Terrible Truth

 


The truth! Now there’s a joke.

What is the truth? Today, truth seems more blurred than ever. “The honest-to-God truth!” we proclaim, perhaps with our fingers crossed behind our backs.

The truth is what one says is the truth—or is it? For some people, repeating a lie often enough eventually turns it into truth in their own minds. They convince themselves that because they believe it, it must be true. Not me.

The terrible truth is that it is becoming harder to know what is actually true. Wars have been fought over competing versions of the truth. Marriages have been made, and marriages have been destroyed, based on what one person says is true and another believes to be a lie.

“To love, to honor, till death do us part.”

Those are powerful words. Yet how easily can someone convince themselves that looking outside the marriage is not really a betrayal? Perhaps they redefine love and fidelity until, in their own mind, they have somehow remained true to their vows.

A terrible truth indeed.

We turn to the news because we expect it to tell us the truth. But even that depends on which news you watch. One network tells you one version; another tells you something entirely different. Somewhere between the two may lie the truth—or perhaps neither has found it.

Social media has only made the problem worse. A story is repeated, shared, commented upon, and suddenly it becomes “fact.” Few stop to ask where it came from or whether it is true.

And that may be the most troubling truth of all.

The truth is still out there. The problem is knowing where to look for it—and having the courage to accept it when we finally find it.

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