I’m still thinking, but now, it is along two parallel but mutually supporting paths.  The first path is spiritual (which I address here), and the second is material.  I address this second path now.

This post was inspired by the following article:

Op-ed: The danger of being right

It is primarily spiritual in nature, but, as the two paths are parallel and mutually supporting, the words in this story that struck me apply as much here, in the material, as they do in the spiritual:

I know that temptation because I’ve fallen into it often.

Throughout my early adulthood especially, I was increasingly consumed with pointing out the ways other people were wrong, particularly in the political and cultural battles surrounding us. And while I still believe I was right about many of the things I was challenging, I failed to recognize what was happening in me. I was becoming increasingly entangled in political idolatry, increasingly graceless toward people with whom I disagreed, increasingly prideful and sanctimonious.

My lips would have protested that I was motivated by a love for God’s truth, but my heart was revealing something different. I wanted to be right. I wanted to be respected. I wanted to be known. Somewhere along the way, the desire to defend truth had become entangled with a desire to elevate myself. I had become so focused on confronting the sins and errors of others that I was giving far too little attention to what was taking root in my own heart.

I identify strongly with those words, especially the ones I bolded, and even more so the words I bolded in red.  Ever since I read this article, I have not been able to get my mind off the implications for my life, and for the future of my country, as well as Man.

I am a recovering narcissist, so, yes, those words in bold describe who I once was — and who I could easily become again.  I do not wish to go back to being that man.  That said, there are many errors in our world that, if no one bothers to make an effort to correct, will become accepted as truth.  At best, this leads to confusion, and confusion is nihilistic.  A confused society will fall into nihilism, and that leads to its ruin.  I do not wish to see this happen to the United States.

The dilemma, however, is how does one defend the Truth while avoiding the pitfall of making their voice about themselves, and not the Truth?  The problem is all the more confounded by social media.  In order to be effective, you need to have the evidence, and that evidence must be as close to the original source as possible.  Only in this way will it hope to be effective.  But original sources in a digital world are untrustworthy at best.  Too many claims of being originals are fabrications and, in many cases, the truth has been erased entirely.

But, assuming you have access to original sources, and in their proper context, you next need a platform.  Again, social media is swamped by a clamor of voices, the majority of which are clamoring for clicks so they can get ratings that they can then turn into money.  If I’ve learned anything from my efforts it is that, when money is the driving force, Truth soon dies.

Then, assuming you can build a platform, you have to reach an audience that can still reason.  Here again, we live in a country that no longer values reason, let alone knows how to do it.  And how does one reach any audience when our collective attention span has been reduced to less than 5-8 seconds?

Finally, assuming one manages to do all of this, the final problem is getting people to accept an authority greater than their own opinions or desires.  You can bring the receipts, build a massive platform, find a way to catch and hold their attention and present everything in a way they can understand, but they will still reject it in favor of their own ‘truth(s).’

Knowing that all of this is our reality, I struggle with whether or not there is any value in continuing to try.  But then I hear myself whispering:

All is not lost and you are not beaten until you stop trying!

The takeaway — for me — is that I must diligently seek out and, when I find it, concede to the authority of Truth.  I must learn the history — as much as possible — from the men and women who made it, and not from those who try to re-write it to suit their own agendas.  Then, when I have the best contextual understanding I can gain, and the receipts to support it, I must do my best to share it with as many who will listen — all the while begging and pleading with them to bow to the authority of Truth, and not themselves.

It is only in this way can I serve the cause of individual rights and liberty in a world being increasingly darkened by tyranny.

–Black 3, Actual