As a culture we must embrace truth as the
foundation or bedrock of our culture. It is impossible to build a successful
culture when its members do not honor truth, personal and corporate. Reinvigorating
or building Civic-Morality requires that we make an unbreakable commitment to
truth, regarding as an unacceptable failure any attempt to mislead or obfuscate.
We must recognize that the concept of malleable truth is merely a childish
attempt to avoid uncomfortable facts. We may enjoy tossing out the phrase,
“Well, all truth is relative,” but though it sounds erudite it merely disguises
the fact that we do not have a good answer to a question or fact.
Contrary to popular belief, there is such a
thing as ground truth. There are certain immutable facts which govern the
physical world and human behavior. When we discard these, we undermine the
smooth functioning of our society or culture. Truthful people ensure that the
levers and mechanisms of society function properly.
Familial relations depend upon an adherence
to truth. Marriage relationships require truthfulness in speech and in conduct.
We have all seen marriages destroyed when one, or both, spouses head down the
road of lying. Discarding the truth may result in an affair; but, an affair is
not the only way lying destroys a marriage. Lying about finances can destroy a
marriage as surely as infidelity. Parent child relationships will founder and
eventually collapse when any member discards truth. Often families bury hidden
secrets deeply, lying by projecting an air of bonhomie among all members.
Truthfulness about their broken state would invite needed healing. Truth is the
light that would shine into the darkness and drive out the pain inflicted by
misrepresentation. Families are not the only societal component which relies
upon truth.
The business community requires truth. Without
truth, contracts are not worth the paper and ink they are printed on. Without
truth, employees cannot depend upon their employers for pay or benefits.
Without truth, employers cannot depend on their employees for a job well done. Every
part of a business transaction, from planning, to procurement, to production,
and on to delivery and sales, depends on all parties engaging in truth. Truthful
interactions in all aspects of business provide the foundation of a smoothly
working economy in which all parties may engage in normal business practices safely.
When we honor truth in the public and
personal arena, we can start working together to define and solve problems. As
long as we accept the fallacious concept of “you have your facts and I have
mine,” we will be unable to make any real progress on the challenges that we
face as a society, culture, or nation. We must also summon the mental fortitude
to hold leaders accountable for and to the truth; and those unable to appropriately
handle the truth, we must find unfit for public service or office.
No matter what the party, an inability to
tell the truth destroys trust. Lying in one area portends lying in another. How
can I expect a public official to do the right thing if they cannot tell the
truth. We must turn away from evaluating those running for public office on
their ability to promulgate the party line. Actions, not news-bites, should
inform out decision on whether to support a candidate or not, and a practice of
lying should disqualify a candidate.
Some might say, “Well, they all lie.” There
is a small kernel of truth in that, as we all are failed humans and at one time
or another have resorted to prevarication in hope of avoiding embarrassment or more
serious consequences. But that does not address the issue of an inability to
handle the truth. There are people to whom lying is such an ingrained habit as
to destroy their trustworthiness. We know who they are, their misdeeds proceed
them. Having destroyed trust, they are unfit for public office. And likewise,
we must have the intellectual rigor to reject their blandishments and seek a
better candidate, one worthy of our trust.
Truth telling must be a nonnegotiable issue
in our society. To move forward and build a more cohesive and well-functioning community,
we must ensure that we both require and honor truth telling. Until we embrace speaking
the truth and disdaining lying as bedrock concepts we will struggle as a society
and nation.
