Hello to everyone present, my name is Verónica Ortiz, from Step 10 at American School, and it’s a pleasure to be here presenting.
From the beginnings of the human race we’ve been social beings, living in groups, sharing and caring for each other, and it has been proved by diverse studies, such as the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in their article: “What does it mean to be human” where is mentioned that “Sharing vital resources with other members of the group led to stronger social bonds and enhanced the groups chances of survival.”
It seems however that this need to connect and be part of a society might have transformed what was at first a key to survival into now a vulnerability, not only because it has allowed us to remain into a comfort zone, but because being part of a society today, in the Internet Era, is like having thousands of voices inside you telling you how you should live, how you should look like and of course, what you should think in. And the worst part? Every single one of them is telling a different story, everything is going to depend on the person and the context, and not all advice is real.
To set an example let me ask you? Spending 6 hours a day on Instagram is losing your time? What if you work in marketing for a business and your job depends on it? You see how it all changes now?
Our perception of truth is the bedrock for our understanding of the world. It shapes our beliefs, guides the decisions we make, and forms the basis of collective knowledge. Therefore decisions, principles and “truths” in our lives must be guided by the right motivation.
Motivation that, by the fact of living in the Internet Era, and the inevitable misinformation that this brings through devices like sensationalism, social media and non official sources of information, can significantly alter the perception of morality and the credence that governs our lives.
Believe it or not, in many cases this makes us do things against our values. Have you ever thought if the German people knew the truth behind concentration camps and the nazi movement?
“If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself”
Says Joseph Goebbels, who, for the ones that don't know him, was Hitler’s propaganda minister, his job? Control public information to make everyone believe that concentration camps were a gift from the fuhrer.
Of course, his manipulation caused millions to think the holocaust was something completely different, but if something we can highlight from him, was precisely his ability of persuation. This characteristic has been present in many leaders since the beginning of time. I mean, who haven’t heard about sects and people brainwashing the crowds? For instance, we can mention Jonestown, Guyana’s case: a massive suicide at the hands of the leader, Jim Jones, who induced every member to drink or inject cyanide. How much faith would be necessary to accept an order like that? The same amount that’s necessary to lose our capacity to reason by ourselves.
Nowadays we found people like Jim Jones SO easily it can be scary, people with the capacity to have you wrapped around their finger, imagine something like that, just that, this time cyanide will not be the cause of your death, but ignorance, your false sense of privacy and security. We have to face it, the world we live in is not secure anymore, and in a world as cruel and carnivorous as this, YOU can be part of the problem or part of the solution.
Because at the end of the day, truths depend on our environment, on who we listen, who we talk to and what we see, the path to find our truth is through knowledge, that, as Platon describes, is based not on senses, but in in reason, leaving us with the responsibility to set us free from the chains of ignorance.
Thanks
