Through the looking glass
PLUS: Grizzly bear management, rental scams, and a letter to the church
How do we know what is true?
Vaccines. Contrails. Election integrity. Charlie Kirk. There are many debates within the online right these days over these issues and more. The question isn’t about where the evidence leads, but what counts as evidence?
In the old days, before the internet, social proof was harder to come by. If you developed strange ideas about the world—such as the earth being flat—you would likely face ridicule from your peers. Today, however, you can log on to Facebook, X, or TikTok and find tens of thousands of other people who believe the same things. It becomes easy to believe that this is a radical truth that has been suppressed by an evil global conspiracy rather than a crackpot idea. The more people promote the so-called “official story,” the more true believers dig in their heels.
Political podcasts have become sources of entertainment, weaving storylines that seem more appropriate for soap operas. The “official story” is often much more boring than what podcasters can imagine. Why live in a world where a left-wing activist shot Charlie Kirk for seemingly banal reasons when you can walk through a multifaceted conspiracy involving several foreign governments, TPUSA employees, and Charlie’s own wife? Why accept the belief that the earth is round, that Islamic terrorists attacked the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, or that Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK when there are all sorts of much more interesting stories we could tell ourselves?
We must approach every idea through the lens of “Is this true?” rather than “Is this interesting?” or “Do other people believe this?”
Video of the day
Today’s video is the one Nick Freitas published recently that got me thinking about these things in the first place. Freitas is quickly becoming one of my favorite commentators. He brings both an idealistic perspective as well as pragmatic experience to the table.
A few press releases
A letter to the church
Brian Parsons adapted Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth for our modern challenges:
Behold, a new test is upon us: Proposition 1, the so-called “Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act.” This initiative seeks to enshrine in our state law the very destruction of the least of these—the unborn children whom God forms in the womb (Psalm 139:13-16). It is not freedom, but bondage to death. It is not privacy, but the shedding of innocent blood in the dark. And in this hour, many in the church remain quiet, lest controversy disturb the gathering or offend the culture.
As always, thank you to sponsors Lynn Bradescu’s Boise Realty, Money Metals, and New Saint Andrews College. Thank you also to all the paid subscribers who make it possible for me to do what I do, as well as all the readers who are constantly encouraging me to keep it up. I appreciate you!
Bonus note for paid subscribers:
