There is no truth, there is only perception.
As I enjoy a new, less crazy-busy season in my life, I’ve taken to switching the TV on early evening. Mostly it’s to give the elderly dog some background noise to distract her from alerting me every time the neighbours come home, but it also reminds me of younger years when the house gathered for the daily 6 o’clock news. Finishing paid work for the day, my ear was drawn to a US news item announcing there had been 17 mass shootings over the July 4th holiday weekend in the US. Wow! 17 senseless acts of selfish violence resulting in the deaths of 9 and over a hundred wounded. Fodder certainly for the anti gun lobby to regurgitate. An age old argument, will stricter gun laws reduce senseless deaths. There are strong supporters in both camps and to both its their perception that their arguments are valid. Will legislation result in change? For the innocent victims or the perceptions of society as a whole?
Perception is a powerful human process. What we perceive in any given moment is not only determined by sensory input, but by our personal physical abilities, energy levels, feelings, social identities, and more. Whilst it may seem to be common sense to believe we experience the world as it objectively is, it is a naive assumption.
Things that seem true and universal are often just our own unique experience of the world. Our feelings, political views, personal circumstances even our energy levels all play a part in determining our perceptions about any given piece of information. We need to understand what irrelevant factors manipulate what we see and think, to find ways to overcome these influences and make better decisions as a society.
Studies show many forces below our conscious awareness affect our perceptions, thoughts, and decisions, and errors abound.
Becoming cognizant of those influences as individuals could keep us as a nation from making costly misjudgements or creating unnecessary conflicts with others who see things differently. The ultimate benefit of that? Hopefully, having a little humility might help all of us to act with less hubris and be more open to other points of view.
And only those points of view can come from a healthy environment where free speech is not supressed or censored. Ironically, where free speech is removed history is well documented with violence.
Sign up to elocal (it’s free), share it to your friends and family. The single source of truth is a mere perception.
Sally Sumner
EDITOR