuries.
This is probably a topic that I will cover in a stand alone essay
This is more about cultural arguments. Politics lives in the swamp of unreality. So any argument about a politician being able to gain a following by speeding unreal things would find me agreeing.