Telling the truth. Speaking the truth. It's probably the best way one can continue to carry on in a cycle of interaction between oneself and another in conversation or in any kind of social transaction. Telling the truth means or entails one uncomfortable moment possibly but telling lies sparks many such moments. Why? For the truth is the truth.
Lies mount up. Quickly. As does, in direct proportion, the difficulty of remembering which lie was shared with which individual and how deep is the hole one has dug for oneself? How much trouble did one just land oneself in? Most important, how does one get out of this very awkward moment in time? At times the answer is one never gets out of it at all. It is always there. It remains in the mind of those who know the truth, heard you tell the lie or watched with great glee as you struggled to clear the red off your face and consign the overwhelming shame down some nearby sewer. And your social stock value? Tanks even more.
There are some professions conducive to the spreading of lies. We all know about the used car salesman doing that. But sometimes we forget that there are others who also tell lies. Unfortunately, many are in one's own family. Doubly unlucky is one who has a liar as a family member and is also a practicing active politician. In fact, it seems that politics and lying walk in comfortable tandem partnership, hand in hand. Evidently immune to shame and repercussions as they cross the boundaries of truth and wallow in the lies of the other side.
A smart man once said this about politics and politicians. So very true. Sadly so.
"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies."
Quite correct in understanding the issue and diagnosis; unfortunately, no one has gotten around to the proper remedies and application of such.
Take a look around. Pay attention to the news and the comments made by the individuals enmeshed in that news. Shake your head in disgust when you hear them say one thing which totally and absolutely contradicts what was said yesterday. From the same mouth. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, yours as well, unless you yourself are the liar or an enabler of his camp.
Consequently, thereupon arises a feeling of despair. If the politicians are the leaders of society. And the leaders are liars. Then what does it leave for us? We believed in the lies dripping so easily from their mouths. Or have become stupid enough to believe them. Or turned them to our own advantage. Arising now is a feeling of despair. If the politicians are the leaders and the leaders are liars, what does it leave for us? To close our eyes and make believe we believe in the lies? Or are clever enough to turn them to our own advantage? Nothing good here.
That seems to be the modus operandi of the times we live in. It leaves us hanging out there someplace in the void. Who can we trust? Who can we believe? Who can we turn to for aid and advice in critical moments? In any case, why would we believe? For till now all they have shared with us is the bumper crop of lies, grown afresh every morning and every night and most times in between as well as necessary for their survival.
Soren Kierkegard once stated:
"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."
Is there any real possibility? That we can have eyes in the back of our heads and functioning brains with which to interpret what we see? Then to take what we so desperately need from it and apply it to our eyes and brain on the other side of the head? Those which move us forward in positive manner.
Or are we forever condemned to be Monday morning quarterbacks with little hope and less opportunities of ever bringing the wisdom and the lessons of the past, of our yesterdays, forward, intact, to the turbulent times of today? Thus, ensuring a better tomorrow for all. Is that a real possibility for mankind, after all these centuries of fooling ourselves, persisting in taking the wrong paths, and following the most unworthy people as our leaders?
My optimism, about this possibility is sorely challenged.
Perhaps it might be so when we finally own up to the fact that all our troubles are of our own making.
We enable those who lie, who are terrible leaders.
We did this to ourselves.
All of us, folks.
All on us.
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