Unheralded

PAULA MEHMEL: Shoot the Rapids — The Truth Will Set You Free

Last night, I went to the new play “Lifespan of a Fact,” starring Daniel Radcliffe. It was brilliant and debated what happens when we lose track of facts and truth.

That is probably one of the things that bothers me most about what is transpiring in this country (besides, you know, kids in cages, the destruction of the environment and the increase in hate crimes).

It is frightening to see the descent into a world where someone can say a bold-faced lie that is demonstrably false and can be proven false and still people refuse to believe that the person is a liar.

It is equally awful to see where someone equates something that may simply be misspeaking with a pattern of perpetual prevarication. This is leading us into a truly dystopian Orwellian world.

Jesus said, “The truth will set you free.” We need to cease normalizing a world where lies are repeated as headlines without pointing out they are lies and demand that facts matter. And we need to call these falshoods out.

When I make a mistake on my Facebook posts, I clarify or delete. I check where things come from. I demand higher standards.

Will there be things we can disagree about or rely on different statistics? Sure.  Statistics don’t lie, but they can reveal different truth. But there is a difference between that and saying you didn’t say something you did or lying constantly.

This assault on truth is being normalized. We are all exhausted. You get to a point where you just feel immune to it or don’t have the energy to be outraged.

And that scares me.

We are better than a Confederacy or Liars. But if you support liars and don’t call them out, you are not on a slippery slope. You have fallen into the pit.





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