Your Truth

Scott Adams, one of the most insightful commentators of the current American scene, notes that every person has a "movie" running in their head—and that each movie may have little, if any, relationship to reality or to one another. That's why progressives view the past administration as "one of the greatest" in American history, and conservatives label it "the worst." That's why today's progressive movie stars Donald Trump as an "unstable, insane" monster with a story line that rejects the hard fact that he has accomplished many things that significantly improved the economy, and therefore, the lives of many middle class people, reduced taxes for millions of working people, and stopped our long slide in foreign policy that lead to war and chaos.

Oprah Winfrey, you know, the potential 2020 presidential candidate that put almost all progressives into an Obama-like swoon a few days ago, said something very troubling in an otherwise uplifting coronation speech at (where else) the Golden Globe awards: "... “speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.” The operative phrase is "your truth," that is, your movie is the one that matters.

The phrase "your truth" is an outcome of post-modernist thinking on the Left in which there is no subjective truth or for that matter, no irrefutable facts (except, of course, the ones that those on the Left believe). It suggests that facts, real science, both big and small data, and irrefutable evidence are irrelevant ... that "your truth" is what you should believe, let the real world be damned.

It is true that the "truth" can be elusive. That's why humans, over the millenia, have used collected facts, a scientific method that thrives on proving findings and questioning results, big and small data that have not been messaged to produce a desired outcome, and evidence that is both compelling and corroborated.

Joseph Wulfsohn comments:

But what exactly does “your truth” mean? Perhaps it can be interpreted as “your experience.” If something happened to you, you speak “your truth.” Winfrey spoke “her truth” when she invoked her childhood memory of watching the 36th Academy Awards. The victims of sexual abuse have spoken “their truths” when sharing their allegations against certain predators. I speak “my truth” when writing this column.

However, not only is using the term “your truth” wrong; it’s dangerous ...

But when we rely on “our truths,” we get to choose what to believe.

This is why terms like “allegedly” and “reportedly” are crucial. We cannot nor should not accept something as fact without having proof. And we cannot ignore facts simply because they conflict with an ideal narrative.

Your truth is your movie, nothing more nothing less. It what you believe, not what is real.

I doubt that Oprah Winfrey will run for president, but it is troubling that progressives would swoon over a woman who implies that "your truth" should be used as the basis for decision making and leadership on a national level, particularly when they condemn the current president for doing just that.