Some guy with fuzzy hair named Einstein opined about the nature of space and time. The idea is that time and space are somehow intertwined and not static. Mutually dependent. In other words time can be experienced differently in different places and space can bend in some places. That concept is beyond the ability of most, if not all, of us to understand.
The best way to explain it is through a story. A woman went to a doctor. He told her he had bad news and good news. “The bad news”, he said , “is that you have one week to live.” Sadly she asked, “Well, what is the good news?”
“The good news,” he said, “is that living with your husband, it will seem like an eternity.”
Which brings me to parallel universes. Evidently some folks believe that it is possible that there are worlds, almost exactly like ours , that exist simultaneously to ours. In other words, there are other Joe Urbans as handsome and wise as I, but giving intense pleasure to others in a parallel universe. Perhaps hundreds of Joe Urbans. My wife cringes at the thought. According to the concept, there are other Earths right alongside our Earth.
For a long time I thought this idea was horse hockey. The TV series “The Man in the High Castle” is one very good example . OK. It’s science fiction. If you like good , intelligent sci fi, I would recommend it. It is well done. But it is a TV series, not a fact.
I have changed my opinion. I no longer think this idea of a parallel universe is nonsense. We need only look at modern America to see why. We live in an age of what Kelly Ann Conway (remember that gem?) called “alternative facts”.
“Alternative facts” are not facts at all. They are false. Untrue. Unsupported. Just what someone says. They exist only because someone said they exist. They have no substance. No evidence supporting them. Illusory.
These alternatives to reality are, however, accepted as valid by millions of people. Now, we have always had “alternative facts” about many things.
The world is flat. Ted Cruz’s father killed JFK. 9/11 was a plot by Bush. Ancient alien visitors built the pyramids. The Jews run the secret world organization that controls us all. Broccoli is good for you.
Throughout history some folks have believed things which are demonstrably false. With no merit. Supported by no evidence. Obviously loony. Koo koo.
Today, however, things have changed. Kelly Ann Conway’s “alternative facts” are considered “real facts” by millions of people. There are entertainment networks and social media organizations that exist only to spread “alternative facts”. No falsehood is too obvious. Or too ridiculous. Or too mean-spirited. Or too nasty.
How can we explain this phenomenon? How is it that otherwise normal people will believe and act on what is obviously false. What has caused them to use violence to “stop the steal” when all the evidence proves there was no “steal”? What causes them to think that Dr. Fauci created covid in order to get rich, just as Al Gore created global warming? I could go on to list a plethora of “alternative facts” that have been embedded in their brains . What makes otherwise normal folks susceptible to this misinformation?
I suggest the following. Parallel Universe.
Parallel universes do exist. Even as we live in one universe today, others live in a completely different universe side by side with us. While we live in a universe of evidence and data. They live in a universe of conspiracy and fantasy.
We may shop at the same stores. Buy gas at the same stations.Eat at the same restaurants. Wear the same clothes. Wave the same flag. Parallel. But not meeting.
It is a universe created out of whole cloth by a man who President Reagan made a US citizen, Rupert Murdoch. A universe honed to perfection by Rush Limbaugh, Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson and others. A universe that worships at the altar of the god, Donald Trump.
We may have trouble recognizing this universe. We are not part of it and those who inhabit it are not part of ours. This universe does not recognize evidence or facts. It is a universe of unicorns and demons and angels and Martian invaders. Danger is everywhere. Conspiracies explain everything. Evil is all around us and must be destroyed. By any means. Destroyed.
The parallel universe is real. It is a Kelly Ann Conway universe. A place that we cannot go. And those in that universe are trapped. Few escape. It is the Borg. It is a black hole that sucks in everything around it . No escaping for those who get caught in its gravitational pull. They are lost forever in the blackness and emptiness.
They live among us, but do not inhabit the same time or space. Parallel Universe.
The Old Liberal 