There was a great yet haunting scene in the 2019 HBO miniseries Chernobyl that captures where we stand today in our society regarding the subject of truth. In the show, the main character, Valery Legasov, a nuclear physicist, decides to do something relatively unheard of in the Soviet Union: tell the truth to the government.
After the meltdown of one of the nuclear reactors of Chernobyl in April 1986, the Soviet Government arranged a show trial to find a scapegoat for the disaster. Legasov is the expert witness, and everyone expects, demands even, that he blame the powerplant director for the disaster and leave the governmentâs obvious incompetence out of the discussion. The core of the movie boils down to this chillÂing interaction:
Judge Milan Kadnikov: Professor Legasov, if you mean to suggest the Soviet State is somehow responsible for what happened, then I must warn you, you are treading on dangerous ground.
Valery Legasov: Iâve already trod on dangerous ground. Weâre on dangerous ground right now, because of our secrets and our lies. They are practically what define us. When the truth offends, we lie and lie until we can no longer remember it is even there, but it is still there. Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid. That is how an RBMK reactor core explodes. Lies.
Our society has become so cynical that if you start talking about truth, people start splitting hairs about what the definition of truth actually is. It is no longer just the purview of ancient Greek philosophers or tweed-clad professors who doubt that truth can be defined. Social media comment sections are the home of post-modernist commoners who hold that truth is relative to the individual person. This post-truth era defines our debates about almost every subject.
In the Chernobyl scene, the main character, Legasov, is talking about truth as it works in the real world. When âbeliefâ in a political system encroaches on the truths of the real world, real-world things explode. When I saw this scene, I was momentarily stunned as it was the clearest metaphor to describe what I had been experiencing since the fateful year of 2020. The ferocity of demands to conÂform to political beliefs at the expense of the real-world consequences of such beliefs was eerily similar to what took place in Soviet Russia, where truth and belief had merged into one political entity.
The misguided interchangeability of belief and truth has plagued those interested in what occurs in the real world for most of human history. It was the philosopher of science, Karl Popper, who finally came up with a logical method to define the line between statements of science and those of belief. Popperâs discovery in 1936 solved both the probÂlem of induction (how much we can actually learn from observing things in the past and applying those lessons to the future) and the problem of demarcation (the difference between science and non-science) in a single modest process.
Falsifiability is simple: if a statement can be proved false by a test or evidence, then it is a scientific statement. For example, Newtonâs theory of gravity can be tested, and it was Albert Einsteinâs theory of relativity that proved Newtonâs theory wrong (that said, Newtonâs theory works just fine for everyday humans; it just does not work when talking about space and time). A theory doesnât have to be proven wrong, just that it is open to being falsified. Of course, this also means that absolute truth is never fully known; we simply work with the best evidence and theories available at the current time.
Beliefs, on the other hand, are held no matter what eviÂdence is brought. So much of what gets thrown around in politics, unfortunately, falls mainly into the belief category, even though the word âtruthâ is constantly used. Beliefs are an integral part of the human condition and are a powerful force that can be used for either good or evil. But when belief, like the belief that the Soviet Government could never do wrong or be criticized, completely replaces real-world truth, our society defines itself by lies.
At some point, this community will have to focus on the truth rather than its political beliefs. Blind, uncompromisÂing political beliefs have already cost us dearly. First, with a district attorney who let criminals off the hook. It allowed frauds with fake Public Health Degrees to take over disease prevention. It has allowed schools to be purged of qualified leaders and teachers. It has brought us a town attorney who pulled a fast one, hoping nobody would notice his massive time overcommitments. Finally, our politics of lies has now brought the wrath of a Washington government so conÂsumed by its own lies that it falsely labeled this community as a sanctuary for immigrants.
The more we allow lies to overpower reality, the more this community, state, and nation will pay ever greater interest on our debt to the truth.
There will always be liars, but when liars are elected leaders and held to be absolutely above blame and criticism â well, thatâs when things blow up.
â Opinion by Publisher Jordan Hedberg
