President Biden’s announcement to not seek re-election punctuated one of the most eventful and historic months in American politics in recent memory. The decision came after various political leaders and celebrities publicly and privately expressed their concerns about his age and ability, though Biden’s decline has long been apparent. In the end, even the best attempts of the First Lady could not overcome what everyone saw during Biden’s first (and last) presidential debate.
Still, politicians, celebrity donors, and the Biden family insisted that the President was fine long after it was obvious that he was not, right up until his decision to withdraw. It’s now unreasonable to think that most of these voices did not know better. Clearly, they believed they could continue to misrepresent reality, even if their claims contradicted the obvious.
In an age where digital technology can manipulate information in unprecedented ways, this kind of public gaslighting has never been easier. Take, for example, the decision by Veteran Affairs to ban the famous Times Square “V-J Day kiss” photo. After asking that the photo be removed from all facilities, lest the celebratory kiss “foster trauma,” the VA swiftly denied ever sending the memo due to the public backlash.
Or consider how the NFL handled Alicia Keys’ Superbowl Halftime performance earlier this year. When Keys hit a wildly off-key note, fans commented on social and posted it there immediately. However, when the official video of the performance was posted to YouTube the next day, there was no trace of the wrong note.
Similarly, the attempts to cover up Biden’s decline demonstrate how the ever-changing, endlessly editable nature of the internet makes telling the truth increasingly optional. Blurring the lines between true and false, something government officials are always tempted to do, has never been easier than it is now, whether this takes the form of doublespeak or even rewriting history in real-time.
Even the best digital technology, however, can only obscure the truth for so long. In fact, the same technology that is used to mislead also can be used to reveal. In the end, that’s what happened at the first presidential debate. As founder and editor of The Free Press Bari Weiss put it: “[I]n the age of X, there is no gatekeeper or censor powerful enough to veil what we can see with our own eyes. You can’t hide reality when everything is seeable.”
Perhaps the warning of Uncle Ben to Spider-Man applies just as much to the immense capability of the digital age: “With great power comes great responsibility.” It’s clear that our digital power has not been wielded responsibly, and this is partly why there is such catastrophic loss of public trust in our age. The more deception that is exposed, the more cynical people become of anyone who claims to tell the truth.
According to Weiss, there is only one way to come back from this catastrophic loss of truth and, therefore, trust:
Stop spinning, stop lying, and stop the condescension. Apologies are also in order. The people who have misled us with noble lies and obfuscation need to own up to the damage they’ve caused.
That’s a good start, certainly. Christians can also pray that our leaders be faithful to truth and unable to get away with deception. Even more, in an age like ours, God’s people should be a notable exception or, as historian Tom Holland put it, “weird” in the sense that we are committed to the truth even if everyone else abandons it. We must, in fact, if we are to be faithful to the One who is the Truth.
This Breakpoint was co-authored by Jared Hayden. If you’re a fan of Breakpoint, leave a review on your favorite podcast app. For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, go to breakpoint.org.
Photo Courtesy: ©GettyImages/Tero Vesalainen
Published Date: August 27, 2024
John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.
BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.