“You can’t handle the truth!”
This quote, one of my personal favorites, is a double edged sword. On one hand, the majority of my peers will never understand the power and beauty of this quote. On the other hand, I have a gut feeling my target audience does indeed understand the force behind such words. On the surface, it is but another quote from acting legend Jack Nicholson, but looking deeper can help us get to the bottom of an age-old question; what is truth?
In our political discourse today, the idea of truth has evolved from one of objectivity to subjectivity; no longer is there “the” truth. No no, rather this multiple “truths”, all molded by the varying experiences and political perspectives an individual holds. This, from my lens, is the most core fundamental issue facing our current political landscape. So the question remains; how can these falsified ideas of truth be reconvened into a single objective truth once more?
The only way to truly be able to better the state of our information wars is to peel back the smoke and mirrors regarding the dispensing of information. Smoke and mirrors only serve those trying to bend and mold the truth to their own narrative. This is the idea brought forth by John Stuart Mill, one that is built on the infallible nature of truth. Mill theorized that when truth and falsehoods are able to be put against each other in the public space, that truth would always win out. The rampant use of censorship, misinformation, and intellectual warfare has destroyed this battleground, thus the battles can never take place. The scientific method is a lost artform, as ideas are rarely pitted against each other to find truth; rather, ideas are simply thrown at political opponents like frag grenades being aimlessly thrown into no mans land.
America is a nation built on bureaucracy and red tape, and to revive the marketplace of ideas, we must rip away the red tape. When was the last time two elected officials had a formal debate to discuss policy? Why aren’t our officials working to try and find the best solutions for our nation's collective policies? Ideas are no longer put through any form of litmus test, so their integrity is never brought into question.
So, how do we restore the marketplace of ideas? We rebuild the model of a marketplace, something that can be manipulated and molded by powerful actors, to a coliseum, a battleground where only two ideas can enter, and only one can remain. Granted, this description sounds more Thunderdome than coliseum, but the point remains, that a fair, level, and true debate forum would help the truth return to its place on the ideological throne. After all, these terms should be open, fair, and agreeable to all who wish to try and tell the truth.
And for those fearful of the implications of what a debate stage can bring, those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear; a slogan of war in the age of digital privacy, but a rallying cry for hope, when trying to return the truth to what it was meant to be; truth.
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