Manipulating thought by manipulating words

Reveling in Orban's defeat, I read his successor's speech. Included was Péter Magyar's statement: "Truth has triumphed over lies." These words didn't process correctly in my mind and I had to reread the sentence: "Truth has triumphed over lies." 

In the US we are bombarded by the phrase "fake news" by the idiot-in-chief. In response to being ousted from major social media platforms after inciting the January 6th insurrection, Trump started his own media company, Truth Social. Instead of being labeled tweets or X-crements as they are now known post-Twitter on X, these posts are referred to as Truths. It is no mean feat of irony that the world's most egregious liar has labeled his gibes as Truth.

So rereading the Magyar speech which included the simple statement "Truth has triumphed over lies," I had to take a moment to parse what I had seen and where my mind had slipped. Perhaps a nod to Orwellian Newspeak, my initial response was to question the validity of that termed as Truth. Mine had been a knee jerk reaction resulting from Trump's barrage of lies, braggadocio, and distorted reality / Reality TV show approach to governance and one sided dialogue labeled as Truth.

And while I now understand the words as intended and accepted at face value, I am still hesitant to move forward when contemplating the news as presented. "Truth has triumphed over lies," remains a knowable concept but the reality of present day America leaves me feeling adrift in a sea of words with a broken compass.

B A Ash. Seascape After Turner. Abstract Photograph. 2019.