Now that COVID19 is THE topic of the day, what are we to make of all the news and commentary about it? There is so much information coming at us it is hard to sift out the truth… if there is such a thing. Are we hearing what we would hope to be the truth? Or are we hearing/reading/seeing what the Media Moguls have decided what the content we see should be? Or are self-proclaimed experts from social media dictating? And how can we tell?

Comparing headlines, blog posts, twitter tweets, and even TV and radio news, we are often not any closer to what is the actual, real truth about this pandemic. There is much confusion, much contradiction, and more consternation among the public. Tempers flare and antagonism grows…all because we are confronted with myriad points of view and subtle agendas from both (more than two?) sides. Politics, instead of critical citizen information is bombarding our ears and eyes. Is it not remarkable that such silly quibbles cannot be put aside for the common good?

Is it possible that the common good is not paramount? That the concern is not with “Americans” but with hyphenated-Americans (i.e. left, right, extreme, independent, etc)? But how does this relate to truth? The only way it can is from a perspective that declares that truth is relative. Your-truth, my-truth, his/her-truth have taken the place of plain old generic non-partisan truth. It has, in fact, been compromised.

What’s worse, is that we (in general) don’t seem to be either aware or concerned about this. When truth is relative, it must by necessity fall to the most common denominator. In other words, to accommodate all points of view, truth loses its distinction by definition and meaning. Relativity results in chaos…which is what seems to be happening now.

In such a time as this, chaos can only destroy, it has no “winners” except those who want chaos. But even then, chaos leads to anarchy and anarchy does no one any good. We need hope. And hope is built upon certainty, upon something solid, something we can point to or hold onto. Truth, as defined traditionally is that something.