The Truth Lies Within Us
“Truth isn’t truth” says Rudy Giuliani. Boy, has he got that right. The lies and double-talk with which Rudy has enveloped himself are only surpassed by “only the best people” that our opprobrious president has surrounded himself with. Good heavens, what has happened to ‘America’s Mayor’? There was a time when I’d follow Rudy Giuliani anywhere. I have to think that this is a strategy and Rudy is a smoke screen to keep the dialogue moving, protect his client, his president. A salesman’s best friend or his worst enemy is his ability (or inability) to keep talking, suck up all the oxygen in the room and distract from the lies he is telling you ...or from the truth he is hiding from you.
Truth isn’t truth, or better, one man’s truth is another man’s lie. Oh, Rudy, tell me it ain’t so!
So, what is ‘truth’?
(Truth: The quality or state of being true. True: In accordance with fact or realty)
Fact. Reality. Two words we are hearing a lot lately. A fact doesn’t necessarily have to be true, and the truth doesn’t necessarily have to be a fact ...these days, or maybe always. Depends who’s selling and who’s buying. The best lies always have a measure of truth mixed in, and within the ‘truth’ you’ll always find lies.
It’s impossibly complicated, but here’s the thing. We all know some truth. Some of our truths we like to proffer, some we absolutely must hide because we know the truth could embarrass or hurt us, even kill us, so we don’t want anyone else to know. This is where it gets even more complicated because the truth, I mean lies, can be used as a megaton bomb or a political weapon. It can destroy the spirit of millions, or it can bring down a single man. Conversely, dynasties are built on truth, I mean lies. Can’t seem to get that straight.
We use the word ‘truth‘ like it’s a reverent vital force to be saluted, revered, with which we want to be identified. We wear the truth as a merit badge on our chests and an emotion on our sleeves. The truth is our shill, our accomplice, friend to the working man. But at the same time we use, discard and abuse the ‘truth‘ like a politician on a roll or a dirty pair of underwear.
We are at a crossroads in our American history. That’s almost a cliche, we Americans have been at many crossroads. World wars, depressions, 9/11. Advertising. But the Trump presidency, the Trump administration, the Trump White House ...the Trump experience, is giving us pause in a ‘truthful’ way that we’ve never been paused before. We are, as a country in peril, in crisis, near the end of our time, staring ‘truth’ in the face, staring at ourselves in the mirror of our American history and reflecting the face (and hair) of Donald Trump. This is not necessarily a bad thing because it is a ‘truthful’, sobering reference point. Nonetheless, we should be very concerned ...very scared.
Our news media is doing as good a job as they are capable in separating the truth from lies, fact from fiction, reality from Nielsen ratings. But remember, ‘ratings‘ is their business. I’m talking mostly about television news, but print news is a dying media breed according to the sharp decline in circulation and readership nationwide. Newspapers attribute this to the iPhone and social media. I attribute it to editors and publishers who don’t know how to sell their product. So, is ‘journalism’ dead? Is ‘truth’ dead? No, but keep the defibrillator handy. The lies are keeping us alert and afloat for now.
We have no answers, only questions, and the one question that should persists far and above any others right now, thanks to President Trump, is ...are we a nation built on truths or on lies? Thomas Jefferson wrote in our Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ...”
Nice thought. Noteworthy. Empowering. Powerful. Stand up and salute. We all agree. Or do we? The First Lady’s coat read, “I Really Don’t Care, Do U?” WTF?
God bless America ...rather, God help America.
So, when Rudy tells me something these days I take it with a grain of salt. Well, maybe with the whole salt shaker because he seems to be shaking the truth around like Don Quixote’s sword, or like the fool on the hill, Don Trump’s lies. Trump may mean well, or he may just be an idiot. He may be crazy, or he may be crazy like a fox.
But remember, one man’s truth is another man’s lie. Will Trump be an American hero by default? Will he fall on his own sword? The truth may set him free, but the lie is lining his pockets. Hedge your bets now.
The ‘truth’ may be the impossible dream.
John Kushma is a communication consultant and lives in Logan, Utah.
