The Art of Discernment
“ True discernment makes for wise decisions, functional relationships and brings health to the whole system.”
Mark Twain is often credited with saying “a lie will travel across the country before the truth can lace up its boots.” Ironically, that’s probably a misattribution (which quite proves the point, doesn’t it?). It takes time to do research, examine evidence, think critically, uncover inaccuracies and come to a nuanced understanding of any topic. Worse, simple lies (especially those that trigger emotions) will outcompete facts and ideas in the contest for attention and influence, no matter how false or dangerous. They’re “stickier,” so we’re more likely to click on and share them. Thus, the attention economy is tilted toward delusion. Even after years of the disinformation-filled Trump Era, media literacy trackers report an intensified spike in the spread of disinformation since the start of the Covid pandemic.
We increasingly live in what many are calling a “post-truth world,” in which shared objective standards for truth have been disappearing. There’s a slippage between facts and assertions, between evidence and outright lies, between knowledge and opinions or irrational beliefs. In
