“Truthful lips endure forever,
   but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,
   but those who plan peace have joy.”

Proverbs 12:19-20

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​Truth has taken a serious beating over the past few years, so much so that it sometimes feels like we were living in an episode of The Twilight Zone, where up is down, down is up, the sky is yellow, fire is blue – and it seems like some people have lost the ability to even know the difference.

 

Although there has always been an element of dishonesty in politics, many politicians have started to go way beyond little white lies told on the campaign trail. Many of the lies some have started to tell don’t just target their opponents track record or enhance their own, they target reality itself. ​To make matters far worse, there seem to be more people willing to relinquish the power of their paint-by-number belief systems to master manipulators who happily color in the blanks for them. As a result, truth has started to become whatever each person or group of people want it to be.

 

In other words, truth is becoming a personal choice instead of a touchstone.

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Whereas, in the good ‘ol days when most of us let facts and reality determine our truth, there are now those who work it exactly backward – deciding first what they want the truth to be, then seeking out whatever post, tweet, conspiracy theory, or cable news host confirms it. This confirmation bias isn’t hard to find if you’re looking for it – regardless of how outlandish it may be – because in our daily lives, we absorb a dizzying kaleidoscope of data that bombards us from all directions.

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Overwhelmed by this information onslaught, it’s no wonder most people gravitate toward the sources they are most comfortable with on social media, newspapers, radio and television – which, through repetition and a total lack of dissent, ultimately combine to create an echo chamber that only amplifies and reenforces the original belief.

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Operating in this manner may take less mental energy and its familiarity and consistency may provide temporary comfort, but it only serves to perpetuate our distrust of one another and deepen our political divide.