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There are rare exceptions, of course. Humanity is not primarily interested in truth or factuality. How do I know this? The evidence is there for all to see. Most of us prefer to read fiction over non-fiction. It is the same for viewing video/film, with documentaries trailing far behind made up stuff in popularity. In truth, what we call biography/memoir is largely fiction as well. Escapism is what most of us seek from our reading and watching stuff on screens. Many would say to this, I live in the real world and don’t need to be inundated with it in my free time. I hear you. The global success of the Harry Potter books and movies are a testament to this fact. The Christian bible purports to be the biggest seller in the printed books category but, again, I can tell you, as someone who has studied it academically, it is mostly fictional in content. This is why it has been popular, with content including unsubstantiated miracles and historical exaggerations and inventions. Telling a good story was the most important factor for historians and those selling religion in ancient times.
Religions Are Based On Historical Fictions
Indeed, all of the holy books of every religion, the world over, are largely fictional. I know this statement can be upsetting to those who wish to believe in the literal nature of their religious texts. Fiction, however, can be inspiring and is not necessarily a bad thing. It is, just, not the word of God. If you study the ancient roots of religions it is invariably about power. High priests and princes used religions as vehicles for their own power. The reason why so many human beings are religious is not by choice. Being Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or Jewish for most of the history of these religions was enforced upon populations via geopolitical, ethno-cultural, and familial considerations. Today, when these pressures of religious conformity are exerted upon people we call them cults. In the past, these social behaviours were the bread and butter of how religions operated. Ancient historians in the current era have found that, in the case of Christianity, much of the accepted historicity of the bible narrative does not stand up to scrutiny. The existence of Moses and the Exodus story have long been discredited by biblical scholars. Indeed, many of the Old Testament characters have no evidentiary proof for their existence. Some scholars have cast credible doubt on the literary sources for the existence of Jesus of Nazareth. Unfortunately, there were a lot of creative early Christians who made stuff up to provide credence to biblical figures. Now, St Paul and his letters are being seen as literary devices rather than actual letters by a real person. Religions are good stories, really, narratives designed to capture the hearts and minds of listeners. Humanity is not primarily interested in truth or factuality.
Fiction In Presidential Politics in The United States
OK, then, returning to the here and now. Many of us around the place are watching screens for more than 10 hours per day. Much of the material on display is fictional. Is it any wonder that a good number of folk do not know the difference between fact and fiction. Indeed, what they have been served up by their leaders as fact has often been lies or fictions. President Trump was a celebrity TV star who played a fictional billionaire. He, then, took that persona or character to the polls and won the presidency back in 2016. America is a nation where everything important is classified top secret and the populace is kept out of the loop. Hundreds of millions of Americans get their understanding via the alternative universe of popular culture – streaming services, cable TV and the internet. A sizable chunk of the population believe in aliens, UFOs and conspiracy theories about everything under the sun. Voting is not compulsory in the United States, therefore, only two thirds of the adult population votes. This speaks of voter disengagement on political matters. A showman like Trump garners more attention than serious types, especially as Trump lies about most everything. Americans not really tuned in may well accept at face value what President Trump or candidate Trump tells them. Humanity is not primarily interested in truth or factuality. Most people prefer a good story.
Humanity & Science
Science, according to its proponents, is based on facts. Science is mostly about measuring stuff. Humanity’s dalliance with science, as a serious relationship is a very recent thing. Much of scientific research does not penetrate to the outer reaches of human population zones around the planet. I would confidently say that quantum mechanics, which was discovered around the turn between the end of 19C and start of the 20C, is hardly understood by the bulk of the human population, more than a century later. We are witnessing a backlash against science, orchestrated by right wing interests to combat climate change action, funded by fossil fuel corporations and related industries. This wealthy and powerful section of humanity is rejecting scientific fact because they don’t like what it means for their moneyed interests. Ordinary human beings are vulnerable to alternative narratives, especially if they have an iron in the fire. They will be open to suggestion if they feel that their livelihood is at risk because of global warming initiatives closing down coal mines or such like. Science and scientists can be dry. Whereas paid PR experts can craft more emotive messaging for their wealthy fossil fuel clients. Another example pertains to the Covid pandemic, where around a million Americans died whilst President Trump was in charge, the first time around. Despite these enormous numbers of deaths, vaccination and mask wearing became political rather than matters of public health policy. Science was again rejected by right wing GOP strategists in favour of political point scoring, even at the cost of their supporters dying from the condition. Humanity is not primarily interested in truth or factuality, it seems.
The Right Wing Post-Truth Trumpian World
When people not directly impacted by war hear about conflicts happening elsewhere, they pay attention to what their political leaders tell them. The media, then, reports on what they have been told and the information they are able to gather themselves from war zones. Iran is being bombed by the United States and Israel. We have been told by President Trump this was because Iran posed an imminent nuclear threat. Iran has long been painted the bad guy by the world media. A Shia Islamic theocracy, who we are told, persecutes the personal freedoms of its subjects. In addition, Iran has been depicted as the sponsor of acts of terrorism around the world. The missile strikes against Iran by Israel and the US were not sanctioned by the United Nations – they are illegal acts of war. So, we get the words of a lying US president to justify the bombing of another sovereign nation. Australia has tacitly backed the US and Israel in this illegal act of war against Iran. The reality of war is that around 90% of those killed in these push button strikes are innocent bystanders. We have just witnessed Israel destroy an entire city, Gaza, on the justification of 1200 Israeli deaths by Hamas. More than 70, 000 Palestinians, men, women and children, have been killed in this declared genocide by the United Nations. In Australia, the right wing legacy media, News Corp led, painted a pro-Israel picture of suffering throughout this conflict, despite the facts not backing up that story. Right wing politics is not interested in abiding by facts and enjoys this post-truth Trumpian world.
“US President Donald Trump thinks the war against Iran “is very complete” and that Washington was “very far ahead” of his initial four to five week estimated time frame.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard responded by saying that is “nonsense” adding “we are the ones that will determine the end of the war”. “
F*** The Facts
If you cannot trust your leaders to tell you the truth, you are in trouble. Politicians have long been slippery with the facts but the level of lying has reached new apogees around the place. Those on the Right are inspired by President Trump’s Teflon Don behaviour. Treating the world media with disdain is the new MO of those around Trump. The underlying message is – that they are going to do whatever they want and be accountable to no one. This is their interpretation of what powerful leadership is. Politics is about power. Religious belief may coat some elites with a more impassioned bent but it is window dressing compared to self-interest and aggrandisement. Some folk find the Trump approach refreshing in its honesty of intention. The corruption is not masked to the same extent of previous administrations. If and when it takes us to World War 3, they may not feel the same way in the end. Wars have ramifications and are hard to limit once begun.
AUKUS Means Aussie Sovereignty Means Little In Real Terms
“Australians who are looking for independent leadership in geopolitical matters will be sorely disappointed. AUKUS means Albanese has to support Trump’s America. Illegal attacks on Venezuela and, now Iran by the United States military have all received the green light of approval by the Albanese government. Australia as a vassal state of the US is well under way via the $368 billion AUKUS program dangling as carrot for this Aussie rabbit. Hey, we get to pay for the privilege of ceding our bases to the US and observing our own sovereignty as an illusion. When push comes to shove the little Aussie has to back the big bad Americans or we won’t get any boats.”
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The AI Heresy; What Price Life?; America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump; and other titles. NOW AVAILABLE AT APPLE BOOKS & GOOGLE PLAY BOOKS. Google Play Books AUDIOBOOK
©MidasWord
The AI Heresy: A Betrayal of Humanity – PDF
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