{"id":18484,"date":"2023-01-02T02:00:12","date_gmt":"2023-01-02T09:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicsquaremag.org\/?p=18484"},"modified":"2024-01-12T11:01:19","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T18:01:19","slug":"where-have-all-the-truth-tellers-gone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicsquaremag.org\/dialogue\/where-have-all-the-truth-tellers-gone\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Have All the Truth Tellers Gone?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash<\/div>\n

I was disappointed to learn recently that \u201cgaslighting\u201d is Merriam-Webster\u2019s <\/span>word of the year for 2022<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

For those unfamiliar, the term derives from a play (and later, movie) in which a woman notices that the old mansion\u2019s gas lights occasionally flicker. She tells her husband, but he writes off her concerns as delusional, leading her to question her sanity. The movie goes on like this until suddenly it is revealed that her husband was playing with the gas line all along\u2014with the precise intent to make her question her grasp on reality. The term has shifted in meaning to include much more\u2013perhaps most especially some kind of a denial of one\u2019s experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Friend: Did you know that “gaslighting” is the word of the year?
\nMe: No, I didn’t. That’s dumb. I hate that word.
\nF: Oh, have I told you my favorite gaslighting joke? You’ll love it.
\nM: No!
\nF: Yes I have.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Benjamin Pacini (@benjaminpacini) November 29, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n