"When Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter.” I wish that I could believe that today as much as I did 25 years ago. It rather feels that Error seems to winning the day. Though maybe there are just more people screaming lies today and Truth isn’t getting a fair hearing under the mountain of talk radio, false news anchors, and even political leaders are collaborating to sell a Big Lie. In an age where people can self select a purely partisan mis-information diet how does Truth get through? I still think that truth will win out in a fair fight. But how do we make it a fair fight?
The hard part is getting people to want to listen to an argument they don't already agree with. Before cable television and the internet, that sort of thing was unavoidable. There were so few outlets, each outlet had to present both sides of issues. Nowadays you can stay inside your own cocoon, and many people find that very comfortable. It's on them to seek a little discomfort.
Thank you so much for your insight and reminder of what is important and, in some sense, is eternal.
"When Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter.” I wish that I could believe that today as much as I did 25 years ago. It rather feels that Error seems to winning the day. Though maybe there are just more people screaming lies today and Truth isn’t getting a fair hearing under the mountain of talk radio, false news anchors, and even political leaders are collaborating to sell a Big Lie. In an age where people can self select a purely partisan mis-information diet how does Truth get through? I still think that truth will win out in a fair fight. But how do we make it a fair fight?
The hard part is getting people to want to listen to an argument they don't already agree with. Before cable television and the internet, that sort of thing was unavoidable. There were so few outlets, each outlet had to present both sides of issues. Nowadays you can stay inside your own cocoon, and many people find that very comfortable. It's on them to seek a little discomfort.