Truth

Among all the terrible, awful things that Donald Trump has done as President of the United States, the worst, in my view, is the way in which he has undermined the concept of truth in the public sphere.  

Due to his own constant lying and even more, his ongoing denigration of news sources that are committed to reporting the truth, it’s become harder than ever to determine what really is the case.  And people seem less interested than ever in trying to find out what’s true than they are in promoting an account of things that’s consistent with their own political and/or social agenda.

The truth has never been easy to uncover or establish.  Philosophers, artists, scientists, even politicians in some cases, have devoted their lives to the pursuit of truth.  But the effort to describe things in a manner that accords with reality has long been considered a noble effort.

Not anymore.  

Truth has been said to be the first casualty of war; perhaps, then, we are at war, since it was clearly the first casualty of the Trump administration.

All politicians lie; we know that; you can tell they’re lying because their lips are moving goes the old saw.  But typically, at least, they knew when they were lying, and their lies could be held against them.  

But Trump just asserts whatever claim he feels like making; I’m not at all convinced he has any idea whether he is telling the truth or not.  And that’s because he doesn’t care whether his words accord with reality; it’s not even obvious to me whether he has any conception of what’s real in any case.

All this just makes the truth more elusive.

I’m not saying that there isn’t room for interpretation in some cases; I’m enough of a post-modernist to recognize that truth is contextual and connected with power, as well.

But some truths are not only true, but self-evident, and that’s the truth no matter what.