False memories are made from concealed truth

Think about the following statements.

The offence is the best defence.

We challenge your truth to conceal our untruths or validate propagated narratives.

While taking a ‘loftier-than-thou’ stance in public, we systematically destroy opponents, independent thinkers and autonomous institutions. The idea of a clean country is one without opposition parties and independent media channels.

We flaunt international acceptance as a medal won by an individual rather than a country. At the same time, we question the right of international organisations to intervene in national matters if they highlight an uncomfortable truth.

School textbooks are rewritten from a particular perspective to mould the thinking of future generations.

Stories about the relationships and births of past leaders circulate on social media. Since no one is around to explore the authenticity of tales, people believe them to be the truth. The fact that the truth or falsehood is irrelevant does not matter. But it helps those in power retain their hold over gullible minds for longer.

The saddest truth is the acceptance of power-hungry narratives by an ocean of gullible masses.

I often wonder what they are thinking about.

• We will win in the long run by going with the majority. Rebellion will attract punitive action.
• A small comfort today matters more than the criminal history of the giver.
• A temple built of stone is more important than the flexibility of independent thought. It overrides a Supreme Court verdict on the Electoral Bonds scam. (The now-scrapped electoral bonds scheme allowed political parties to accept donations without the identity of donors being revealed. Several stories emerged after that about prominent figures being arrested and released after they purchased electoral bonds)
• Loyalty has to be unquestioning. We need to support the self-appointed Gods to redeem our miserable, unthinking selves.

We call it the building of a nation. Nobody dares to ask what kind of nation it will be. Some allow their dreams to be injected with political narratives. Some count the money they were paid to switch sides. And a small minority finds it too horrific to think about, so they retreat in silence.

It will be a nation of unquestioning followers who recite highlighted narratives.

A false memory is constructed from concealed truth.

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Friday Faithfuls