One of the current buzzwords that I find most disturbing is the word "narrative." In and of itself, it is an innocent word, but the way it is used so prevalently is that it is used interchangeably with the word "truth" - the idea that if you believe something strongly enough, it is therefore truth, is a very disturbing concept. Some might find it offensive, but truth is an absolute. Anything that is not within the bounds of that absolute is not truth. The truth IS binary.
I must also add the disclaimer that we ALL lie and we are ALL hypocrites to one degree or other, but probably what matters most is what justification we use for as a basis for our deceptions - and what are our intentions or end goals? Sometimes, deception is used as a defense or weapon against evil and there are numerous examples of governments' use of deception to keep their country safe from enemies and there are even numerous examples of deception used for righteous purpose in the holy scriptures. But those are the extreme exceptions.
Lying is so commonplace now that we don't know what is the truth anymore. Dishonesty has become so accepted in our society that it in some circles it is even considered honorable to lie... but even more of an honor to lie to the world is to lie to one's self. We have gone to the extent that our fantasies become "truths" and we wrap our lies, justifications, propagandas and belittling of those who disagree with us into a tidy package called our "narrative."
It is a constant battle between media sources, with each end of the political or social spectrum calling each other liars. Who do we believe? What is truth anymore? It dawned on me yesterday as I was pondering the subject. The narrative has become the new "truth" and ALL major media sources that call their brand of media "news" are liars - ALL of them. Some of them lie knowingly and intentionally because they are elitists pushing a specific agenda and for them "the end justifies the means." Others, use speculative or unreliable reports as their sources and hope for the best. Sometimes it turns out to be true, sometimes not. Probably the vast majority of "news" outlets unintentionally, yet repeatedly report false information ignorantly. They don't understand the issues and are simply the messengers, disseminating whatever information gets transmitted to them without bothering to check the veracity of their feeds. News is a multi-billion-dollar media industry. What matters most in terms of their success (financially) is who reports the story first and/or who gets the most views. It's nothing more than sleazy competition, not unlike any other form of media or entertainment. The media in its many forms are extensions of political candidates and entities (to include political action committees - especially those entities) so the media is therefore a propaganda machine - but that is a whole other subject unto itself.
So, the next time you hear the term "narrative" don't naturally assume it to be truth. It is merely personal opinion on steroids. Truth is truth - it is binary... it is absolute. Anything outside the bounds of truth amounts to nothing more than a lie.
