Maybe Rudi Giuliani was right when he famously, mindlessly, said to a worldwide viewing audience, “Truth isn’t truth.” The guy must be nuts. But in his world of crooked politics, fake news and the almighty dollar ‘truth‘ is probably as far from the truth as where his boss moves the decimal point or the crowd size on any given day. Rudi’s boss, President Donald ‘Goldfinger‘ Trump lives this kind of truth. In fact, President Goldfinger taught Rudi everything he knows ...and tells him everything to say.
Charles Manson operated in a similar way. He mesmerized and cajoled his sycophants into a "family" and through fear, a perverted love and a sick obedience, they did anything he wanted. Much like Trump's White House 'family" and the Republican Congress.
Aww, Rudi ...what happened to you? You used to be our hero, we loved you. You sold out, man! ...or you lost your marbles.
Well, I’m not selling out. Truth is truth and I’m sticking with it for better or for worse.
Truth is a fragile thing. It’s vulnerable. It’s pure and innocent (no wonder it’s not doing well these days). Truth is like a newborn baby, it needs to be nurtured, protected.
Truth can be elusive, fickle, hard to catch. Once you catch it, it can slip through your fingers like sand through an hour glass.
Truth can be powerful. It can set you free ...it can send you to Hell.
Since Donald Trump aka ‘President Goldfinger’ was elected in 2016, the concept of Truth has taken on a whole new dynamic both in our American and World culture. He has taken away the innocence and power of Truth and changed it into his personal working whore, pleasing him and promoting his political and personal goals.
I’m no boy scout, and I’m no prude either. I know about lies and the lying liars who tell them, which happens to be the name of a pretty good book by former Senator Al Franken https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lies_and_the_Lying_Liars_Who_Tell_Them Franken was a senator from Minnesota forced to resign regarding some questionable allegations of sexual misconduct. He was a victim of plausible lies, and this is my point ...how vulnerable and innocent the truth is and how easy it is to manipulate the truth into a lie and conversely a lie into the truth. Franken fell somewhere in between.
Goldfinger Trump is a master at this, we see it every day in the news, but so are each and every one of of us ...maybe not a master but still a novice or journeyman. Just think about the last time you had to abuse the Truth for some personal, professional, or political gain. Hopefully, you felt guilt and remorse, and checked yourself.
I think about all the middle and high school civics classes, college too ...just what are the teachers telling these kids? How are they explaining this ‘monster‘ in the White House? How are they justifying President Goldfinger’s behavior? I can’t imagine the damage being done to whole generations of kids, especially, if the teacher is a Trump supporter! Are we creating future generations of lies and the lying liars who tell them?!
To understand Truth is to understand the nature of a lie. The anatomy of a lie, or the recipe for a lie, is to start with a grain of truth. As you move forward and slow cook your lie, add a pinch of truth now and then for taste and believability as called for.
There are ‘white lies‘ and ‘bald-faced lies’. There are ‘dirty, filthy, lies’, ‘no good, rotten lies’, and there are ‘whoppers‘.
So, what about Truth ...what is Truth?
(Truth: that which is in accordance with fact or reality. Lie: an intentionally false statement, misinformation.)
I don’t think Truth can be justifiably defined in words like a lie can. It’s bigger than a lie. Truth just is. It’s ethereal, not tangible. It’s omnipresent, ubiquitous. To further complicate things, Truth can be personal. What may be true to you may not be true to someone else. Like in religion ...what you believe to be true, someone else may not.
So, then, what really is Truth if it can’t be defined in words and is so elusive? Truth is a sunset over the Great Salt Lake. Or, just look in the mirror. But don’t say anything like ‘Mirror, Mirror on the wall ...”. That would be religion. Just look and keep your mouth shut. What you are seeing is Truth staring you right in the face. That’s the thing about Truth. It’s always there staring you right in the face. You don’t even have to work at it, whereas a lie needs to be fabricated. It’s hard work because one lie leads to another, and sooner or later it aways leads to the Truth anyway. So, why go to all that work? Just tell the truth to begin with and save yourself some grief.
‘Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?‘
Yeah, sure.
Rudi and President Goldfinger didn’t invent lying, corruption and greed, they are just the champions of these things. Duplicity is present and among us every day and always has been, sometimes disguised as truth so you have to be careful what you say and of what you believe to be Truth.
I didn’t say Truth was going to be easy.
Changing gears a little ...bear with me just a bit longer, here’s are some additional examples of how Truth can be affected in the mainstream by misinformation, politics, and personal goals ...
Recently, I read an article about the controversy over the Boeing Max 737 air accidents. The author was drawing a comparison between the two outstanding factors contributing to the crashes. One was pilot error, and the other technical ...equipment, computer, malfunction. The author focussed on the fact that more experienced pilots were critical of the pilots in question, not having ample time and experience in the cockpit. There are ‘Blue Angel’-type jet pilots and F-35-type jet pilots, and then there are passenger jet-type pilots and air freight-type pilots, all at various levels of experience and cockpit time, some considered trainees or “interns”. Notwithstanding the fact that the computer malfunction was significant if not paramount, further complicated by additional related computer safety applications the airlines chose not to purchase from Boeing, the controversy argument was presented within the framework of pilot skill or the lack thereof.
The author speculated about the investigators of the accident looking for cause, or for someone to blame. Hopefully, they are looking for Truth. Great article. Great presupposition for Truth.
I couldn't help from commenting ...“Seems like it’s rarely a clear call when disseminating information of this type to the general public. Politics and investigative margin of error can often delegitimize forensic science no matter how accurate and unbiased. There will always be a significant percentage of public opinion susceptible to drama and misinformation generated by partisan influence. Sully Sullenberger was an instant media hero yet a target for improper emergency procedures by his own profession looking for someone to blame. It worked out well for him ...and his passengers. TWA Flight 800 was concluded to be an accident involving exposed electrical wires in a fuel tank. Many believe it was shot down by a shoulder-fired missile launcher. To them that perception is their reality, their Truth. The Warren Report concluded that JFK was killed by a lone assassin. However, many believe there was a conspiracy. The Mueller Report pointed to obstruction of justice and collusion. Again, drama and misinformation generated by partisan influence turned that effort into a waste of paper and everyone’s time. Unfortunately perception is reality and I guess that’s why we have journalists, lawyers and media consultants to set us straight ...”
Comedian Woody Allen said of Truth, “All people know the same truth. Our lives consist of how we choose to distort it.” In other words, we intuitively know the truth, sometimes we just have a hard time accepting it.
But another Comedian and the poster boy for ‘The Lost Innocence of Truth’, Rudi Giuliani, wins the prize for the best quote ...“Truth isn’t truth.” Yes, he really said it ... https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=crazy+rudi+giuliani%2c+truth+isn%27t+truth
Oh, Rudi ...
John Kushma is a communication consultant and lives in Logan, Utah
