We call the current era the Information Age. A technological age where information is at our fingertips with a single click, and where being uninformed is morally unacceptable. People have the ability to recognize right from wrong, thus their tardiness comes from failing to act on that knowledge. The ability to independently verify information is now a basic talent, and it is assumed that everyone will use it. However, just as the truth is becoming more available to us, so are lies. Anyone can make something up, and as people grow less diligent about verifying the accuracy of the material they consume, the person spreading the lies has an easier time deceiving them. The challenge now is how we can tell the truth from fabrication. Is it truly simple for us to know what is good and wrong when the truth can be twisted into a lie and a lie into the truth? Is ignorance still a sin, or are they simply victims? Who are our true adversaries: those who don't know better, or those who know better but chose to lie anyway?
Multiple battles against fake news and historical revisionism have been waged in the Philippines, yet the problem persists. People we label as illiterate or blind aren't the only ones to blame; in my opinion, they're also the victims of others who are in on the secret. However, we can't completely dismiss the possibility that others who disagree with us are correct. Why? For the same reason, we can't say for sure that what we accept as true is in fact accurate. From their perspective, we are the ones who easily fall for lies by those who are trying to hide the facts from the public. I think we can all agree that the people on the other side are in exactly the same boat as us. We can't possibly know what the truth is. In my opinion, there is no such thing as an objective truth; not even scientific findings can be taken at face value. That everything we learn about the world through scientific inquiry is ultimately the whole truth? What if there's another explanation for it that we're missing?
Truth. As I neared the conclusion of my final reflection on the topic, I found myself wondering what was real. Do we really know what we think we know? What if everything is an illusion, or we're misinterpreting reality? When will we finally have access to the facts? I can't say.
Perhaps that's part of what keeps life exciting. Day by day, we stumble through life unsure of what is real. However, once we've come to terms with this as our truth, we'll devote our lives to protecting and expanding upon it. Life is a voyage in which we have neither map nor a guide, yet we continue forth, oblivious to our ultimate destination.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: Do not use this without the author's permission.
YOU ARE READING
JOURNEY
Non-FictionThis book delves into the realm of philosophical and existential inquiries, exploring the fundamental questions that have puzzled humanity for centuries. This book is a compilation of personal reflections and musings that chronicle the author's ongo...
