The above image was made by 
Infinity is a concept that feels very absolute. A value is either finite or infinite, with no gray area in between. Yet there are infinite prime numbers and infinite composite numbers within an infinite set of all possible integers. In fact, there are an infinite number of degrees within infinity.
If the infinite is complicated, the truth is more so. It's a matter of perspective and there are billions of those. In the recent past, postmodernism gave up on trying to reconcile those perspectives into broad consensus. In the postindustrial present, we regard truth as individualized, but we're also constantly bombarded by the official story, as well as by evidence that this story is a sham.
The truth today varies according to the geography of our social landscape. Some regions have gods. Other regions believe that life is the product of meaningless accidents. There are places where the control regime definitively determines reality and places where things aren't so cut and dry.
Establishment media selectively reports facts and often distorts their meaning. A handful of tech companies continually nudge us towards the prevailing order's version of the truth. Nearly everyone unconsciously perpetuates a status quo devised for us by a small number of influential people. Questioning this status quo is socially and economically dangerous.
Working in media, I've given up on ever getting the real story. Usually, all I can know for sure is who said what in what context. This information is sufficient to start talking about a story, but it should never be mistaken for the definitive truth. And over time, the actual events underlying a story become secondary to the story itself.
The term circular firing squad refers to a group that's sabotaging itself. In a certain light, society as a whole looks like a circular firing squad. We argue endlessly with each other over every little thing while allowing the big things to be determined for us by an unaccountable regime. If we joined forces instead of arguing, we could perhaps begin to chart our own course.
Further complicating matters, we are on the cusp of being unable to tell the difference between genuine media and computer generated media. Soon our leaders could fake significant events and we wouldn't be able to detect the deception. A fake war. A fake pandemic. A fake UFO landing. The sky is the limit.
For me, truth is a feeling. It has a certain somatic association, like my body is in accord with the information in question. Psychologically, it feels clear and present. Even so, the feeling isn't foolproof. Truths can change. They can deepen or broaden or be toppled entirely.
Of course, truth is also a conversation.
Read my novels:
See my NFTs:
