Truth, an Endangered Species

Find me on Facebook and visit my website, http://www.bfoswaldauthor.com.Thank you.

Truth:  A statement in accordance with fact or reality. —American Standard Dictionary

            (1) the state of being the case : fact (2) the body of real things, events, and

            facts : actuality —Merriam-Webster Dictionary

The following paragraph was excerpted from an article titled "Cranking Up the Washington Lie Machine" by investigative reporter Dave Lindorff. (Google him for his credentials.)         

"In reality, the biggest threat to America today is not terrorism, which is really a much less serious problem in terms of death and mayhem than drunk driving (and one which would subside if the US stopped trying to be a global empire). Rather, the biggest threat is a federal government that has become increasingly unhinged, secretive, unmoored from the people and the Constitution, and thoroughly unprincipled -- ready to lie without hesitation and acting in the interests of the rich and the powerful, instead of in the broad interests of the majority of the population. We have reached a point where trust in the government is so low that the default assumption of most citizens is that the government is lying -- and they are correct."

Many of my students reported their surprise at the meltdowns their children had when they discovered that Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy didn't exist—that their parents had lied to them. Many of these same students defended their telling of these 'innocuous lies' as just a part of childhood, at least from their point of view.

Judging by their children's extreme reactions when they discovered the truth, it should be apparent that they did not consider these lies innocuous. Extremely powerful persons, the very same persons the children depended upon for their survival, persons in whom they had invested their trust, had lied to them. This was a faith-shaking occurrence and for many children their trust in these caregivers was never fully restored.

Whether or not we like to see ourselves this way, we are the children of the United States Government and of our 'godparents', our state and local elected (or appointed) officials. We depend directly or indirectly on these people for our food, clothing, shelter, and safety. They are the big persons in our lives and they are frequently lying to us. Our meltdown and concomitant, constructive and restorative responses to our disappointment, frustration, anger and fear are decades overdue and exceedingly necessary if we are to return to power "...a government of the people, by the people, and for the people before it perishes from our earth." (Amended from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.)  More to come.