Is there anywhere to go to escape the storm that is hitting the world? I don’t mean climate change, or the rise of the right in governments all over the place. I mean the way in which all traditional ideas of what is right and proper and responsible have been thrown overboard by institutions and individuals you used to depend on to defend the walls against barbarism and anarchy.
Anarchy? Yes, meaning “a state of lawlessness or political disorder due to the absence of governmental authority”, or “a state of disorder due to absence or nonrecognition of authority or other controlling systems”. We’re seeing anarchy taking the form of a complete misuse of language, a determined ignoring of norms and standards, a refusal to abide by accepted standards in societal and political conversation. Let’s put it simply: people are lying more and more openly, without shame, at every level of society, from Presidents to entertainers to individual citizens.
What’s more, we’ve gotten used to people misusing language in order to claim a moral high ground. The best example recently is the claim by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the International Court of Justice was being antisemitic when it issued arrest warrants for himself and his former Defense Secretary. Why did the Court do this? Because these two ordered attacks on Gaza that have led to over 44,000 deaths of men, women and children, innocent victims, because Israel wanted to kill Hamas terrorists who had killed 1,200 Israelis.
Is it antisemitic to oppose a political party, just because it’s in Israel? Are the hundreds of Israelis who take to the streets to protest against Natanyahu antisemitic, even though they’re Jews?
Netanyahu is using a genuine issue to try and take the moral high ground as a cover for his crimes in Gaza and Lebanon. And he has blackened Joe Biden’s reputation forever in the process, as Biden and his administration give him unquestioning support. Traditional standards of international behaviour have been dealt a hard blow. This is not even to mention what Putin is doing in Ukraine, complaining that Ukraine is actually defending itself against Russian invasion. He’s threatening nuclear war because Ukraine is using other countries’ weapons, when he’s throwing Iranian and North Korean drones and even troops into his aggression.
What is going on? Does language not mean anything anymore? Can people say what they want, without anyone pointing out the lies? They not only twist the truth, they break it into little pieces and throw it away.
And it’s not only on the international level, it’s happening on the local one too. Some people who don’t like the Times post comments in which they refer to this publication as a “newspaper” (in quotes), meaning they claim it isn’t one, in spite of the Times winning journalism awards from provincial and national entities. If we take a balanced view of an issue, we’re “talking out of both sides of our mouths”, but if we take a stand on an issue, we’re being opinionated and biased. Is there no integrity left in public discourse, no respect for facts, truth, even for opponents?
The cynicism that seems to have permeated life at all levels may be traced back years or decades, maybe because of disillusion with politics, or with public figures in religion or entertainment. Perhaps we’ve become too isolated from each other because of lockdowns and cell phones. And there’s no doubt that social media has been a negative influence on the way we live and think and relate to each other. Algorithms dictate what we see on-line, and push us into bubbles where we only see what we already have seen. Or else these platforms are used to insult, threaten, seduce, or mock whatever it is we don’t like, agree with, or fear as foreign. And all the while, we make people like Elon Musk richer. Recently, a major character in mixed martial arts and professional boxing was found guilty of rape. The newspapers noted that his conviction probably wouldn’t bother his legions of fans, just as Trump’s regular acts of misogyny, racism, or fear mongering only seem to make him more popular with his MAGA supporters.
Why is this? What has happened to us that we celebrate evil, anger, conspiracies, or just plain bad manners and ignorance? Where are the heroes gone? Perhaps it was always like this and we just chose not to notice. Perhaps that veneer of civilised behaviour always hid a deep cesspool of – well, of what we’re seeing today. As Joseph Conrad wrote in “Heart of Darkness”, later adapted in the movie “Apocalypse Now”, under that thin surface of standards and honour lies, as Kurtz said: “the horror, the horror!”. Is there any chance we could even turn off the social media stuff and start thinking about what it’s doing to us? Or will we continue to drag ourselves to disaster, just like we’re killing our planet without caring? We need a shelter from the storm.
