By Edwin Cooney
Perhaps the most precious aspect of human behavior is the
capacity any one of us possesses for telling and living with the “truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth!”
The degree to which honesty and truthfulness are valued is reflected in
the reality that you and I readily both expect, until proven otherwise, that
family, friends and associates value the truth as much as we do.
A Churchillian anecdote I will relay shortly is the inspiration
for the following set of questions and observations.
First -- How much do you suppose truth has to do with human
history? What role does truth ultimately
play in determining the fate of humanity?
Second -- If, as men and women of faith believe, a
beneficent force we call God created humanity, is it likely that all truth was
revealed to us or is it more likely that God granted us both mind and method to
discover truth for ourselves?
Third -- Moving from
the metaphysical and spiritual to the socio/political, did Thomas Jefferson
inscribe truth into the Declaration of Independence when he wrote that “we hold
these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”? There are those who will insist that Jefferson
knew better than to assert that “all men are created equal” and that he was
writing of equal opportunity, not the natural equality of every human
being. Thus the question: was
Jefferson’s “truth” real truth or was it a promissory note that truth would be
revealed some distant day when it was more convenient?
Fourth -- What role does truth play in our own lives?
Fifth -- Should we always tell and practice the truth? Must truth be a constant presence in everything
we think, say, and do?
Sixth -- Should the absolute truth be withheld on occasion?
Seventh -- Is truth always loving, kind and energizing or can
truth destroy a worthy cause or a valuable personal relationship?
Eighth -- Are we wise or foolish to continue supporting friendships
and loving family members who often spurn the truth?
Ninth -- Can truth be a weapon of the wicked or is it always
the sword of the righteous?
Finally, tenth – Is truth either evil or good?
I’ve often quoted John F. Kennedy’s fascinating observation at
Yale University that “...the great enemy of the truth is very often not the
lie—deliberate, contrived, and dishonest—but the myth—persistent, persuasive,
and unrealistic.”
President Kennedy went on to
stress that we can more effectively master the realities of our time when
we cast aside the myths and stale phrases of the past. Obviously, President Kennedy saw truth as an
invaluable guide to the future to the exact degree that we face it open to its
full reality. Only in the fullness of
reality does the truth possess power.
As Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin
met at Tehran, Iran in November 1943 to plan the invasion of Western Europe (tentatively
scheduled for May of 1944), the most significant truths in Churchill’s official
life were changing. Imperial Britain was
dying and, with Soviet Russia clearly surpassing Britain as a world power, Churchill’s
friend FDR appeared to favor Stalin. Secrecy rather than idealism was clearly
the first order of business if there was to be any chance for the proposed
invasion of occupied Europe to be successful. During a private meeting that Churchill had
with Stalin on Tuesday, November 30, 1943 (Churchill’s 69th
birthday), he made the observation to the Soviet leader regarding plans for the
upcoming invasion of Europe that “the truth is so precious that she must always
be protected by a bodyguard of lies.”
Yes, indeed, according to Paul Reid’s The Last Lion: Winston Spencer
Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965, that’s what Churchill said.
If the truth is sufficiently precious to be protected by a “bodyguard of
lies,” is truth a matter of mere circumstance?
Is truth primarily situational? I
think I trust not, but I find it a compelling observation from an extraordinary
mind and human being!
If truth is as precious as the air we breathe and the food
we eat, it is also as available to us for our well-being. It is available to the poor and the rich, the
beautiful and the ugly, to the uneducated and the learned, as well as to the
foolish and the wise. Like its fellow
attributes freedom and wisdom, though, truth, in its most significant and
powerful guise, can be to our hopes and dreams a very, very fickle trustee!
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
EDWIN COONEY
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