So How Do We Discover Truth?

"The role of the media is to disseminate information, highlight important current events, and to essentially stand as a witness, an observer of cultural, political, community, and educational events. A healthy media provides a check on the government and increases the political astuteness of republican citizens."

- Stephen Palmer, The Center for Social Leadership

If Mr. Palmer's statement of the vast importance of media is correct, then does it not naturally follow that the information ought to be true? Does he leave any space for "moral flexibility?" Shouldn't the goal of media creators be to capture the truth as clearly as possible, be their craft documentary or fiction? Isn't the value of anything—product or story—hidden in its quality? So how is it that large, bureaucratic organizations seem to obscure truth in favor of "political correctness" or other similar nonsense, yet seem to profit greatly anyway?

At this point in human history, the playing field as been leveled like never before. Not only has the advancement of technology brought powerful tools into the hands of the people (not the least of which is digital media solutions for video and audio), but it has brought us a limitless marketplace in which to share our ideas. Such unfettered access to informational exchange should make us the wisest of all human generations...

And yet, we are overwhelmed with so much information, that we lack the ability to understand what, in fact, constitutes wisdom. The fact that we lack the capacity to discern good information from bad information leaves us accepting the information most easily accessible (mass media, or the media that caters to what we most want to hear). I believe it is fair to say, that what we want to hear and what is right and true, are not always the same thing. In fact, I would hazard the assertion that they are rarely the same thing.

So how do we discover truth? The first way is to study classics: great books that have already stood the test of time, and commentary books written by people who have mined them for principles and found greatness as a result. The second is to associate with great men and women, either directly through mentorship, or indirectly through video and audio recordings. The third is to experience life for yourself through direct contact with "the masses." This is especially true when you are pursuing some specific purpose.

The fourth (being what FITmedia aims to achieve), combines these other three in an objective manner. What I mean is this: if all media transfers information, and all information should ideally be true, then all media creators should want to know the truth in order to capture it. If the first three methods of discovery are all viable perspectives on truth, then all three are required for a complete picture of truth. It has been said that the best way to learn is to teach. Therefore, a collaborative attempt to capture real life in story form would naturally reveal truth.

The ultimate product, I believe, would be one of refined purity. One that would not only stand the test of time, but be an ideal specimen for people to emulate. And not only would it benefit culture for people to emulate it, but it would be accessible enough to the layman, that anyone could emulate it.

The secret lies not only in the form of an immersive series, or in the maturity of the written character development, but also in the ability for an unparalleled level of fan interaction. In essence, the wisest of the viewers would be able to rise to the level of creator.

Now how's that for a slice of fried gold?