Once upon a time, “existential” was the province of philosophers, poets, and those pondering the human condition under dim cafe lights. It was a word reserved for the kind of threat that shook not just the body, but the soul. Today, it’s a buzzword. Everything is an “existential crisis” — AI, climate change, water shortages, economic instability, you name it. And while many of these threats are serious, even deadly, I believe the most existential of all is something more insidious and less visible: the erosion of shared reality.
Divide and Conquer
For many years and through the media of several of my books and appearances, I have discussed at length the “Soviet Plan.” Years ago I discussed this some with Cleon Skousen, former FBI and police chief. Way back in the 1950’s the plann laid out how to break down the cohesiveness of America. Break up nuclear families, promote more secularism, and otherwise essentially destroy the so-called American identity. In other words, destroy the shared reality. You might say, a more pernicious form of divide and conquer.
Well, the Soviet Union is no longer here, but the loss of shared reality certainly is. And yes, there remain existential threats just as there were in the 1950’s and some are certainly frightening. For example, AI could turn rogue. And yes, nuclear weapons still hang over our heads. Yes, the climate is in flux and pandemics are a fact of global life. But none of those threats can be effectively met — none of them can be solved — if we no longer agree on a shared reality.
Survival
If science is treated as opinion, if facts are reduced to tribal talking points, if reality itself becomes negotiable, then we face a crisis deeper than any external threat. We face the collapse of our ability to cooperate, to make decisions, to build a future together.
This isn’t just a cultural problem. It’s a survival problem.
Because once shared reality breaks down:
• Science can no longer guide us.
• Policy becomes propaganda.
• Catastrophe becomes theater.
And worst of all, we stop trusting not only each other, but even our own perception.
In this light, disinformation isn’t just annoying. It’s existential. Cynical manipulation of truth isn’t just dishonest; it’s dangerous. The tribalization of knowledge isn’t just inconvenient; it’s catastrophic.
Rethinking AI: Threat or Ally?
Here’s the irony. AI, one of the most hyped “existential threats,” may actually be our last best hope if (and only if) it is used responsibly. If it can help us detect manipulation, clarify information, contextualize bias, and restore coherence to our public discourse, it could play a pivotal role in rebuilding trust.
But if it is used to amplify division, to spread falsehoods faster, to replace thought with pre-digested propaganda—then it becomes the very tool of our undoing.
The Real Battle Is in the Mind
So let the philosophers and pundits debate which threat is greatest. But for my part, I’ll say this:
If we lose shared reality, we lose the capacity to respond to any other threat. And that, to me, is the definition of existential.
To your success and thanks for the read,
Eldon Taylor, PhD
NY Time Bestselling Author of Gotcha!: The Subordination of Free Will
Remember to get your free copy of my new book, Sovereign Mind.
#SharedReality
#ExistentialThreats
#TruthMatters
#EldonTaylor
#GotchaTheSobordinationOfFreeWill
#SovereignMind