Truth – fact, reality, certainty, accuracy, precision, veracity, honesty, integrity, devotion, fidelity, candor, honor, reliability. Is that descriptive enough for you to comprehend the value of the word, “truth”? What does truth mean to you? Does truth mean what you think of the facts | or is truth based on actual facts, even if the facts disagree with you opinions or beliefs? Which side of the fence of truth are you on; fraud/untruth/corruption/infidelity | fact, reality, certainty, accuracy, precision, veracity, honesty, integrity, devotion, fidelity, candor, honor, reliability?
As I think more of truth, many people imply the word truth when they are discussing their point of view. We see this quite often in politics. Truth has to do with facts and situations that have occurred, thus truth is a view of an occurrence in the past. We desire those Truths that represent good things to take us into the future, while those Truths that are bad need to be learning moments of what not to do in the future. How many people take what they think is right, which is a belief or opinion, and try to saddle us with what they want you to believe, their “version of truth”. This is the tool that people, who desire power, use. People are persuaded by untruths, when the misleading statements appear to be in sync with how the person thinks. In the political world this is demagoguery. But a “Version of Truth” is — a lie! What’s worse, when you use a version of a truth to represent your opinions and beliefs, and use those misleading and half truth statements to convince the public, the willing lambs follow with enthusiasm without being concerned about whether the leader is truthful. It is only those that verify the facts who can access the real value of that supposed leader. A good leader will use those Truths that represent good things to take us into the future. I know that not all my positions are accepted by the man or woman beside me, as I may not agree with all of their positions. But I do know that we in the middle left and right are close enough that we do not have to be partisan and demand it “has to be my way”. In Truth, it has to be a mutual agreement for the best of us all – our way.
Liberal left does not mean you are untruthful, any more than being conservative means you are untruthful. Yet there is only one truth? Political left and right people sometimes spew half truths or parse out words from their competitor to prove their biased positions, yet the half truths and word parsing is an attempt to convey an idea based on false or misleading half truths, a lie. If a robber takes something and two different people see the robbery, they may see two different things, and both observations may be slightly different, yet both are truth, if both observations are based on fact. The sum of their observations is the truth, once they can reiterate the situation in a calm manor. However, if the observation is conveyed untruthfully, then it is untruth, a lie.
Humans lie frequently. Why? We want to avoid an uncomfortable situation, or we are tired, or we do not want to go to the family get together, or worse, a person is trying to avoid a serious crime. Most lies are so called white lies, or perhaps easier to swallow, little lies; but they are still lies. It is also completely different when a person tells a white lie(s) versus a person who lies to avoid a serious crime or serious family problem. Whether we like it or not, when you start to lie, you start to change your integrity, you lose your reliability; you lose a measure of your self worth. Lie is also a person’s skewed view of the world in which they live.
When have lies become detrimental to humanity? Is the reach for Power based on lies? Many wars in our past have been reaches for power, and/or acts of vengeance. Think about the great religious wars between 800 and 1400. How about WW1 and WW2? There were many lies which initiated these wars, but the reach for power was also a culprit. And the reach for power is the intent to dominate other people. Domination is frequently embedded with lies. Just because a person, or a group of people in power, paints the picture differently or says everything but the truth, it is still a lie. There is only one truth.
Humans tell the truth more often than lies. Truth surrounds facts, thus truth is not always belief. Many people have different religious beliefs or political beliefs, and in many cases the beliefs are reasonable from each persons view, but where there are facts, the truth of those beliefs can not conflict, or a lie is created. Hence, a conservative and liberal can see the world from two different positions, beliefs; yet the truths of their observations must coincide or one of the two people is lying. Truth is not a measure of ignorance of the facts, nor is it stubborn resistance to accept the facts. Ignorance does not imply stupidity, but does imply lack of awareness to the facts. Lack of awareness to facts permits bad decisions!
Many people today use ignorance of the facts or they allow stubbornness to resist facts, or worse yet, denial of facts; when they know the truth. That is a lie. Truth to an individual is their measure of integrity. Truth to a political position is based on facts, yet it is often discovered the political person will frequently deny the truth, skew the truth for the purpose of furthering their personal or public agenda. In either case, it is a view based on a lie, yet the political person will persist in the lie, for what he/she views is the greater good of the objective. It is a lie. Truth makes you a better person, although it can be painful. Truth is the result of integrity. Do you have integrity, or is it easy and of no consequence to lie? Have you ever thought about it? Seriously? Truth is a powerful measure of who you are and what you stand for. Truth is not affected by your gender as a man or woman, girl or boy. Truth is not defined by your political position as a liberal or conservative. Truth is not affected if you are living or dead. Truth is based on facts and a person’s integrity to provide facts based on true observation.
How important is telling the truth? What if we were a world of liars? Where would we be today? If there is no sense of reliability of another person, it is easy to see where a world of liars would never be able to advance to any degree of humanity. Thus, telling the truth is quite important if we wish our society and humanity to progress or evolve. Truth is equally important to the individual, as it is their self measure of human value. We have evolved to our level of humanity because on average we tell more truths than lies. That in itself is not necessarily something we as a human race or, we as America, should be proud of. Are we slightly better than the average person? Considerably better such as your local Church parson. Or Mother Teresa? Telling more lies than truths as a nation or a person would be a measure of how well the nation or person evolves.
Who in the recent 200 years were attempting to dominate their part of the world? Who today is using regional threats and attempting to dominate people, or peoples? In school, we call these people bullies. In nations, we call them dictators or dictatorships.
Where do you stand with truth? Are you a white liar when it is convenient? Do you simply say nothing rather than lie? Do you always tell the truth? It is not always easy, is it? But truth is far more beneficial than lying. Have you ever thought about how the habit of lying affects your decision making, effects your reliability and dependability by other people. Those people who lie with ease, who care only about themselves, selfishness; no integrity, they embrace the lie and have no regrets of lies. You will find people who feel that truth is compelling, are reliable, are trust worthy and are not selfish. Some people tell the truth for religious reasons, while others may be religious but they also have great levels of integrity.
Have you gone through life without ever considering the value of truth? Has truth been a visible measure of your integrity throughout your life? Is lying OK in your book? Truth and Positions on Life are both important, but not the same thing. Many people will try to merge the two concepts for their desire for power over you or a group of people. If truth has not been a significant value to you as yet, I hope you take a moment to understand how truth is your backbone – as it creates integrity and reliance and defines you as a person.