A wise man named Mahatma Gandhi coined the term Satyagraha. Its definition (loosely translated) means truth force – or “holding onto truth”. In this crazy modern world, especially in the disastrous year 2020, “truth” would seem to be on life support, if not dead already. I am gonna propose a theory on why I think this is the case. It is only my opinion, but I think the logic is sound. It revolves around revisionist history, the internet, and how lazy we have become as a society. I hope it offers the reader a slightly different perspective and causes you to ponder on the subject. The smartphone I am typing this on has access to more information – both good and bad information – than any other point in recorded history. Used properly, it is a magnificent tool for autodidact education. Used improperly, it is a tool for propaganda, confusion, and mass public miseducation. First, a story.
Our family has been participating in trivia night (once a week) for a few years now. I enjoy it – for both the fellowship and the guarantee that I will learn something new every week. Each week, the trivia DJ has a “bonus” question (with a $ pot) that one lucky person (drawn from a bucket) gets to try to answer. The $ pot had grown to around $400 when my name was drawn. The category I chose to attempt was American History – one of the few topics I feel I have a decent grasp of…
At this point, you are probably wondering, “what does this have to do with alternative facts and post truth?”. The following is one of many examples on the internet where history has been “amended”, and not in a good way. The question I had 30 seconds to answer was this: “What was the First Nation to recognize the United States as an independent nation?”. It took me about 2 seconds to answer: “France”. To my shock and dismay, he told me I was wrong – “the correct answer is Morocco”. I walked back to the table with my tail between my legs, licking my wounds, and wondering how I had learned the “wrong” answer.
When we returned home, I took a deep dive into a rabbit hole – trying to understand why I didn’t win the $400+ dollars. The deeper I dug, the more concerned I became – to the point that I began using literal history books as well as solid internet sources. What did I find? I found that my answer, “France”, was the correct answer after all. However, it took more than a simple “google search” to find it. How did the answer get changed from “France” to “Morocco”? Two very influential, powerful Americans gave speeches with “alternative facts” that literally changed how the answer appears on the internet: President Obama and Hillary Clinton. I hope the following links explain it well enough to understand.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/france-formally-recognizes-the-united-states
Unofficially and officially, France was the first to recognize the USA – December 17, 1777 (unofficially), and February 6, 1778 (officially with a treaty). Morocco recognized the USA on December 20, 1777 (unofficially), and by treaty in 1786-1787.
https://history.state.gov/about/faq/first-to-recognize-US – from the official US State Department Historian.
Why does this matter? After all, it is only a trivia question, right? Well, not winning that $400 was annoying, but the implications on history, and its revision, are downright eye opening, and frightening. I have found that the more I question “facts” on the internet, and research using multiple sources (including the internet, books, and people wiser than me), the more “incorrect/alternative” facts I encounter – with some being accepted now as truth. It is happening across all subjects and around the world – at an alarming rate. I do not want to cast aspersions on anyone – including our 44th POTUS and his Secretary of State/former First Lady. Perhaps it was a honest mistake, or they were fed “alternative facts” from advisors. I have no way of knowing their intention. But there is a saying in the world of computers, “Garbage in, garbage out”. And, trust me, there is a lot of garbage, misinformation, propaganda, and outright lies on the marvels that are the worldwide web and television.
So… Where do we go from here? How do we practice Satyagraha? Is truth really dead, and are we living in a “post truth” world? I surmise that truth is very much alive, but we (our entire society – including me) have been dumbed down to the point of sheep to the slaughter.
Question everything. Use official sources, not Wikipedia. Double check with books (where possible). Ask people smarter/wiser than you for their knowledge/opinion. Intentionally watch/read/learn from sources you disagree with. Again, Question EVERYTHING. And, then once you find the truth, hold onto it like a bulldog locks its jaws during the kill. It is not your truth, it is THE truth. And remember: Satan is the author of confusion. Does anyone – and I mean anyone – really know what happened during our recent election? I submit that no human being really knows – the scope of what we are witnessing is larger than any one human being can wrap his/her head around. There is too much information (and disinformation) available instantly at our fingertips – and emotion tends to best logic for most of us… I do know who holds the answer we all seek. As I deeply love our Republic, I find myself prostrate before our Creator, praying every way I know for His/Her mercy and grace for both myself and our Republic. I pray for the courage to love my neighbor(s), including those who may hate me/us. Time for a pause:
We often hear and say, “God bless America“. Well, I submit that God has already blessed America – so much more than we actually deserve. Seems to me that we, as Americans, have not held up our end of the ledger. We need to be contrite, thankful, and do more giving than taking. It is not about me. It is not about you. It is about US. And you can’t spell USA without US. US cannot exist without unity and, more importantly, the namesake of this website – harmony. I may be naïve, but I still believe.