The Worldwide Society of the Profoundly Gullible.
Sometimes well-intended.
Welcome to The Worldwide Society of the Profoundly Gullible.
Sometimes well-intended.
Membership is way up and has been climbing for centuries as more and more information can be accessed with just a few clicks or taps and it need not be the whole truth. (Or any truth)
Why yes, I am a member, regrettably.
Few mortals are not.
We believe what we are told and often do not challenge it as long as it juices our egos, aligns with our arrogance, fits our agendas that we swear are not agendas, feeds our desires for dominance or revenge, or enhances our overly insistent opinions of ourselves as virtuous models of humanity or at least always on the right side of history.
But how much firsthand proof of anything do we really have?
How much do we really know that does not rely on the ideas, calculations, interpretations, or claims of others?
Evidence can be manufactured. Evidence can be hidden. Evidence can be manipulated. Evidence can be selectively applied,
and science is not immune.
“But I’ve read books and watched videos and I’ve listened to recordings,” you say.
That’s wonderful, but artificial intelligence will be mocking those up shortly, creating false reality out of thin air. Where will we be when we cannot believe what we see with our own eyes and hear with our own ears?
“Oh, the ignorance of thee who is not supremely skeptical of facts,” wrote the honest statistician.
Don’t let politicians fool you, especially the ones you trust the most.
Don’t let lovers fool you, especially the ones you love the most.
Don’t let newscasters fool you, especially the ones who shamelessly spin.
Don’t let your mind fool you, especially when it’s pretending not to.
“How do you live with yourself?” you ask. “No one can be that untrusting of everyone. Someone must be telling the truth, and not just professing that which they just think is the truth or want to think is the truth.”
There are a few, but how certain are you that you have found them? What leads you to choose who you will give your belief to?
If logic, reason, tolerance, self-awareness, common sense, integrity, investigative tenacity, persistent questioning, open- mindedness, humility, and forgiveness are not your fortes, then how can you be sure of your choices?
“Some of them are my fortes,” you say.
Some is not enough.
“I am as sure as I say that I am,” you say.
Well, that is a conundrum. Maybe you are always right, or I could be wrong about that. But what are the odds?
Have you noticed the flaws of humanity, one by one?
“I have, but I also realize that there are some wise men and women out there,” you say.
Yes, there are, but they may not be to your liking.
“Why would you say that?” you ask.
I’m just playing the percentages.
“I’m getting a little tired of your insinuations,” you say. “I know a lot of people who are misguided, ill-informed, ignorant, or brainwashed. I hate to be judgmental, but some things are as they are.”
You’re missing the point. The person who you should be most closely examining and questioning is you, all of the time. It’s wise to assume that you are not one of the enlightened few.
“What about you?”
Me too.
“But forever doubting yourself is a terrible way to live,” you say.
It’s better than thinking that you are flawless and finding out the truth too late.
Welcome to The Worldwide Society of the Profoundly Gullible.
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© Randall Snyder
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