“A lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots.”—Mark Twain
Written by Donald Hughes, March 2021
Truth is an interesting phenomenon. It is, I believe, one of the basic forces of nature that can never be extinguished nor eliminated from existence. Sure, it can be stretched, hidden, undiscovered, banned, lost and even diminished, but never eradicated. Somewhere, some place, some time, the truth is always there. We may not want to believe it, or accept it when it is revealed, but it will be revealed when pursued. All of humankind can believe the world is flat and the center of the galaxy, teach it in all levels of education, preach it in all circles and in all disciplines, and even persecute those that don’t agree, but still it does not alter the truth. The truth maybe so small, so quiet and obscure that only one person believes it, sails around the globe, and reveals it. Then in one brief reveal, it totally upends man’s limited vision. Sometimes with life-altering consequence.
The truth of something will remain hidden if never pursued. It takes a great deal of tenacity, courage, determination and sacrifice to bring it out into the light of day. In my opinion, those things are an undeniable clue that something is the truth. A lie, by contrast, is easily spun and accepted, with little resistance and very little effort. Some become experts and creative geniuses at establishing a lie as gospel truth.
Today, it is even becoming more difficult to navigate through the countless seas of deceit and lies to find the safe harbor of truth. From politics to science, history to education, the truth is not only well hidden, but also often disdained and hated. Only the most dedicated and faithful can and will uncover the truth of something, knowing well that the reveal may be mocked, scorned, questioned and ridiculed. In addition, the storms of pushback will be intense.
Truth is not always pretty, and because of that revealing it is a daunting task. I so admire those from our past that were such stalwarts of the truth, and gave so much to bring it to light and defend it. Our civilization has evolved to a higher plane because of it. Their names are forever remembered while those that so vehemently fought it are but a hiss and a by-word. Let us not allow the truth to diminish in its importance, no matter the subject. It is a precious thing we need to nourish, develop and learn to appreciate as much as our fore bearers did. To do otherwise is to die out and hope for a future generation that will discover it, uncover it, and light the world.