Between the Lines X: Gratitude and the problem of disinformation
My intention in this Wednesday commentary, as well as in Holy War, is to try to bring clarity to some of the ideas that swirl unnoticed or unquestioned today. One of these ideas is the belief that there is power in disinformation – that twisting or abandoning truth can be an effective route to a goal, whether that goal is positive or negative.
There is plenty of evidence that disinformation works, as witness the success of Hamas apologists in steering public opinion to the conclusion that the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza was just a hospital and not also a Hamas military site. As evidence has shown, Hamas is not innocent, but by the time this truth was clarified, public opinion had already hardened in the other direction.
In Holy War, Ilya Chestnov uses disinformation when pretending to perform miracles, presumably so his people will love him. Jonah Meek uses disinformation when smearing immigrants at his rallies by suggesting they are intent on undermining America. In the real world, it’s easy to spot the disinformation in claims that American elections are stolen, that terrorists can have noble motives, and that Ukrainians pose a threat to Russia.
But there is other disinformation floating around that is more subtle and even more dangerous. It’s buried in such common beliefs as (1) there is no solution to the wars in Ukraine/Russia and Israel/Palestine without more killing; (2) humanity will suffer more and more as the climate changes; and (3) freedom and democracy are fading fast in America, and the country is doomed to crash and burn unless it is turned over to political and religious zealots.
None of this is necessarily true, but it could become the reality if we don’t wake up to the fact that truth is more than just facts on the ground.
There is an eternal quality to truth that transcends physical facts. It’s rooted in things like honesty, patience and compassion, and it always tends toward healing. Healing is the change in human circumstances as they move closer to higher truth. Bringing this truth to the world around them is what Tamar and David are trying to accomplish, first in Georgia, then in America, then in Russia. It’s what Ukrainians, and some Russians, are trying to bring to their war today as they battle the lies of the Russian government. It’s what creative scientists and engineers and courageous politicians are feeling towards in their efforts to deal with climate change. It’s what those in America who insist on integrity as the foundation of public service and journalism are using to keep America alive.
One powerful way to access and defend eternal truth is gratitude. But this kind of gratitude is not just giving thanks after the fact, such as when someone gives you a gift for your birthday. Gratitude that heals comes before a healing act. It is gratitude for what is already true but is yet to be proven in that circumstance. It’s the spirit of the Bible psalm, “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” God’s mercy exists now and before and always. Gratitude even before the mercy is visible in healing is essential to experiencing its blessings.
Consider, as I often do, how Christ Jesus practiced a quality like gratitude. For example, when a crowd of thousands of people had been following Jesus for a long time, his disciples suggested he send the people away so they could get some food. Jesus responded by telling them they should feed the people themselves. They demurred – all they had on hand was a little bread and fish. But this was disinformation, not on the part of the disciples or Jesus but on the part of the malevolent, entropic mind always intent on limiting goodness within material walls. Jesus knew better. He understood that the needed provision was already supplied by God, and so he took what they had on hand, the bread and fish, and gave thanks, even before he saw the evidence of a larger supply. As a result, everyone witnessed the result – thousands of people fed, with plenty left over.
For anyone wishing to explore these ideas in more depth, a good place to start is the editorial by Jenny Sawyer titled “Wholehearted gratitude” in this week’s magazine Christian Science Sentinel, a sister publication of The Christian Science Monitor. It cites the incident with Jesus and the crowd and describes well the nature and power of before-the-fact gratitude.
We each have our daily battles with everything from sickness to personal failings, and the world has its wars and pandemics and climate stresses. This is all disinformation. We can conquer it step by step and make major strides toward health and peace and good governance by understanding and proving in our own lives the power of gratitude.
We’re in one big holy war now. Every tyrant (or tyrant wannabe or tyrant supporter) on the world stage is trying to change how we think, trying to drag us down with lies, distortions, fake images. What we are dealing with is not so much a world of physical clashes as one of mental clashes. Truth is what is needed. Be grateful for truth when you see it, no matter how small. It’s a sign of something bigger, something infinite, ready to bless humanity. Before-the-fact gratitude is how disinformation can ultimately be rendered powerless.
For those in the United States, Happy Thanksgiving. You have a lot to be grateful for.
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