Truth and the future…

It goes without saying, of course: when a society lies to itself or is simply delusional in its thinking, and when it is incapable or unwilling to test the veracity of its beliefs and change course if/when needed, its very existence becomes tenuous. The inability to question direction is both a cause and an effect of societal decay. Our future as a nation is uncertain at present, and the most potent weapon we have to repair the situation is the willingness to listen—really listen—to the voices of Americans: not just the wealthy, powerful, and influential Americans who always seem to “get their air time”, but all Americans who have an opinion to proffer. What happens then? Well…

After listening carefully, it will then be necessary to “feed back” to the American people what was said and heard and confirm understanding. Based on the input received, it will be necessary to update the definitions of the issues and formulate possible responses to them. Then, it will be time to present these options to the American people for discussion and debate. Then, a referendum should be held to give the American people a say in which options will be selected for action, and which will not. Finally, elected leaders should implement those actions as directed by the American people.

The fact that such suggestions may seem impossibly naïve and unworkable in a country of 324 million souls is why we are in such a precarious position today. I can effectively argue that the above suggestions are entirely workable and implementable. It’s just that we have no collective will to do so. The noise of media, the usual loud voices, and the ringing in our ears makes us incapable of speaking, or hearing, the truth.