Tell the Truth Lies distort the world

Tell the truth: Everyone lies. Some big lies, some small lies. Most of the time, individual lies do not matter; they are small and inconsequential. But larger, more public, persistent lies distort our view of the world and are dangerous.

There is beauty in truth, even if it’s painful.

Those who lie, twist life so that it looks tasty to the lazy, brilliant to the ignorant, and powerful to the weak.

But lies only strengthen our defects.

They don’t teach anything, help anything, fix anything or cure anything.

Nor do they develop one’s character, one’s mind, one’s heart or one’s soul.

Credit: José N. Harris

Many people tell little lies about the same thing throughout their lives.

They tell lies to themselves, their family, and their close friends.

Lies are not always bad. A lie to save someone a lot of heartache or a lie to save a life can be good.

What concerns me about lies is that over time, with everyone telling lies to each other, we pollute the global info ecosystem and create false views of the world.

Newspapers and politicians spin and distort. Hollywood movies frequently lie. Large public lies are the ones that do the most damage.

We need to tell the truth, tell other people how we feel, tell other people what we see, and explain the impact of their actions.

Suppose we were able to share meanings freely without a compulsive urge to impose our view or conform to those of others and without distortion and self-deception.

Would this not constitute a real revolution in culture?

Credit: David Bohm

If only we would speak and listen openly, we could change the world in a generation.

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