I am a wanderer. I would say that I am a seeker, but sometimes I have no idea what I might be seeking, so I will stick with wanderer. This blog is more a public journal than anything. I don't claim to have life figured out. I simply stumble from mystery to mystery, and share my reflections along the way. Sometimes I feel burdened, and trudge. Sometimes? Well sometimes grace breaks through, and its time to dance.
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
truth
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way
of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and
for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think
of it--always.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
“Facts do not cease
to exist because they are ignored.”
― Aldous Huxley, Complete Essays 2, 1926-29
“Above all, don't lie
to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a
point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so
loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases
to love.”
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
______________________________________________________
Do we live in a post truth world?
Today, as I try to wade through the lies coming from almost
every direction
The White House
Politicians on the stump
Websites
Memes
Even people I know,
I wonder about our relationship with the truth
I wonder about the power of truth
Right now it seems as if lies have more power than truth
And unlike Gandhi, I despair
I know the power of love and truth
Jesus was love and truth
But the tyrants, the greedy, the abusive
Right now they seem to be winning
And facts
Do they even matter any more
There are people out there who are angry and entrench
because
They don’t bother with the facts
They choose a voice to trust, such as FOX, and that is the
end of it
What is said becomes fact for them
And thus, as the Bible says, the good becomes evil and evil
good
But mostly I worry because we all seem to be lying to
ourselves
Those who follow the path to the far right lie, and say they
don’t hate
They aren’t racists
They have compassion
Those who follow the path to the far left pretend they are
more forgiving, more compassionate
Than those on the right, they aren’t
They are just a different flavor of angry, rigid and
judgmental
And I
Dare I look in the mirror
In how many small ways do I ignore the facts
Pass on misconceptions and falsehoods
How many times do I pretend to be better than I am?
How dare I challenge the person who dehumanizes Muslims
Or is willing to throw immigrants to the wolves
When I have my own essential falshoods
What do I do, when immersed in many shades of gray
I lose my own grip on the truth
And thus lose my own fundamental ability
To speak the truth
And when I speak that truth
In love
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