Let’s get something out of the way right from the beginning. Honest self-reflection is a difficult but necessary endeavor if you’re ever going to discover where you are, how you got there, and where you are going. Most people these days are incapable of performing this exercise, for a myriad of reasons. Let me simplify the calculation required for your enlightenment: If in your assessment of yourself and your experiences you are always either the righteous hero, or the hapless victim, then you live in a state of delusion. 

First, realize that no one is born with this ability, so don’t get all up in your feefies about it. No one likes to be wrong, and some will never be able to admit it when they are. But if you really want to live your life with a view of something other than the inside of your own ass, it’s time to start “adulting”.

This philosophy has a very wide applicability. From individuals to groups, and from ideas to governments, the equation is the same. Before you say to yourself, “What does this clown know?”. Well, let me assure you…it took a long time, longer than it should have, but this revelation about shattering one’s own illusions came from personal experience. 

A dose of healthy skepticism is a great prescription for everyone when pondering any issue, especially the affairs of one’s government. However, many people seem incapable of applying that skepticism to their own beliefs, opinions, and worldview.  Most know that they can’t trust “authoritative sources” on most anything, yet many also fail to recognize that their own personal narrative can be just as untrustworthy. The veracity of one’s own opinion and position must be questioned, investigated, and challenged. If you think you practice this theory, but are unable to find flaws in your own argument, you are deceived. No one is right all of the time, and to think otherwise is folly. 

We live in a world of lies. Each of us faces a veritable hurricane of untruth everyday. No one tasked with telling you the truth is actually doing so. My humble advice would be that before you scream and yell about what others are doing, take a look in the mirror. You may not be as righteous as you think, especially if you ignore the beam in your own eye while screaming and pointing at the speck in someone else’s. 

“You hypocrite! Take the log from your own eye, then you may see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s” – Matthew 7:5