Authentic: Not false or copied; genuine, real. Authenticity is the practice of aligning one’s actions, words, and behaviors with their true self, core values, and beliefs. It doesn’t sound so difficult, just say what you mean and mean what you say. Do not be duplicitous, no double-dealing. Replicate the person you see in the mirror. Be true to yourself. Be a person of your word. Stand for something and don’t fall for just anything. Not that everything has been said as many things are better left unspoken, but try not to keep secrets that may endanger others. Unfortunately, in this world of constant news, marketing, and social media we are overwhelmed with a barrage of sound vibrations which are designed to affect us emotionally to act in a variety of ways. How do we sort out truth from fiction from outright lies? This concerns all of us and why the Renaissance education called the Trivium consisted of grammar, logic & rhetoric. By understanding language and logic and being able to convey your thoughts was essential then and more critical nowadays. This was considered the beginning of a liberal arts education which has fallen by the wayside with the rush to technology & science. Our higher educational systems now run on two separate tracks: Liberal Arts or Science & Technology. Of course, it would seem that technology and the sciences are advancing at a breakneck pace, but for the mainstream public to be able to understand the cacophony of sounds our ability to find out what is authentic is extremely difficult. If democracy is to function as it is projected then the citizens have to educate themselves. We cannot blindly depend on the TV, Radio, Internet, and local chit chat to be the arbiter. We have to understand logic, propaganda, and hear arguments from several angles of vision to come to our own conclusions. Independent thinking is the ability to form conclusions, solve problems, and make decisions based on personal reasoning, evidence, and values. Will societies be able to rise to this high standard or fall for the convincing arguments of the demagogues, sophists and politicians? As the saying goes, “the jury is still out”, and the near future will decide whether we were serious about self-rule or it is just bluster and wishful thinking…