A Cultural Addiction to Bullshit

When Truth Gives Way to the Intellectual Numbness of Righteous Outrage

The human animal loves a story. We read stories in books and magazines. We watch stories on TV and in the movies. No one would blink an eye if you told someone that you spent your entire weekend binge-watching a show because you were so riveted by the story being told. As small children, we were comforted when a parent told us a story before we went to bed and even stories about religious figures from antiquity continue to shape world history and the norms and mores of society today. Even newspaper articles which purport to be unbiased are referred to as “stories” and with ever accelerating frequency, “stories” are increasingly what they are. Romance, comedy, fiction, biographies, fantasy, sci-fi; no matter the genre, we as a species are captivated by a good story that brings heroes, villains, drama, and excitement to our lives. Is it any wonder then, that our obsession with a good work of fiction has become so dominant in our minds that we are less interested in whether the story is true and far more motivated by the emotional stimulus the story provides?

If you think that news organizations, social media, politicians, and cultural leaders are not acutely aware of this and make every effort to enhance the emotional impact of the story they tell, you are living in a mindset that is detached from reality. For the better the story, the more dramatic the claim, and the more intense the emotional response, the more people will buy it. All these sources have something at stake, whether it be money, power, influence, or a combination of the lot. They all know the demographics of their listeners and viewership, and they know what they want to hear. The key to obtaining that money, power, etc. is very simple…give it to them.

This has created a frustrating state of norms in society where, despite a wealth of verifiable information being readily available to anyone with internet access and the willingness to exert the most minimal effort, what the people mostly choose instead is to simply believe the story, without question, without challenge, and without hesitation. This baffled me for years until, through my own recovery from alcoholism and recognizing the pattern of addictive behaviors, I finally began to understand. There is an old saying among alcoholics: “alcohol is not our problem. Alcohol is the shitty solution we have come up with to deal with our problem.” Our real problem lies deep within ourselves, and it is that we must address if we are to recover from our addiction. Similarly, believing in ridiculous bullshit is not society’s problem. It is the symptom of a far deeper issue that has become so prevalent that it manifests itself in the same types of destructive behaviors as an active alcoholic or drug addict. For these people, bullshit has become a drug more addictive than heroin and more destructive than any bottle of liquor. We are simply seeing it on a macro-scale, as a part of society itself, rather than with an individual. The real problem is concerned with WHY people are willing to believe things that are clearly utter bullshit.

Thankfully, I have insight into this because I used to do very similar things when I was an active drinker. The behaviors I used to display when I was drinking are akin to the behaviors society is displaying and the root cause is also similar in nature. The only difference is that my medicine was alcohol where society’s medicine is bullshit. But they both come from an inability to create internal validation for the self. I will explain.

After decades of an “everyone gets a trophy” mentality and the “Oprah defense” of “I committed the crime, but it is everyone else’s fault” what society has created are generations of people who lack the ability to validate themselves internally. Their only source of validation is external; that is, derived from someone or something else making them feel good about themselves and who they are as opposed to being able to find it within themselves. When a person finds themselves in this mindset, they will desperately seek and grasp onto anything, no matter how bizarre or destructive, in order to provide that validation. In active alcoholics, you can see it in actions such as having an extra-marital affair, for example. Their lack of internal validation and their absolute craving for anything…ANYTHING that will make them feel better about themselves leads them to engage in activities that are destructive and make no sense at all. But how precisely does that work in this case…in relation to the drug of bullshit?

The shorthand is “if they are wrong and I am right, and they are bad people, then I must be a good person by comparison”. What they effectively do is create validation for themselves, not by a deep exploration of the self, but through the creation of a negative basis for comparison. By partitioning themselves from those with whom they disagree, they create a clear “us and them” through which such comparisons can be made. By then demonizing “them” and establishing them as horrible people, one can use that basis of comparison to establish “us” as good and virtuous people. Through this, validation has been established, and the addict has gotten their fix.

Even better, they can completely avoid any responsibility for the consequences of their convictions. When all one does is blindly believe what they are told, they have not created their own convictions, they have simply adopted someone else's and if they turn out to be wrong, then it is the other person's fault. What a convenient way to go about life! Hell of a deal, really. Borrow someone else's outrage and never have to pay the bill. But they surrender their individuality and their own life experience in exchange.

It makes no difference what brand of bullshit one prefers mind you. Looking for news today is a bit like an alcoholic sitting at a bar and having all these choices in front of him. No matter his preference, there is a drink that will do the job. So it is with news. Here’s the reality that no one wishes to admit. We don’t watch the news to be informed anymore, we watch it to be validated. We don’t want facts; we want emotional confirmation that our preexisting opinions are right, and the other side is crazy. That’s why every political flavor has its own network “bartender of bullshit”. They don’t serve you information. They pour you a double shot of righteousness and tell you, “You’re the sane one. You’re the moral one. YOU’RE the good person.”

Society has a full menu from which to choose. You have your MSNBC vodka brand of bullshit, your CNN rum brand of bullshit, your Fox News scotch whiskey bullshit, Washington Post tequila bullshit, New York Times moonshine bullshit, The View prison hooch bullshit, but no matter the flavor or the label, alcohol is alcohol and bullshit is bullshit.

Fact checkers are bullshit in different containers. I will give them the benefit of the doubt that in the very early stages of fact checking, they may have tried to be unbiased. But website clicks make money and money dictates the slant. You have your Snopes Budweiser bullshit, your Politifact Coors bullshit, USA Today MGD bullshit, Lead Stories Corona bullshit and lest we forget, the Facebook and Gateway Pundit Pabst Blue Ribbons of bullshit. But yet again….it’s still just bullshit in a different container.

Hollywood would love to think they are the fine wines. Robert DeNiro would love to see himself as a vintage bottle of Chateau Margaux. Arnold Schwarzenegger likely fancies himself as Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Mark Ruffalo has convinced himself that he is Chateau Petrus. However, they are all simply Chateau Bullshit and their vintage is far closer to Boone’s Farm or Mad Dog 20/20. No matter where one resides on the political spectrum, the laws of supply and demand guarantee a steady supply of bullshit, each brand eager for you to take a swig.

Now, before we get too self-righteous about blaming the media, let’s acknowledge something uncomfortable: To some degree, you really can’t blame them. They’re not creating this market. They’re feeding it. They’re pouring the drinks we keep ordering. See, the modern news industry doesn’t exist to inform. It exists to survive. And since society now watches the news not to learn, but to be validated, the product had to change. They couldn’t keep serving straight-up information, because we stopped ordering that. We wanted something harder…something that confirms our suspicions, inflames our outrage, and justifies our identity. And if they didn’t give it to us? We’d just go to the media source that does. A drunk doesn’t stay at a bar that cuts him off. He finds a bartender who’ll pour him another round. The media works the same way.

News outlets, like any business, respond to market forces. Validation is profitable. Truth is not. And if you think the anchors, writers, and pundits don’t feel that pressure you’re kidding yourself. They know the flavor of the house whiskey. And if they want to keep their job, they’d better pour it with enthusiasm and a shit-eating grin. Why would a Scottish pub hire a bartender who refuses to serve scotch? Similarly, why would MSNBC hire a journalist who doesn’t toe the progressive line, or Fox News hire someone who won’t hit the culture war notes? They wouldn’t. Not because of censorship, but because their viewers wouldn’t watch them.

That’s the real rub. Blaming the media is easy. It’s convenient and it lets us keep drinking without guilt. But this addiction isn’t fueled by anchors and editors. It’s fueled by us. Society has chosen this. We chose comfort over complexity. Validation over truth. Righteousness over reflection. The media may be pouring the shots, but we’re the ones pounding the table, shouting for another round.

So, what does one do when they are in the throes of addiction and the societal norm is fueling demand for more and more bullshit? The first step is always coming to the realization that you have a problem and it’s pretty easy to tell on this one. If, for example, you think every other news channel is full of shit except the one you watch (you think the news source you use is telling you an unbiased truth) then you are not informed, you are a loyal customer; a “bullshit barfly” so to speak. If you think Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mitch McConnell, Eric Swallwell, or Adam Schiff care one bit about you and are telling you anything but bullshit, you are still in denial. It is important to first be able to simply recognize the bullshit. Let me give you an example.

When a headline says something like “<Politician A> Claims Without Evidence That…”, or drops words like “explosive,” “jaw dropping”, “BOMBSHELL”, “SHOCKING”, or “BREATHTAKING”, it’s a safe bet the reader is about to step into a fresh pile of bullshit. That headline isn’t there to inform. It’s there to inflame; to ignite a passionate response by heightening one’s sense of EMOTIONAL ALARMISM!!!

When it comes to complex issues, like Supreme Court rulings or scientific studies, taking a moment to check the original sources can make all the difference. Headlines and talking heads often oversimplify or spin the facts to fit the ideological preferences of the viewer. Reading the actual decisions or studies helps cut through the noise and lets you form your own take, rather than just repeating someone else’s story.

Once a person learns to simply identify the bullshit, then they can start taking steps to break their addiction. In time, they can learn how to shift their identity and their validation from external sources of justification to internal sources, relying upon their own brain and their own life experience. When one does that, they begin to do what the media, politicians, and other members of society who are still stuck in addiction fear the most…they will start to think for themselves. When one does this, they start to realize that no matter the flavor, sweet-tasting bullshit is still bullshit and their own internal validation provides a greater sense of freedom and happiness than any media source or societal acceptance could ever hope to provide.

The good news is recovery is possible and within our reach. Any addiction can be overcome. Just ask the millions of alcoholics, like me, who’ve built stronger, fuller lives through long-term recovery. But here’s the catch: it takes self-examination and the willingness to confront what we’d rather ignore. That’s the part most active addicts resist…because it’s uncomfortable. Indeed, it is not something active addicts simply resist, it terrifies them. They fear what they will find within themselves if they really look. But if you ask anyone in recovery, they’ll tell you the same thing: recovery begins when you start telling yourself the truth.