Truth

What is truth? If someone tells a lie but after an amount of time they believe it is the truth, is it still a lie? How is the truth determined? A very wise man once told me that “having a definition of the truth is not the same as having a criterion of truth; understanding what it means to say that a proposition is true is not the same as having a method of determining whether it is true.” This is a philosophical point of view that opens a wide spectrum when contemplated. The truth is reality and it can be proven. Truth is usually associated with what a person already knows or what they believe they can prove. The truth can easily be dissuaded by an authoritative figure also. “This is a country, where the secretary of defense can go on TV and say this war isn’t about oil, and no one questions him because they don’t want to know the truth” Unknown. This statement raises a lot of eyebrows and may even shake your level of trust with the faces that are high ranking politicians. If the things that we are being told are lies then what is the truth? Imagine the possibilities that are being hindered due to the work of corruption and secrecy. One may say in defense that “lying keeps things on an even keel.” I disagree with this fully. There is a time and place for everything but truth is light and it should always shine through in any situation, even those situations that don’t include the entirety of a country. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” This statement is the truth. With truth comes trust. If someone tells you something and it checks out, you begin to confide in that individual. This is a factor that separates friend from foe, trust. The consequences of your friend or family member catching you in a lie, a betrayal of trust, could be very extensive. I will tell you a shortened version of the story of Emperor Claudius, who was betrayed by those closest to him, by his own blood. They whispered in dark corners, went out late at night, and conspired against him. But the Emperor Claudius knew that they were up to something, that they were busy little bees. And one night he sat down with one of them and said to her “tell me what you’ve been doing busy little bee or I will strike down those closest to you. You shall watch as I bathe in their blood.” The emperor was heartbroken. The little bee had wounded him more deeply than anyone else ever could. After that conversation the little bee told him everything. The scenario is extreme, yes but it gets the point across in a stronger manner. The action of lying or twisting of the truth can have a greater effect on those around you than you intended. As anyone else you may have a list of justifications and reasons for what you said or didn’t say but I promise you it’s easier just to come clean in the first opportunity that you are given. Evading the truth is a lot more work than it’s worth. To save you time and effort tell the truth and when you do tell the truth make sure that you get every part of it out in the open. There is nothing worse than leaving a particular detail out just to have it come back later on down the line to bite you in the ass. Entertain the thought for a moment of all the trouble you could save yourself and others if you put as much effort into your fibbing as you did telling the truth. I guarantee you that this kind of ideology is foreign to the majority of human beings on the planet today. Integrity, justice, morals, values, these are all components of truth. Truth is a universal good it is pure in more than ways than one. Truth can offer closure from a traumatic event or simply clear the air between friends that was polluted due to a simple misunderstanding. Truth is one of the four cardinal virtues that are listed among a number of religions around the world. This has to count for something. If other people that you have never met, that you probably will never meet in your lifetime are being taught the