Truth reveals knowledge/bare facts about suffering, the causes for it and the steps to resolve it. It is not enough to name the suffering.
A wise view shows the necessary actions to end suffering.
A biased view shows itself in an increase in levels of suffering for people, animals or the environment, often a wish to hurt, belittle or violate others.
Truth disappears under the weight of unexamined dogmatic views. Truth also disappears when we fear to express our views, our concerns.
We have lost faith in our capacity to see a situation clearly and show the way to resolve it. This reduces our capacity to act in caring ways. Far too many people resist taking up a view; thus, leaving them passive with a refusal to enter any kind of discourse with another, who offers warped and prejudiced views.
This endless output and suppression of views weakens our resolve to challenge the status quo of harmful and destructive political actions. The incessant repetition of harmful views generates a gravitational pull on the minds of many, who sink down to a sense of helplessness.
The opinions of the influential impose upon our sensibilities with such frequency that we adopt one view, reject another or sit on the fence. For every fact we share or offer, someone else comes up with an alternative fact, no matter how skewed it appears.
The argumentative will distort facts and then rubbish views different from their own. Politicians and civil servants show contempt for society when they hide information from each other and the public. Fearing the exposure of truth, they find ways to suppress information to maintain control over events.
Fragmented views show a failure to examine the causes and conditions for a problematic situation. We cannot know the truth of a situation through attacking or heaping vitriolic outbursts upon another. The relentless desire to be right corrupts the power of truth to transform a situation through clarity and insight.
Truth? What’s that? Truth becomes an inconvenience.
The partisan mind will identify itself with other similar partisan minds, even adopting more intense and rabid views. Jaundiced views gather more support with politicians and organisations partaking in a bizarre world of toxic opinions. Such opinion makers express a contempt for others who they belittle.
Identification with distorted perceptions leads to a disconnection with others, who think and act differently. We need to understand successive governments, politicians, corporations, pharmaceutical industries, social media feed us deceptive information, distortions and endless lies.
Self-interest functions as the primary interest of these influential forces. You have to dig deep for truth. You will not find it in these pathetic presentations of social forces.
First, know what is false, misleading and deceptive.
The truth will set you free from the false. That’s how you know truth.
Then you act free from the desire to inflict hurt or harm on another(s).
Never forget.
Never.
Above is an extract from 3500-word blog published in 2018 titled Has Truth become Irrelevant to Political Discourse?