Why Is It I Don't Believe Anything Anymore?......

[global1]

I've been thinking about this for a long time now. Why is it I don't believe anything anymore? I think this could be the subject of non-fiction book or at least some PhD dissertation - but I've come to this point in my life where I question everything I hear and read and am suspicious of just about everything. I don't know if this is a fact of life in our 21st century society - and - I'm bringing this up here to find out if this is just me or if others feel the same way I do.

I'm trying to think back when this all started in me and I sure can't pinpoint it - but the assassinations of the 60's might have started my skepticism and then it was just amplified on 9/11. Maybe you can call me a conspiracy theorist - but I think it is more than that.

I don't trust anybody anymore. Case in point - the police - and I don't think I need to go into it here as why I don't trust them. But even more than that - the government. Bushco and the wars they took us into. The newspapers that fanned the flames of those wars - think Judith Miller. The media in general with all the talking heads. They blend, spin and twist news events and they tell us how to think. Many political ads for candidates are half-truths and sometimes outright lies. Commercials in general. Madison Avenue and marketing in general is manipulative and deceiving. New low prices - really? - or are they just signs in a supermarket trying again to fool us.

When I hear any political candidate I question them. Do they really feel the way they speechify or are they just mouthing words someone else writes for them in order to win an election? Are they sincere? or are they trying to fool us into liking them and voting for them? Are they just using focus groups to find out what motivates people and then molding their missions around their findings.

What about reality shows on TV? Are they really reality or are they scripted?

What about history in general? I really liked history when I was a kid in school - but now I see how the history that I lived through and experienced myself is being modified right before my eyes. Then I question what I learned as a kid - did that historical event really happen the way I learned or was this just an interpretation that was put out there to sway my thinking in some way or another? Who is writing our history books these days?

They tell us not to believe everything we read on the internet as many of the things that are put out there are in some way bogus. So where does one go now in order to get the straight skinny?

There are scandals in the medical and scientific fields as well. Fudging data to make the case for something. Think global climate change and the paid scientists that are out there denying it.

Legislation that comes down and impacts on us - now comes from think tanks and groups like ALEC. Talking points of politicians are developed and sent to them so that they all mouth the same stories.

Hell - I even question things I read here on DU wondering if the poster is some KKKarl Rove plant.

I can go on and on with other examples of what I just don't believe anymore - but I think I put out enough examples that you get the idea as to where I'm coming from.

This has really got me in a tizzy and I just don't know what to believe anymore. Bottom line - if I find out that others here feel the same way - I would say as a society we have a major problem. Do we have a society based on lies, half-truths, deception and manipulation to the point that nothing is what it appears to be.

I'm interested in what others here think about my comments. Do they hold some water or do I have to book an appointment with a psychiatrist?

[SamKnause]

1. It is unfortunate that being informed

brings on this reaction.

I suffer from this 'condition' as well.

It may sound strange but I am glad to have this

'condition'.

The internet has opened my eyes.

Independent media has replaced main stream media in my home.

I now have the ability to find the truth.

Knowing the facts is an excellent bullshit detector.

Greed has infested every nook and cranny in the political platform

and the corporate world.

The examples you have given are the reasons that I am backing

Bernie Sanders.

He never waivers.

I went back 26 years and listened to an interview with Bernie.

This country was facing the same problems in 1989.

He had the solutions then, and he has the solutions now.

[malthaussen]

2. I don't believe you.

But seriously, you're definitely not alone, but that doesn't mean you are sane either. But why book an appointment with a pshrink when you can't believe him?

You're old enough to remember the 60s, you imply, so remember the "credibility gap" that was so significant in LBJ's fall from grace? Quite a few people appear to have become mistrustful of the government in that period, although they still believed Walter Cronkite and the Kennedys. I would submit that the Gap has simply become more apparent as the years have passed, and more and more lies have been exposed. Although it also appears that a good few people un-learned the lessons of the 60's when Daddy Reagan came to power and made it all better. That salve appears to be wearing off among some people, though, possibly because the gap between observed reality and ideological interpretation is becoming too wide to sustain. And yet millions of people of more-or-less good will will go to bed tonight thinking that the Baltimore Police are innocent of any complicity in the death of Freddie Gray. The lesson of the Big Lie has been well-learned by the media and goverment organs, so it is not to be wondered if the common individual is left... wondering.

-- Mal

[Arugula Latte]

3. I realized long ago that I dislike & am suspicious of most institutions that Americans revere.

Churches and religious groups, corporations, the military, organized sports teams. I'm just not a very good American.

[stillwaiting]

14. I am JUST like you. Same realizations. All of them. nt

[The2ndWheel]

4. Existence is subjective

There is no north or south. Money has little actual value, we just agree that it does. Time is how many times the Earth has twirled around the sun. A year on Earth isn't a year anywhere else. It's not April 30th. It's not 2015. Those are not objective numbers. They don't exist anywhere except in our minds. That we're in the 21st century doesn't mean anything. These are all just stories we tell ourselves. We made up all the words and their definitions. We can manipulate them any way we want.

[global1]

5. Well That Made Me Feel Better - I Think?......nt

[Fumesucker]

6. My closest friend and I have agreed for quite a while that we get more out of comments than articles

I skim the article and go to the comments to see it deconstructed, if the author is full of crap someone will point it out usually pretty quickly.

From time to time I do my own deconstructive comments too on subjects where I'm competent to have an opinion.

[Orsino]

7. Money. Money is why. n/t

[canoeist52]

8. You're not alone. Every group has an agenda.

Our job, as citizens, is to find out if their agenda benefits most people, or just the few powerfully rich.

And yes, Sen. Bernie Sanders is a real Statesman in every sense of the word.

[Nay]

9. If you need a shrink, I do, too. You really CAN'T believe in anything anymore,

except in being kind to everyone around you as much as possible, and in being protective toward those who need protecting. That's how I roll.

I also believe in some overarching attributes of the human race that pretty much mean the race ain't gonna make it long-term. At best, we will continue to be reduced to a small number through catastrophes and be forced to struggle our way up to anything resembling civilization. We are generally unable to see the big picture, and thus attend to our own personal enrichment exclusively; that never ends well.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. discerning

to distinguish mentally; recognize as distinct or different; discriminate:

[nichomachus]

11. Probably because the government and the media have been lying to us for decades

Anyone who automatically believes the official government story on anything is a fool -- but if you don't, you get derided and ridiculed and a "CT nut" or a "truther."

[betterdemsonly]

12. The media have become very corrupt as a result of media deregulation

and the congress have been corrupted as a result the sunpac decision and citizens united. Our democracy is near death, and there is no clear path to turning it around. It is understandable we don't trust anyone anymore.

[Cleita]

13. It's known as critical thinking and it's a good thing. You should question everything until

you find out what the truth and facts are. Otherwise, you will think things are true that are really old wives tales, or even worse, out and out lies.

No, you don't need therapy, unless it descends into something irrational like paranoia or other disorders.