Fake News and Alternative Reality

“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.” ― Abraham Lincoln

Fake News and an Alternate Reality

There is a huge tendency in our culture to say what the audience wants to hear. In many settings, the “tell it like it is” mentality has left, and no one is looking for it! This brings us to the question of are “they” telling us what we want to hear or are we hearing what we want to hear? This question is pertinent from both angles.

We are told what the speaker tells us is what we want to hear. Right off the bat, one must realize there is a reward for proclaiming the chosen positive in every situation. It boosts sales. It calms the anxious mind. It elevates the charisma of the speaker. Ratings go through the roof. It is a win-win.

No one seems to mind a little white lie as long as it doesn’t immediately hurt someone. Actually, while hurt may be cumulative, and be pushing into a reality check in the future, people actually seek out the rosy picture. Life is stressful enough without having to deal with the real truth of situations and the obligations created by dealing with ugly reality! A glass half full will quench your thirst. Why discard it? Enjoy! You can deal with the empty half of the glass later.

So just make a case for being told the joyous half truth and enjoying it. Could be worse. Truth tellers throughout history have been vilified, mocked and even annihilated for their honesty. Where do you think the phrase “Don’t kill the messenger.” came from? We seem to think someone bringing us an uncomfortable message is a bad thing. But if that message is spun, just a little, and we end up feeling pretty good after hearing it…how can that be bad? At least at the moment, we feel good! And we are supposed to live in the moment, right? So relax and just roll with it! (Yes, this is satire!)

Then there is the idea that we only really hear what we want to hear. We might actually hear more than that, but only internalize what we want to be our reality. If we have a particular point of view and have stopped thinking about it objectively, then regardless of what we hear with our ears, our mind will pick out the parts that support our preconceived and subjective viewpoint. This glass is also half full, but for a different reason. It is not blessedly half full and capable of quenching thirst, but it has become subjectively half full and therefore substantiates our assumptions. The empty half of the glass is superfluous.

We are hearing what we want to hear, regardless of objective reality. Even opposing opinions might be rejected with out consideration if they are seen as being subversive and propaganda-ridden against a preferred position.

So “Twist again, like we did last summer, Twist’n time is here.”

“Fake news” and “alternative realities” are real to someone, perhaps to multiple someones. Abe Lincoln told us you “can’t fool all the people all the time.” That means that sometimes you fool some of the people and they feel damn good about it!

We are told what we want to hear, and we hear what we want to hear. We are luxuriating in strategic misrepresentations of reality from multiple directions. Eventually the misrepresentations catch up to themselves. Disillusionment sets in. Trust and beliefs become weak and questionable.

If the listener has invested so much into believing the half-truths, he has a vested interest in an alternate reality. He will justify the conditions present in the spun truth. Another form of belief has set in. With so much invested, the fooled person defends the reality aggressively. Too far gone to let go, the fooled become the proponents of the misinformation itself. It has now become their reality.

Diversion and blaming take over. Reality is not supporting the spin, so the reality itself must be twisted to fit the spin. Who originally twisted it? Not us! and not the twister-in-charge. It must have come to us twisted and we innocently believed in it, went with it, and are now the victims of its illusion.

When obvious inflation of the positive outcome of the twisted reality loom large, it is not our fault. We were merely trusting what we were told, what someone else did, and now, though paying a price for that trust, are clearly victims of someone else’s alternate projection of the truth. “They” did it.

We have supported half-truths, white lies, and now must plot a new course to reach reality and avoid “alternatives.” What does that path look like? Is it possible to avoid the pitfalls of being told what we want to hear, and of only hearing what supports our preconceived ideas?

How can we right ourselves, when, like turtles on their backs, we find ourselves the victims of misrepresentation. Trusting to the ultimate power of a savior, (small “s”) we too will be turned over and find our legs beneath us. Like the hapless turtle, we can hope to reach our destination. In the same way, step by slow step, progress will be made. Truth will be achieved. Each obstacle is carefully considered.

Objectivity must become the norm. Questions are asked and answers are then vetted. In that way, we ultimately can determine that the glass is neither half full nor half empty. Instead, it is merely a glass with something in it. This is reality. While sometimes painful and challenging, it is what it is. At the same time taking what is and making it our own is part of a careful journey into reality.

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Your version of reality? email me at Karenmac1999@hotmail.com