A Half-Truth

is a Whole Lie.  ~Yiddish proverb

We do have a problem.  Dealing with facts is one part; separating facts from fiction is the other.

If you are repeatedly fed misinformation, you'll begin to accept it.  That's the propaganda effect, and we have little defense against being misled. 

Psychologically, we hear and initially accept things as true (it's automatic and effortless), then we evaluate.  If, in evaluating, we discover that it's false, we have to go through the brain archive and correct the record, a conscious effort that requires our intellectual focus.  The more complex the narrative, the more demanding the task.  Our intellectual process can be overwhelmed by misinformation overload.  We're propagandized, misled, and lied to.  

Half-truth is deliberate misrepresentation (recent example) intended to deceive, to counter a more transparent view.  The scheme is to persuade (overwhelm) by quantity of rhetoric rather than by accuracy or objectivity.

Polarization thrives on the tension of such misinformation.  It reinforces existing prejudice.  Russian influence in social media played heavily on that one.  Without exception, extreme positions are based on partial truth.    

Attempting a rule of law does not resolve the failed thought process.  Our response to school violence and gun control concerns illustrates the difficulty.  

Are there other issues?  It's every issue, actually.  

Truth is always under attack.  Politics, industry, science, economics, social norms, ... none are off the battleground.  And interestingly, hatred becomes visible at the extremes along with the rest of the deadly sins.  The tobacco industry and their decades of misinformation come to mind.  And the oil industry.  And the abortion industry.  And Wall Street.

Not everyone is equally vulnerable to misinformation.  As persons of conscience, our obligation is to truth rather than to party or to preference or tradition.  A good conscience requires a measure of thoughtful openness to perspectives besides our own, a measure of empathy for those with whom we disagree, and honesty regarding our own convictions.

Are such things as public protest and demonstrations acceptable?  Of course.  Can a 'movement' provide a venue for needed discussion?  Absolutely.  And can such momentum cross the boundary into half-truth?  Therein lies the problem whether at the personal or international level.

Much of what we hear ... is half-truth constructed to influence, to leverage some advantage.

• Accusations between political parties
• Explanations by biased news commentators
• Motive one attributes to another
• Blame assigned in family conflict
• Words spoken in anger

So how do we move toward truth, or at least not make matters worse for others?  

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Skip the half-truths; you'll avoid choking on the wrong half.  Get free. (that's the short version)

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