The True Truth about Truthiness

It seems apparent to me more and more just how dire the need is for good old fashioned truth. The only problem is that no-one seems to know what the truth is these days. Living in the age of public relations can be a beautiful, liberating (and expensive) experience for the ones in control. Yet for those outside the spin zone it's a completely different story. For those unfortunate enough to live under the influence of excessive spin the symptoms go far beyond dizziness and vertigo.

The result has been a cynical and confused society where truth has been obliterated by truthiness.

In case you've never heard the word truthiness, it's probably because the word was recently (re)coined and popularized by actor/comedian Stephen Colbert in the pilot of his show The Colbert Report. According to Colbert, truthiness is information someone wishes to be true, even if its not. Explaining further in a later interview, that "It used to be, everyone was entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. But that's not the case anymore. Facts matter not at all. Perception is everything. It's certainty. People love the president because he's certain of his choices as a leader, even if the facts that back him up don't seem to exist. It's the fact that he's certain that is very appealing to a certain section of the country."

Yet in context of truth and our economy. It seems clear to me there is more truthiness in the air than truth. We don't seem so much interested in finding out the facts as much as we see interested in forming opinions about what should have been done and what should be done.

Yet for every seemingly honest and informed voices on the internet like The New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, there seem a dozen more like Mad Money's Jim Cramer who's reaction to economy seems as schizophrenic as the market. One (Krugman) seems like a man trying to describe and evaluate a large and painful problem to the best of his ability. The other (Cramer) seems intent on following the his gut in the face of the facts. Both are speaking about the same subject, and both claim to speak the truth.

Yet how is anyone supposed to get anything meaningful from such a wide divide of information? How do any of us find fact in the age of advertising?

In the end, I say run to where the ugly is. The truth is never pretty or popular. Spin, public relations and propaganda is nice to look at. It makes us feel good and probably smells better but I guarantee you its not going to make you happy.