–Via Fandango’s Provocative Question for 2/26/20
Fandango asks, “What is something you long believed to be true but now realize is not true?”
In recent years, I’ve let go of two long-held beliefs.
Letting go of the first, my belief in a god or gods after a years-long, diligent, sincere personal quest, was liberating and empowering.
Letting go of the second, my belief that the truth, when presented with well-reasoned logic and well-tempered passion, would <i>always</i> be sufficient to change the most stubborn mind about any given subject, has caused me a great deal of anxiety, pain, and angst. In these latter days, at least here in America, everyone has their own idea of what the truth is as well as the evidence to back it up. I have come to believe that the truth is as much a myth as the gods are hence is as malleable as clay, and I am left heartbroken.
This is my first time responding to one of Fandango’s provocative questions. It may not’ve been the best one to start with, ’cause dammit, I need a hug now.
Take care, be well, and happy answering, y’all.
Love,
Denny
–Via Fandango’s One-Word Challenge for 2/24/20, “myth”
The Ceaseless Reader Writes 
Sending you a virtual hug, Denny. I enjoyed your post and I’m actually working on a poem that address both of these issues. I love the line in Groundhog Day where Phil who relives the same day over and over and over, says, ” I’m a god, not THE God.” I love that because I have grown to believe that each of us, with unique sets of abilities, and unique backgrounds create our own unique universe, like a god; how could we not? And we create our own truths. I appreciate the bravery in your honesty.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Much gratitude, LuAnne, I knew I could count on you. Peace!
LikeLike
((Denny)) – there’s your hug
And,…now YOU have piqued my curiosity: Maybe when you are ready you will respond in a post about your ‘quest’ and what finally allowed you to ‘let go’ and how is it ‘liberating and empowering’..?? I am very interested.
LikeLike
Thank you so much, KC. I have long pondered on posting an entry along the lines of Bertrand Russell’s _Why I Am Not a Christian_ and may do so eventually. I’m grateful for your interest & curiosity!
LikeLiked by 1 person
HI Denny,
Seeing as truth is a human concept and myths are invent to explain certain concepts there is a similarity. The difference is truth can align with the way the world actually is, where myths are aligned with how human beings wish the world would be.
The fact that so many are not swayed by sound reason and solid evidence is not a good reason to give up using. The deal is human beings have the capacity to reason, but they are often driven by emotions. Think love knows no reason. And unfortunately hate does not either.
Keep standing up for what you believe. I have a feeling that it will serve you and others well.
Stephie
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the encouragement, Stephie. I hope you’re right.
LikeLike
Your welcome Denny. Try to give life the best you can give it. After all that’s all any of us can really do.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Denny said: Letting go of the second, my belief that the truth, when presented with well-reasoned logic and well-tempered passion, would always be sufficient to change the most stubborn mind about any given subject, has caused me a great deal of anxiety, pain, and angst. In these latter days, at least here in America, everyone has their own idea of what the truth is as well as the evidence to back it up. I have come to believe that the truth is as much a myth as the gods are hence is as malleable as clay, and I am left heartbroken.
This is my first time responding to one of Fandango’s provocative questions. It may not’ve been the best one to start with, ’cause dammit, I need a hug now.
I have reached a similar point.
Once or twice, when I was reasoning with someone in my family,
one of my sons said: “You can’t reason someone out of
a position they didn’t reason themselves into.”
I don’t a hundred percent agree with that
(as in all the time), but it helped me.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Your son is very wise. It still makes me sad.
LikeLike
Me too… sad about that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The truth is not a myth. We just don’t know all of it. It’s not a matter of opinion or belief. That people — particularly today — confuse what they believe with what is actually true is an enormous problem. The search for the truth in all realms of existence is what makes us human in the best sense.
And I agree. “You can’t reason someone out of a position they did not reason themselves into.” Some things cannot be disputed with any success ever. Personal taste. Personal belief. Those are categorically irrational. “What’s your favorite color?” “Blue, no, red, no…”
It’s that people listen to persuasion (which may not be based on anything rational at all) and are persuaded, deluded into thinking that they’ve had an experience that is rational, but since they don’t question it and, instead, passively accept it believing their thinking, it’s not rational.
As for using logic and truth to persuade people? A person has to be curious in order be reached by logic and truth. Curiosity has been slowly shoved out of the priorities of our education system in favor of high-stakes testing and right answers and Google. It’s fucked. It’s not that truth is gone; it’s that it has been devalued. 😦
LikeLiked by 2 people
We are living in a world where if you don’t believe the facts, you call them “alternative facts,” if you don’t like the news, you call it “fake news,” and if you don’t like the truth, you call it a lie. It’s depressing and now I, too, deflated the need for a hug.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Curiosity has been slowly shoved out of the priorities of our education system in favor of high-stakes testing and right answers and Google. … It’s not that truth is gone; it’s that it has been devalued.
That’s a good point, Martha. (I personally think google can help with curiosity and what is true, if used well. But it can also be a substitute for thinking.) We really need to be careful how we define education.
I’ve noticed a lot of people using calculators to get answers to simple things. This removes the understanding of a real meaning in process (if that is what is mainly taught), in my opinion. I appreciated topics with obvious logic, in basic schooling. Geometry, a bit of computer programming (perhaps ironically), the scientific method. Learning a different language a little. Law (which there wasn’t much of in school, and I’ve gone forward to look at some on my own). Even debate, before it became mostly a matter of scoring “points” (literal points, not meaning) by any means. [Nevertheless, English (even linguistics) and art were like my things in that academic environment.]
As for me, I was able to change my perspective on a lot of things due to my faith, my curiosity, my experiences in life, and observation. (And I’m very thankful for my education, from pre-school through high school in various kinds of schools, and some college [in a variety of places]… though, no degree.) A lot of my points of view had been due to a sort of education or propagandizing on the side (introduced to me by my politically-active mother) — not in school so much (other than maybe first and second grade) or my faith — but tangled up with religion for many people; one has to have a sense of personal authority to decide what stands. (Diligently looking into history has meant a lot.)
The truth is not a myth. We just don’t know all of it. It’s not a matter of opinion or belief. That people — particularly today — confuse what they believe with what is actually true is an enormous problem. The search for the truth in all realms of existence is what makes us human in the best sense.
I loved reading that, Martha.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The truth is a myth.., hm. Agreed :))
LikeLiked by 1 person
I usually don’t reply to comments, except to authors on blogs that are not my own, but your comment doesn’t make sense. The very notion of something being a myth is that is not true.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Stephie, I find that very little makes sense these days.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is “true” I would lol if it would be appropriate.
The main problem is the world doesn’t come with sense built in. That’s the job of us human beings,, and sometimes it is hard to make a sense that we come up with that matches the world. In the US there is a great deal of contradictory senses being provide. This makes it harder to make sense of what’s going on, especially when some senses being made do not match the world.
LikeLiked by 1 person