Truth

 Good morning!

 Earlier this week, many of us saw one of the great celestial sights ever…an eclipse of the sun.  For those fortunate to be in the totality path, we witnessed darkness in the middle of the day, and were able to see the “atmosphere” of the sun…the corona…in all of its splendor.  Even those of us who saw only a partial eclipse were awed by the oncoming darker environment, the cooler temperatures, and the sight of a sun mostly covered by the moon.

Of course, there were those who said the eclipse was somehow connected to the occult, or to the seconding coming of Jesus, or the overthrow of the United States, or that God was trying to tell us something…and, of course they knew exactly what God was trying to say.  I’m not buying any of that.  Eclipses have been happening for millennium after millennium.  And should the universe survive in its present state, will continue to happen for many more.

It’s what is called a natural phenomenon.  That is, it happens because of the way the universe is wired.  It’s like a transit of the planet Venus across the face of the sun, which I also witnessed some years ago…or an eclipse of the moon, the appearance of a comet or the conjunction of heavenly bodies.  These things happen because of the way the universe is ordered, and because the laws of physics are what they are.  Not because of some attachment to the occult or some other rationale.

Good luck, however, trying to convince some of that truth.  Some folks are so set on believing what they want to believe regardless of the truth of the matter that they create their own version of the truth…alternative facts, if you will.  Alternative facts by definition are those which have been proven to be false either in part or in their entirety.  They are spread, however, by people who are not concerned about truth, but rather are bent on spreading an agenda of some kind, and will openly lie in order to do that.

The problem for these folks is that the message of truth is not changed into the message they want it to be just because they say so.  Truth is truth even if no one believes it.  Truth stands on its own.  It doesn’t need anyone to help it prevail.  In a post on a blog called “The Socratic Method” the author says this about truth.  “Truth, in its inherent nature, does not require the support of government or any external entity to hold sway over public opinion.  It is self-evident, resilient, and capable of prevailing against the waves of falsehood that may threaten to dislodge it.”

I don’t know your social or political world view.  And, for the purposes of this thought, it doesn’t matter.  It seems that many of the people who grab the headlines in the media today, regardless of their beliefs or political bent know how to, shall we say, “Massage” the truth in such a way that they can’t be accused of outright lying, but nevertheless they say something that is beneficial for them or their cause by providing just the right “twist” to the truth.  One has to be extremely careful in listening to ANY of these folk…read between the lines…determine what was NOT said as well as what WAS said…and even check for things like singular versus plural, present tense versus past tense, and other subtleties in order to determine if something may be the whole truth, partial truth, or a lie.

As one President of the United States famously said under oath some years ago, “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is,’ is.”  Nuancing speech in this kind of way is something politicians and others in the public sector are well-aware of and practice regularly.  The media, who ask the questions, often are not thinking about the nuances of either the question or the response, and fail to ask questions, or follow-up questions, in the proper, nuanced way in order to gain the most truthful answer.

It is sad that we are this way.  However, it is nothing new.  Humanity has been a lying humanity for millennia, and will continue to be so as long as the lies work to our advantage.  But you can change that in your corner of the world.  Telling the truth…the whole truth…may be extremely difficult at times.  Hearing the truth may go against your current world view.  However, telling the truth, and aligning your world view with the truth are the right things to do, and must be done in order to preserve any sense of order and stability.

Be a truth teller.  Be a truth believer.  Be a truth supporter.  Whether politics, religion, societal issues, or just in relationships with one-another, be a champion of truth.

 Blessings.