The frailty of truth

Frail refers to a physical state as well as a moral weakness. Our country is presently suffering from a catastrophic inherent frailty involving the all-encompassing inability to believe offered truths.

As an educated individual, I came of age committed to learning the facts, thinking critically, drawing conclusions from my research and experiences. Yes, I even trusted my own eyes.

This has imploded in myriad examples in recent time. A small but disturbing example presented while enjoying a cat video, a lighthearted diversion from a serious world. I watched as a cat entered a grocery store, jumped up to a lobster tank, seized a live lobster and confidently sped out the door with the prize in his mouth. People laughed in the market; I laughed and then learned it was AI. Not harmful to our future, of course, but I’d been easily tricked.

We saw Jan. 6 and then were told that the event was a loving protest of patriots who just happened to be breaking violently into our Capitol to disrupt the certification of our election and smearing feces on the walls. I view women today and wonder if there are any older females left? With Botox, hair extensions and extended lashes, even actual age is difficult to discern. Even large diamonds are often lab created fakes.

The reasons for all these deceptions escape me, but while not earth shaking, the frailty of truth invades all aspects of life from the playful to the deadly serious. We are told that inflation is a hoax, food is not really more expensive than a year ago and most recently that the victim of tragic Minneapolis shooting by ICE was a domestic terrorist who used her car to run over an ICE agent. My eyes told me differently.

These examples cause me to live in a world that cuts to the core of our security and belief in the sanctity truth.

Jennifer Buehler Shaw

Barrington