Why we follow

Pilate and Jesus by Nikolai Nikolaevich Ge

Now we have the internet, a more convenient tool of research than the library. But there is too much information in either place for the average person to get on top of. That's why folk typically follow a leader who, they muse, has already done the necessary groundwork to satisfy his followers' pique. And so they follow, happily blind to the sordid details and assumed derivation of the underlying rationale. They endure church sermons hoping, yea expecting the minister to have deeper understanding than they, thus setting said minister on the pedestal they have built. And so the rot sets in as they drift, can it really be unwittingly, further and further from the Truth. Well did Pilate query it.

Othello and the Internet, True or False?

My rather poor photo of inside the Abbey Theatre

The other night we went to see Othello at the Abbey theater. It was a school trip and I went as chauffeur rather more than out of any love for Shakespeare. I had been primed about the plot so was able to follow things vaguely. The actors did not use microphones and, what with the archaic language, Irish accents and minimal volume I couldn't follow much of what was said. And Shakespeare is almost all speech - a good deal too much IMHO. I mean - normal people just don't talk at that length: least-ways most men don't. In brief: the main character Iago is lying all the time, there's a lot of hatred and mistrust, and as a result most of the cast end up dead. Great. The lesson: don't believe all you hear, even from people you thought you could trust.

Ali is into conspiracy theory and doubts the truth of much of what she sees reported by the media. Like, was the Boston marathon bombing a setup to instill fear?  Did man really walk on the moon? What is really the truth about weather patterns?  That sort of thing. The trouble is she is using the internet to discredit the internet. It is rather scary how folk now-a-days go to Google for answers much that same way as they might once have prayed.  Sure, some internet sites specialise in debunking like Snopes and I thought this one gives some sensible advice, but who's to say that the de-bunkers are right?.  The lesson: don't believe all you hear even if it's on the internet.

How can you tell is something is true?  People have been asking this a long time. Pilate uttered his infamous "what is truth?" while Jesus, the very embodiment of Truth, was standing in front of him. So close and yet so far. And you would think, now we have modern digital communications, that it would be easier for us to tell if something is true. It seems not, and some say things are getting worse. I'm not so sure after seeing Othello.