I found 2020 to be all about epistemology: How do I discern what is true? The untrustworthiness of the media forced me to act as my own authority, struggling to sort out what was true from what was manipulative. That was terrifying, as the consequences of believing the wrong things were severe.
Over time, I gravitated to several high-integrity people that I developed trust in. And I've gone deep down several rabbit holes, even while dreading moving away from the verities of the surface world. That took my being willing to make judgments as to what I felt/reasoned was true. It was damned uncomfortable. Even today, I hesitate to describe what I've learned to someone who hasn't heard my views, because I've ended up far from the mainstream.
An interesting consequence of this search: I found myself moving away from the Left, due to its embrace of censorship, authoritarian tendencies and the Intelligence Community. I found a surprising amount of truth on the Right (mixed, to be sure, with a lot of craziness). I've become more open to acknowledging truth where I find it. A recent speech by Sen. Ron Johnson, someone I don't agree with on almost anything, gave the absolute finest speech on the pandemic I've heard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b08Hi3kBpSs&ab_channel=ForbesBreakingNews It was heart-felt, non-rhetorical and strikingly sane. Those traits are so rare in public life these days.
I found 2020 to be all about epistemology: How do I discern what is true? The untrustworthiness of the media forced me to act as my own authority, struggling to sort out what was true from what was manipulative. That was terrifying, as the consequences of believing the wrong things were severe.
Over time, I gravitated to several high-integrity people that I developed trust in. And I've gone deep down several rabbit holes, even while dreading moving away from the verities of the surface world. That took my being willing to make judgments as to what I felt/reasoned was true. It was damned uncomfortable. Even today, I hesitate to describe what I've learned to someone who hasn't heard my views, because I've ended up far from the mainstream.
An interesting consequence of this search: I found myself moving away from the Left, due to its embrace of censorship, authoritarian tendencies and the Intelligence Community. I found a surprising amount of truth on the Right (mixed, to be sure, with a lot of craziness). I've become more open to acknowledging truth where I find it. A recent speech by Sen. Ron Johnson, someone I don't agree with on almost anything, gave the absolute finest speech on the pandemic I've heard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b08Hi3kBpSs&ab_channel=ForbesBreakingNews It was heart-felt, non-rhetorical and strikingly sane. Those traits are so rare in public life these days.