Many of you remember the beautiful and fitting speech Oprah gave at the Golden Globes in 2018. One of the best I’ve heard, but one phrase didn’t sit well with me—your truth.
The dangers that phrase foreshadowed are now playing out in real-time as we stuff ourselves with the delicacies of our own naivety.
Who regulates your truth? Who holds it to account? What standard separates fact from fiction and truth from opinion?
Without a measure to test truth, we become our own judges. Our opinions become our leaders who persuade us to accept our own lies as truths. Whoever challenges them is the enemy.
In this world, built on a mirage of truth and hoisted up by a projection of hollow values, we only accept what agrees with our version of truth.
Credibility is forfeited to maintain comfort. It’s a race to be right, and everyone is, of course, because they are their own measuring stick.
It’s the reason some will never accept that Trump may have legitimately lost the election. It’s also the reason that some would never accept proof of fraud if it did exist.
And it’s the reason we will continue spinning our wheels regardless of who sits in the Oval Office.
How do we fix it? Cling to a standard of truth. Honor it, even when it hurts. Challenge your own biases, even if they betray you. And above all, test everything.
Jason Bailey is a Licensed Professional Counselor. You can follow him on Facebook or Instagram.