Sunday, September 15, 2024
Sunday Reflection: "The people on television said..."
Above is a clip of the last presidential debate, in which Donald Trump made the bonkers claim that immigrants in Ohio are eating cats and dogs. What interests me most, though is what you hear at about 1:50 of this clip, where Trump defends the thoroughly debunked claim by asserting that "the people on television" said it was true.
He seemed completely sincere in this, the fact that belief in something is justified because people on TV proclaim it. And, it seems, he is not alone.
The odd thing is that at the same time we have (1) An amazing number of people believing the most outlandish things if someone on television or the internet makes the claim, and (2) a striking reduction in belief in God, which is rooted in millennia of human experience and an entire world full of evidence.
I suppose one dynamic in play is that a belief in God makes us each less important (as there is a higher power), while conspiracy theories seem to make the hearer and proclaimer more important. One leads towards humility, the other goes in another direction.
