HOW IS THE TRUTH SUPPRESSED?

Introduction

We Already Know! is a gloomy post. Why is it gloomy? insanitybytes22 does something very unpleasant. She points out that we human beings cannot be depended upon to acknowledge an inconvenient truth. Here is how it begins.

Nightwind777 has a timely post up that kind of captures my mood, ironically called, “Nobody Knew.”

‘Tis true, nobody ever knows nothin’. Worse yet, we can seldom be bothered to care even once everything is pointed out and has become undeniable! I’m a cheerful sort, so I don’t wish to bring anyone down, but this is one of those harsh truths of life that must be confronted. Perhaps talking about will reassure someone, let them know that they aren’t alone, that coping is possible, and that life is still good even in light of this truth?

Ha! It is true, there is genuine hope and good cheer available, not to be confused with “hopium.”

continued => https://insanitybytes2.wordpress.com/2022/12/09/we-already-know/

Nightwind777‘s Post

What is Nightwind777‘s post all about? Well, here is his conclusion.

 After the so-called ‘purge’ at Twitter ends, we can expect people just like these to fill their positions. Twitter is a prime example of why Corporate Media concentrations are dangerous to any free society. Pundits on the Right can claim ignorance all they want to, but it doesn’t change the fact that our Media is hopelessly compromised regardless of which Oligarch operates it.

from => http://nightwind777.blogspot.com/2022/12/nobody-knew.htm

Of course, Nightwind777‘s post is about Elon Musk’s airing of Twitter’s dirty laundry. Apparently, Nightwind777 thinks Elon Musk is a phony. He believes we cannot trust the corporate media, that the power of the mass media is concentrated into too few hands. So, Nightwind777 has a cynical view of the mass media.

What can I add to what insanitybytes22 and Nightwind777 wrote? Well, I am not sure what I can add to what Nightwind777 wrote. I do doubt some of Nightwind777‘s theories about how the mass media.

• What should we make of Elon Musk? How he is going to deal with the fact that the Chinese make the batteries for the Tesla? That makes Musk subject to huge pressure from a foreign power. Musk, however, is not the primary culprit responsible for moving US production to China. In fact, the people responsible for that don’t like him. We all need to count up all the stuff we are buying from a land ruled by Communist thugs, cry, and take some responsibility.
• Nightwind777 likes The Fairness Doctrine (1949–1987), but that law was a bad idea that needed to be repealed. Its repeal made The Rush Limbaugh Show possible, for example. “You” don’t like Rush Limbaugh? So? Other people still had the right to listen to Limbaugh. Respecting the rights of others, not trying to manufacture some kind of phony “fairness” is what makes this a free country.

On the other hand, I don’t have theories that much better than what Nightwind777 offer. I agree too few people own most of the mass media, but I still doubt all these people are working in concert. When the mountain is a pile of dough, King of the Mountain is a blood sport.

The best I have to offer is an observation based upon something C. S. Lewis wrote, The Inner Ring. Please take the time to read The Inner Ring and then come back to this post when you find it convenient.

Nightwind777‘s theories are not immaterial. To hold people accountable, we need to know who did what, when they did it, where they did it, and how they did it. Unfortunately, that information can be somewhat difficult to come by, and I suspect that is due to the nature of inner rings. When we look at a formal organizational chart, that supposedly tells where the power to make decisions is vested in an organization. The reality can be quite different. That is because we can influence each other in ways an organizational chart will not explain.

Moreover, there are many inner rings, not just one. Every organization probably has at least one inner ring. The White House has at least one, Facebook has at least one, and every city hall has at least one. Most likely even our local church has at least one inner ring.

Each ring within (or even outside an organization) will perform certain tasks. Unless we know about these various rings, we may end up holding the wrong people accountable for bad decisions, but inner rings rarely come with documentation.

Insanitybytes22‘s Post

What about insanitybytes22‘s observation about “Hopium”?

“Hopium” is what the political class, the elites, cult leaders, and “community organizers” always use like a carrot on a stick to entice the masses. We’re going to expose this, people will be held accountable, justice will be served, and we will fix it! That’s what protests are all about, and back when we had real journalism, an exposé. Like, if we just tell the story, raise awareness, everyone will see what’s been going on, and justice will be served!

Once people just know the truth…..

That’s a complete fantasy. It just doesn’t work that way in real life. People don’t want to know the truth.

from => https://insanitybytes2.wordpress.com/2022/12/09/we-already-know/

insanitybytes22 adds to Nightwind777‘s cynicism. People don’t want to know the truth. Whereas Nightwind777 asserts that the news media is lying to us, insanitybytes22 says that we don’t want to the truth. That is, we are quite willing to accept the lies.

Why do people want to accept the lies?

For the most part however, exposing the truth does absolutely nothing to bring about change. That’s because most of the problems and issues we face as a culture are not caused because people, “don’t know.” They know, but for a whole myriad of reasons, and a diverse smorgasbord of rational-lies and emotional payoffs, sometimes financial ones, they “can’t” know. They are invested in the lies. Most people don’t “want” to know the truth. The truth can be painful.

Also, once you know the truth you are accountable. How do we avoid accountability? Avoid acknowledging the truth.

from => https://insanitybytes2.wordpress.com/2022/12/09/we-already-know/

Citizen Tom’s Contribution

Is insanitybytes22‘s theory, that “People don’t want to know the truth“, a new idea? No.

Decades ago, I used to read science fiction. What do science fiction writers do? They write a form of fantasy. Fantasy is at least as old as fairytales, and the writers of science fiction do what the writers of fairytales do. They portray human beings acting like human beings in what seems like an odd situation. When storytellers do this, they can help us to understand ourselves.

Who are the most courageous people? Are they policemen, soldiers, politicians, construction workers, trapeze artists, sports stars,….? Or do they appear to be like anyone else? How do we know when someone is truly courageous?

Larry Niven is one of my favorite authors. He wrote one of my favorite books, Ringworld. Ringworld includes some strange creatures. One of the strangest is Pierson’s Puppeteers, usually called just Puppeteers.

In Niven’s imagination, puppeteers are an advanced species capable of intergalactic space travel. Puppeteers are herbivores, not predatory. They appear to be cowardly and exceedingly cautious creatures.

How cautious? The puppeteers have discovered that the galaxy is exploding from the center outward. Since galaxies are huge, the effects the explosion will not reach their home planet any time soon (tens of thousands of years), but the puppeteers began dealing with the situation immediately after its discovery. Incredibly advanced, they modified their home worlds so that they are capable of space travel. Then puppeteers started evacuating the galaxy.

How did humans react to the news that the galaxy is exploding? Humans were nonplussed. Why the difference? Is it because we are cowards? We don’t want to think about problems that frighten us. We don’t want to think about difficult and deadly serious problems that we don’t know how to solve, especially if there is no imminent possibility of harm.

When we spend time thinking about a problem, we usually do so to figure out what to do about the problem. What if we don’t have an answer? What if we think that there is no good answer? What if there is an answer, but that answer requires great sacrifice? Then, it takes a lot of courage to look squarely at the problem, examine it carefully, figure out what needs to be done, and do what needs to be done.

Were the puppeteers trying to preserve their progeny? Is that why they acted? Human beings want to preserve their progeny too, but in fiction they did not act. Can fear can leave us too confused to react to danger? Which is the coward? Is it the creature who is so afraid it cannot avoid facing its fear, or is it the creature who is so afraid it cannot face its fear?

Is there truth in Niven’s fiction? Can you think of examples of serious, real-world problems that Americans have ignored?

Can We Know The Truth And Act?

So, what is the problem with getting the truth out of the mass media?

• Is the problem corruption? Are people in the know suppressing the truth to keep the truth from the public?
• Do we each bear responsibility for suppressing the truth? Do we avoid knowing the truth because we don’t want the responsibility that comes with knowing?
• Do we suppress the truth because we are so afraid of the truth, we cannot deal with it?

My guess, and that is all that it is, a guess, is that there is no one right answer. Each of us is different. Even when we see the same truth, we see that truth from a different perspective. So, we respond differently. For example, even under the best circumstances Liberal Democrats and Conservative Republicans will not perceive Elon Musk’s release of Twitter’s dirty laundry the same way.

Therefore, there is little to gain by psychoanalyzing our political opponents, trying to figure out what is wrong with them. The Bible has already given us an answer. We are all sinners.

Can we find the courage to act? What does the mean? Is courage required? Yes. However, when Niven wrote about puppeteers, he did not deal the subject of sin. He set aside matters such as pride, covetousness (also known as avarice or greed), lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth. Niven focused on fear. He tried to understand fear as a secular herbivore and herd animal would understand fear. Could such a creature, devoid of morality, actually exist? Do we want to be such creatures?

What is the main problem with fear? We can fear God will not forgive us of our sins. That can keep us from repenting and turning to Him for help. Fear, however, is not our main weakness. Courage is not our main cure.

Our main weakness is sin. We can overcome sin by turning to God and praying for the wisdom, understanding and virtue that we need to do what is right in God’s eyes. God is the only cure for what ails us.