We live at a time in history where we have more access to information than ever before. The internet has created a situation in which damn near anyone can access information about damn near any topic, and do so in real time. It’s been dubbed the “Information Age” as a result, and is supposed to help humanity step into a new level of existence.
Yet, as humans, we are so damned stupid.
We would rather cling to and perpetuate misinformation. The phrase “alternative facts” has been coined, which in my view is an extremely sad commentary on humanity.
If we are so hungry for a lack of information, how do we trust anything?
How is it that those who are so hungry to go back to some other “golden age”, where a handshake was an actual bond… these same people have absolutely no issue with spreading, creating and consuming half truths and misinformation at every turn.
We argue about whether truth is actually truth, as we try our best to color such truths through our own personal lens of what we want to be reality. We don’t want truth… we want to hear what we want to hear, regardless of whether it’s actually true or not.
We want to be lied to, if it somehow feeds our own world view or gives us some sort of emotional feedback that we like – even if that emotion is anger and hatred.
We do not live in an information age by any means. Instead, we are choosing – actively choosing – to live in a misinformation age.
When information is complete bullshit, we lose. Every. Single. Time.
The ONLY winners in misinformation are those who hold the power. They want to mislead and confuse everyone else in order to keep them “in their place.”
If you want to be held in place and made to remain subservient to the powers that be – then by all means, swallow their misinformation like a golden cock. Slurp up. Remain the fool.
But if you would rather be a part of something different… demand actual truth. Even when that truth sucks and hits you in the damned face.
I continue to try and hold out hope for humanity as a whole, but damn if humanity doesn’t keep trying to suck that away. There are times when I wonder how in the holy hell humans even still exist, because I often feel like even the dumbest animals running around in the wild are far smarter than we are.
I want honesty and truth in my interactions. I want to be able to trust that which is actually a part of my life and world. And I want to grow – even if the truth forces me to do so.
Can we find our way back to this “Information Age?” Damn, I hope so. But I am truly beginning to worry about the reality of that happening.
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