Briar Philosopher- “And you shall seek the truth…”

This morning finds my mind foggy and weary and not much wanting to get anything done. It’s not from lack of sleep or anything. I expect it’s from too much input. There are so many things going on politically and socially right now that it gives the brain so very much to consider, especially a brain such as mine that feels the need to consider every angle and perspective and nuance of any issue before I feel comfortable speaking about it.

I find that much of society is made up of people who simply react to information without thinking about the implications of it much. We tend to see issues in black and white terms and draw up dividing lines based on very little actual information. Many also seem to simply accept being told how they should feel about any given issue if the information comes from a source they consider an authority.

They never seem to be able to speak to how exactly that person or authority came to be an authority. They don’t think about that either. It’s easier that way. The great Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, once said, “Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment.” I can’t operate that way.

I never assume I understand an issue until I have delved as deep into it as possible. And besides that, judgment is a dangerous thing. We have been warned to avoid it. I don’t suppose I need to say who it was who warned us against it since there won’t be many who don’t recognize the quote, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”

The best way I know of to avoid judgment is to try to reach an understanding. In doing so I’ve found, time and time again that, whatever the surface of an issue may appear to be, beneath that surface there is quite often something else going on entirely. We are simply being presented with a surface understanding that will so embroil our emotions that we will never look beneath the surface and never understand the level of manipulation therein.

I am certainly not the first philosopher to say that one should examine everything, question everything, go beneath the surface of things. Thinkers have been encouraging such behavior for thousands of years right down to, “Ye shall seek the truth and the truth shall make you free.” Once again, I don’t think I have to tell you who said that. I’m pretty sure you know.

So, seek the truth I do and it is no easy task. The world is full of people with agendas who will try with all their might and money to get me to see things one way or another. Billboards and newsfeeds and social media and shows purporting to be news are rife with agendas that do not have the truth at their center. It is hard to sort it all out. It takes a willingness to listen to many different voices, whether I happen to agree with them or not. It takes trying to understand the source of those perspectives and whether or not they are based on what is real or what someone has decided it is expedient to believe.

We are all susceptible to propaganda. We can’t escape it. It surrounds us every day. You can’t turn on the television or pick up your phone without someone telling you what to believe and what to accept as truth. They grab us by our heart-strings and by our fear strings and by whatever strings they can that will get our emotions up and keep us from thinking anything through.

I hope that we will all take a step back and ask ourselves what the truth of things may be before we become so self-righteous or so angry that we fail to see what may be happening behind it all. It is dangerous to move forward if we don’t truly know where we stand. Where we end up may not be where we thought we were heading at all.