TODAY, TRUTH IS A TREASURE HUNT WITH NO CLUES

"Trust me" are words frequently heard.  Woe to the person who responds without fact checking.  Not only did there used to be an industry rule for good newspapers to have three, proven sources before a story was printed, I doubt anyone even remembers that it was so once.. Fewer and fewer people read newspapers and more people watch talking heads and believe them...no fact checks required.

But the absence of truth is not limited to journalists, politicians and the like.   It is ubiquitous.  Today, the truth is interpreted rather loosely.  I recall having been quoted inaccurately by a colleague.  When I asked her why she misquoted me, (she admitted that she had changed the words I had spoken) and said, "I know that is not what you said but I knew it was what your meant."  When the old parlor game of telephone was played, the reason that by the time the last person was whispered to, there was not a bit of accuracy to the message first whispered.  People don't hear words with the same meanings attached and distort what they hear without realizing the distortions.  This is patently why no one should ever be found guilty on eye witness accounts alone months or years after a crime.

Yet, somehow, what is going on in politics today seems not at all that innocent.  Even when video tapes are played of what they had previously said, they can still deny the truth.  When there are enough versions of 'truth' being spread around, people will choose the 'truth' they most want to hear.  Those who believe if something is written in a book, newspaper, or on the Internet, it HAS to be true, poor deluded souls.  There are those who sincerely believe that an officer of the church can only speak the truth.  This is why so many people refused to believe their children who told them they had been sexually molested by priests.

Others sincerely believe if one has taken an oath, that is proof that whatever they say is the truth, as though perjury is a figment of someone's imagination,  that people don't lie to manipulate others.  The joy of the sociopath is that, without a conscience, they can lie most believably.  That is how many sociopaths have risen to corporate summits.

Shock is my only visualization of Diogenes in Washington, D.C.   What joy it would be to find an honest man there...like finding a diamond in a pile of manure.  Actually, I can make a distinction between the few who make statements and subsequently realize that they were not fully informed, or missed salient arguments and change their positions.  I think we can all respect those people but not those who blatantly lie and deny ever having thought differently.  While the Republicans made hay over Kerry's presumed flip-flopping.  Michael Moore could make a documentary on their lies alone.

TRUTH

Truth can be: fact, actuality, fidelity to an original or to a standard. (Merriam-Webster) To an individual, truth is whatever they believe, though they may often be wrong in that belief. Unfortunately, too many people confuse truth and faith. Faith, on the other hand, is an allegiance to duty or a person: This is often followed by loyalty, which is fidelity to one’s promises or sincerity of intentions. It is a firm belief in something for which there is no proof; complete trust. (Merriam-Webster). Many religious people are unable to distinguish between truth and faith. For others, it is difficult to grant faith when too many unanswerable questions are raised. Religious faithfuls have greater problems accepting that some people need proof before belief.

Thus, truth (like beauty) can often be only ‘in the eyes of the beholder’. We know, for certain, from our courts of law that the truth is not always discovered. It can be altered from view by the distorted memory of witnesses, as research has made far more evident today. Thismeans that some people are inadvertently telling untruths; some out of ignorance and faith; and others who deliberately mislead the listener(s).

Political candidates of both parties may occasional have some misinformation but it is pretty well documented that some candidates have knowingly lied. That is a serious accusation towards those seeking the highest two offices in the country. It does not bode well for their behavior in office, should we be so unfortunate as to have them get elected by more lying to or cheating the voters system.

It is always helpful to know what really happened before making a judgment. Yet, we all know that is not possible much of the time. As a therapist, it is not really relevant what the ‘truth’ of a matter is. It is, however, relevant, what patients are using as their truth. In doing couples work, it sometimes feels as though one is working with apples and oranges. Two people who say they were at the same place and at the same time have two totally different recollections as to what transpired. It is a waste of everyone’s time to try to find or prove what really happened. You have to deal with what people think or believe happened, why they think it did, the consequences of their thinking, and how they plan to work those out.

Truth or consequences was not only a game, it is life. The worst that anyone can do is lie to themselves, as though it is not bad enough to life to others. At least, when you are lying to others, you know the truth. When you life to yourself, there is no truth.
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