Without a consensus on what’s true, we may return to choosing what’s right.
Last night, we quietly turned a corner in the “Post-Truth” discussion, as U.S. Secretary of State was successfully deep-faked. According to Reuters: An individual using an artificially generated voice to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted three foreign ministers and two U.S. officials last month, pretending to be the top U.S. diplomat, according to a diplomatic cable seen by Reuters on Tuesday. In mid-June, the person contacted the ministers, a U.S. governor and a member of Congress via the Signal messaging app and left voicemails for at least two of them, the cable said. In one instance, a text message was sent to invite the targeted person to communicate on Signal.
In another era, this might be big news. In this era, it’s a given. The only response that came to my mind was, “Of course.” But what does it mean?
For me, something clicked, and it wasn’t all bad news. The first piece was along the lines of, “We’re now past the point where anyone can be held accountable for anything they say “on the record” (literally on a recording), because they can simply claim it wasn’t them. The second piece was the realization that we are finally free from the burden of proof.
I don’t mean in all cases, of course: proof still exists within society as a “thing.” This doesn’t force any changes in the rule of law, such as it is. We just can’t count on a universally accepted reality, because there is too much room for disproof.
And if we cannot prove something beyond the shadow of a doubt, we haven’t really met the standard for proof. So, doubt becomes the new normal.
This means we have to find a new standard for right and wrong as a society.
Right? If we cannot hold one another accountable, there’s only one option: we must hold ourselves accountable. We must revive “the honor system.”
“But those people are not honorable!!!” you might shout to no one in particular. Okay. What do you wanna do about it? What were you going to do about it when you thought you had proof? Case in point, the now-non-existent “Epstein Client List.” We all know what happened here, and its obviousness is glaring. Everyone seems to be pissed about it, from those seeking justice to those consumed by conspiracy theoreticism. But what are you gonna do about it?
I stick to my own personal mantra, SELL THE TRUTH. I have an internal barometer that distinguishes right from wrong. A personal set of values. And POSITRONICS is a big part of it: first do no harm. Add to the conversation. Accept differing opinions. Welcome all perspectives. Stand up for what I believe it right.
Conspicuously absent is the mandate to prove the other person wrong.
Convincing others that my truth is the empirical truth is likewise of no concern.
And time previously spent adjudicating the veracity of others is now spent living up to whatever standards I set for myself. And for most of us, that’s plenty. And in looking around and seeing other people raising their standards and inspiring me to do the same, we can’t help but improve.
And if we all improve, well, you get the picture.
Prove me wrong.
Right?
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