“It’s not about who’s telling the truth, but rather who has the best narrative.” That was the complaint I heard from a friend.
We were talking about the difficulty most of us have sifting through the mountains, or terabytes, of information we are bombarded with each day. Somewhere in there we will find some truth, but to get to it requires so much digging, checking, cross-checking. Sad to say, “Who has the time for that?”
So, if someone comes up with a story that’s interesting, has a few grains of truth and tugs at the emotions, we are often pulled in that direction because it’s a good story and it kinda sounds possible. More to the point, it probably fits in with the biases we already hold.
In a world in which thinking for yourself seems to be just too much effort, it can be tempting to accept the story that someone else has already manufactured to fit their agenda.
We all have the capacity to think for ourselves. Of course, there’s effort involved, and there’s responsibility. Thinking for ourselves means we can’t blame anyone else if things don’t work out. That kind of responsibility adds maturity, power and resilience. It builds character. Just imagine what a boost that would be.