How Do I Know What's True Amidst Current Events?

I think all of us, no matter who we are or what we believe, have been wowed by what has been happening thus far in 2020. Starting with a world pandemic and now civil unrest raging through the country, no life has been unaltered by the current events. Street corners filled with people, government leaders, friends, social leaders, family, influencers all divided on what we should do and rallying for various ideologies.  Loud voices on both sides yelling in our faces on social media, the news, even on street corners as to what we are, what we should believe, how we are wrong, how we are right. The presidential election is upon us and again we see divide, even in families and communities: brother to brother, mother to son, neighbor to neighbor. It seems that the whole country sees things so differently.

As I’ve sat and listened to family members, friends, acquaintances on social media, radio hosts, politicians, the list goes on. I’ve heard persuasive arguments on both sides and listened to the verbal rocks being thrown and I’ve wondered what is to be done and why is there such a divide? How can I know who is right? How can I know the truth?

The truth. There it is. That is what I need. If I can find that then I can know what banners to wave, who to follow, who to vote for, how to teach my kids, how to live my life in a way that I can be an influence for good, rather than a well meaning influence for causes that will bring people around me only heartache. 

Looking at the current events of the day with the lens of “what is true?” has helped me break the arguments apart to find the gems of truth amidst the muck of fallacy. The confusing part is that on both sides you will find a mix of truth and falsehood - sometimes even lies. In this great battle of good and evil in which we all find ourselves apart, it makes sense that contention and confusion would be a tool of the side of evil. If confusion can prevail then even good people with good intentions will wave banners mistakenly for things that will not bring about good.

The way this is done is by mixing good with bad. True statements alongside false ones. It is a genius way of propagating confusion and convincing even the best people to become ambassadors of causes that bring about the very results that they strongly oppose. And conversely this blending of truths alongside falsehoods will cause good people not to raise the banner of causes that otherwise would be good.

Let me break down a current example of discerning where truth is alongside fallacy: One of the ongoing banners being raised today is “Black Lives Matter”. When we break this statement down to truth and non-truth it is apparent that those words are irrevocably true. Black lives matter. Black people have divine worth. They are children of God with divine potential. They are important and are and have made incredible contributions to the history of the world. We have a responsibility as human beings to be aware of all people and to love each individual no matter who they are or the color of their skin.

There it is. Truth. 

Now let’s breakdown another phrase, and here’s where the confusion comes in. Within the Black Lives Matter campaign there are those that alongside the irrevocable truths I mentioned assert that “police are racist.” If we take a big giant honest step back and break this statement down we find that within it are non-truths as well as truths. There are police officers of all different kinds, backgrounds, religions, beliefs and upbringings. It is safe to say that some police officers do not harbor racial prejudice and some do. Truth.

We can see that if we were to operate under the beliefs that black lives do not matter or that “police are racist” we would be operating under false or partially false premises and therefore make other false conclusions. This concept applies to every bit of rhetoric being thrown around about the subject. Much like working through a math problem we need to be sure that we are dealing with the right numbers in order to find the right answers. We need to isolate truth and error - right and wrong, so that we can know what is true and therefore know how to behave and how to influence others to behave so that we can get the best results for ourselves and the world at large.

The examples I gave are very simple and easily understood. Other phrases within this rhetoric are more complex and are loaded with multiple meanings and nuances that are more difficult to break apart. But, I believe it is essential that we do so, especially before we assert ourselves to persuade others of what we believe. 

The stakes are high as we as a people navigate this time. Freedom of religion, prosperity, equality, family, safety, freedom of speech, our very rights could be in jeopardy as we come together to vote, to support ideologies, and as we teach our families these doctrines of the day.  I believe in the pursuit of truth. In understanding things as they are, as they will be and as they are to come. And I believe in defending the truth, once it has been found. We need to be careful as we let out the war cry and sling our arrows and throw our rocks of criticism. For one, we must be sure that we represent actuality. I also believe that it is better to defend than to attack, it is better to stand for than against. It is better to build than to tear down. My hope is that we as individuals and as a nation can come together to do this.