JPCvoice

Why Honesty Matters

 

Over the past several days President Trump has come out with two whoppers. Two specific claims have been made which can be shown by fact to be not true.

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Each of these lies – let’s call them what they are – is about nothing of national importance; neither subject needed to be addressed. In this sense they can be called, ‘unimportant.’ Whether or not five million illegal immigrants voted illegally, Mr. Trump won the election. Whether ten million or two persons saw him sworn in, he was installed as the 45th president. Therefore (in this argument) the lies are about unimportant things. But they are blatant bold faced lies nonetheless.

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So if the issues are not important, why is honesty about them important? Throughout the full extent of human history liars have been despised. Lies and dishonesty have been a constant enemy of decent persons and of healthy relationships.

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But why? Why does it matter that the president stood before the nation and the world and spilled two bold faced fabrications about unimportant subjects?

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Modern science has shown the reason. Modern science can measure and observe and map how our brains and minds work. Human brains are amazing, unbelievably amazing. The vast calculations and observations and storage of memory forces the creation of advanced mathematical systems just to begin to quantify the activity. Each human mind is a universe of activity and memory – no computer ever invented has been able to approach the capacity of a human brain.

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Think about it for a second – and look inside. What is your brain keeping up with right now, just this one present moment? There is a clear ‘map’ of your current space including smells, sounds, temperature, chair and desk and office as well as location in relation to the rest of your life. There is a map of the social situation around you – the boss, the relationships, the managers, the new people, the interns and whoever else is around – they all have a place on the map you have built which makes sense of the social situation – we humans are very social creatures and our social map is key to feeling secure so we build one constantly. We have maps for the work flows before us – how we got to this point in each deal or project and what must be done to achieve success. Your active mind is focused on reading my words (and I’m flattered that we can share this time together) and behind this active mind are functions too numerous to name or consider. Amazing things, our brains and minds.

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How is it possible for all these things to be coordinated?  It is amazing that our minds can make all these calculations and keep track of so many processes simultaneously. But what is truly incredible is that our minds coordinate all these processes so seamlessly that we do not even notice the coordination or most of the processes. It just happens – well it doesn’t just happen, there is a ton of damn hard work that goes into coordination but we do not notice this work happening because it happens below the level of consciousness. To make this possible, our minds and brains have developed one aspect which is fundamental and key.

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There is one paramount function of our minds which make this infinite juggling performance possible.

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This one aspect is a constant in all healthy minds – in your mind this moment. It is a basic, required, fundamental function of our minds. What is this tool our mind is required to use? It is the maintenance of a single, unified reality. Slow down here and think for a moment. Think of anything and stop; hold on to that thing. How does it fit into your mental map of the world? I’ll go – that moment I saw an empty bottle of Highland Brewing Black Mocha Stout. Just since starting that last sentence maybe a hundred thoughts have been inspired by that bottle once my attention landed there. Highland beers have been a huge part of my Asheville life for decades; our first hangout was Barley’s where I always drank Highland Oatmeal Porter and from that one place, drinking Highland beer countless memories and events and liaisons grew. Sitting here after directing attention to that empty bottle, memories and feelings are flooding in so fast I could not begin to record them all. In fact, when beginning this experiment a minute or two ago, I had no idea of the flood of memories and feelings I’d invite. All of them – every single one, and every one that would come if I sat here for hours – all are part of a single, unified reality. They all make sense and create a harmony within because they are all attached to the single model of reality my mind has created. David Eagleman has put forward the idea that our minds are self-contained and they use the senses to collect data that reaffirm the model of the universe we maintain; for example, when I look around my desk right now, my mind sees things that confirm the model of my desk that it maintains.

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The incomprehensibly complex array of simultaneously emerging processes requires a single model of reality to be the central aspect of mental function. The ‘single model’ automatically organizes our world into simplicity.

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It is a fundamental aspect of how our brains and minds can do it. Our minds form a single reality. Anything that violates this ‘single reality’ is foreign and creates unhealth.

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To be redundant, our minds form a model of reality. And our brain uses our senses to seek information to corroborate and fortify the constantly evolving model. Our brains seek and find information to continue to develop the model of a single reality. The constant maintenance of a single reality is so basic to our mental function as sentient creatures that we do not notice the process.

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What happens, then, when our brains and minds are presented with something which isn’t honest? Our minds, as amazing as they are, simply are not capable of processing ‘alternate facts.’ When the incredible machines of our brains and minds is forced to process two sets of facts (something which cannot be done) then something breaks. What breaks is the mental health of the victim.

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The process by which this happens is called, ‘cognitive dissonance.’ Cognitive dissonance is a ‘crazy-making’ process – meaning that it makes people become mentally unwell. The creation of cognitive dissonance as a behavior of abuse goes back to the beginning of time. The 1942 movie ‘Gaslight’ used this process as a central theme; modern psychology adopted the name of this movie to describe this behavior pattern which is part of the ‘crazy making suite’ of abusive patterns.

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‘Gaslighting’ can take several forms. The classic is for an abuser to say something and to then later claim to have not said that; the abuser is so forceful and insistent about the situation that the victim doubts her own memory and eventually her own sanity. In the movie a husband moves a precious item which his wife had safely put away. When the wife could not find the item, he accused her of going crazy as evidenced by her not remembering where she put the item. Lying is also a form of gaslighting. In all cases, two opposed realities are forced upon a victim; the victim’s mind cannot process alternate realities; the mind becomes sick. Gaslighting forces cognitive dissonance upon the victim by forcing the victim’s mind to reconcile the irreconcilable.  

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Cognitive dissonance is a background process by which our minds become ill. We are not aware of it happening. When our minds must deal with opposing facts about important issues, tension is created. As with a pressurized system, the pressure is increased in one place (here, by forcing opposed facts) but the rupture can occur anywhere the system is weakest – which may not be anywhere close to the abuser. Abuse victims know the feeling of irrational outbursts and behaviors seemingly unrelated to the abuser or the abuse (which adds ammunition to the abuser who now has facts to prove the victim is crazy).

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It doesn’t seem like a huge deal on first glance. But this process has profound effects on the individual, on relationships and within our community. The entire architecture of the mind and the model of the world and of our social relationships is based on the single model our mind maintains. This is true for all aspects of life – our knowledge, our relationships, our plans and hopes are all rooted in the single, unified model we build and maintain constantly. Dishonesty throws the model into disarray – even unimportant lies wreck our model of a single reality. Our confidence in the world depends on there being a single unified reality. Our confidence in our own mental abilities and sanity depends on our ability to roll all experiences and sensations and facts into the single model. All facets of life are affected – one’s own mental health, the health of relationships, the functioning of an organization, the governing of a great nation. The internal disarray within the president’s team over the past several days seems like obvious blowback from the president’s forcing of lies upon the nation and upon his team.

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As our brains and minds developed over many generations, a hatred of liars and lies developed. Why? Because lies and liars are so unhealthy for our wellbeing both as individuals and as a community.

Does it really matter how many people came to DC to see Donald John Trump being sworn in? No. Does it matter that the president lies about it? Yes! Absolutely. By forcing his lies upon his team and upon the nation, he is attacking the mental health of our country. Republicans especially are threatened by these lies – if they accept DJT’s falsehoods then they create mental problems inside and align with the enemies of reality which is a perilous position. If they align with reality, they are enemies of a most vindictive and dangerous president.

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Once one’s mind makes the leap to side with the liar and the abuser and the criminal, then there is no easy way out. Once one untethers oneself from reality, calcified sickness sets in. This is what can be meant by ‘going down the wrong path.’

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Honesty matters.