"Reality" is often paired with the word "virtual" these days. We also speak of reality TV, meaning that the people portrayed are real. I contend that reality is everything. Or more economically, reality is all. In the age of Trump, we are getting a large dose of the truth behind this statement.
For example
Trump's lies, though untrue, are real. Real does not mean True Or False. It means something exists. It is out there. It has a life of its own. Trump's budget is real, his health care bill is real. So are the thoughts that course through his brain.
They are as real as the rail he holds climbing stairs.
Consequences
The result of using real in a binary way -- of saying this is real but that is not -- is precise. It divides reality into two things. Yes and no. Either-or. To say something is opposite of another thing, you say it is true or false, here or there. But reality is not a binary term. It is not finite. It is all there is. It is everything.
Proper use
The proper use of reality as "all" makes us universal beings. We consciously acknowledge we are part of everything there is. Clearly, we cannot know everything. But with whatever awareness we are given, we see ourselves as one with all there is. This is not sophistry. It is an observable truth.
The Trump factor
By being such an exaggeration of traits on the stage of life, Donald Trump may be an unwitting midwife of something he does not want to give birth to. He does not want us to be universal folk. He would rather we cry "USA" all the time. He does not want us to be open to the world. He wants us to go back again.
But reality, like time and space, moves forward.
Trump Lies. China Thrives. https://t.co/lADW5fmqlB
— Stephen C. Rose (@stephencrose) June 7, 2017
Beating the binary beast
To call Trump a liar gets us in an argument with those who say he is the soul of truth. He is a serial liar. But that is merely part of the problem he poses.
He is a binary creature. He divides us in a world where a house divided cannot stand. He creates conflict in a world where conflict must be reconciled. He opposes ethics. In fact, he waives ethics as a requirement for those who work for him. His binary nature is everywhere.
Ethics
Ethics is beyond binary. Ethics affects the way you speak and act. It is a conscious stage of thought. Whatever reality is considered, thoughts benefit from exposure to an index of values that make sense and suggest a good outcome. We act better on the basis of a meeting between reality and ethics. If Trump gets us to that point, it is a consequence worth having. It allows us to think ahead which is the only direction in which we can go.
