jimmysong on Nostr: What is your relationship with the truth? This is not an ivory tower theoretical ...

What is your relationship with the truth? This is not an ivory tower theoretical angels on the head of a pin question. Your relationship with truth determines your relationship with everything else.

Most people at least publicly say that they want the truth and seek after it. If you don't profess that, it's hard for anyone to trust you. And without trust, it's really hard to have any sort of relationship.

Yet for most people, power is the priority. When prioritized, it's a nihilistic Neitzchean value, and it can be effective. But it's also highly destructive and sociopathic. Admitting to such is not going to win you friends. So the modern values system tends to be lip service to truth while pursuing power. We can see it all around us with politicians, CEOs, journalists and academia. Pretty much any centralized organization where power is in the hands of a few have at the top one or more people that pursued power to get there.

Power is seductive. And it's easy to see why people pursue it. But to do so at the expense of truth, where truth becomes secondary destroys, not just these people's souls but the organization that they create. Ill-gotten power doesn't last.