The Truth
Dear Editor,
Perhaps the most repeated line from the movie A Few Good Men was angrily shouted out by Jack Nicholson’s character when faced with his lies: “…You can’t handle the truth!”
Never has that statement been more relevant than in recent times. And how one sorry excuse for a human being who could not/cannot handle the truth actually turned that truth into a divisive issue will become a shocking, embarrassing chapter in the history of our nation’s democracy.
Today many historical and recent truths are coming to light…..truths that have been obscured, denied, glossed over for too long….and those truths are appalling, shocking, and even embarrassing. But then, the truth often hurts, doesn’t it? Does that mean that truth should forever be hidden, twisted to conform to more acceptable explanations? I think not. Facts are facts. Truth is truth. Truth does not have two sides. It has no variations.
If you haven’t noticed, folks who do not want the truth exposed, who can’t handle the truth, who feel threatened by the truth, are the loudest proponents of cover-ups and denial. They are the most inclined to belittle, bully, and “stifle” in not-so-subtle ways the voices of those who want to know and understand the truth, the whole truth, the unvarnished truth. They are the creators of their own false truths, and they never cease to seize opportunities to skew tidbits of information to fit their creations of fantasy.
These are the folks who are flexing their power muscles by suppressing the rights of women, the rights of voters (especially people of color, the poor, the young, veterans, the elderly, and the handicapped), the rights of immigrants, and the rights of educators to teach the truth. These are the folks flashing shiny objects like CRT, Mr. Potato Head, Dr. Seuss, election fraud, and vaccine conspiracies to distract you from the truth. Their mantras are non-issues, false flags of concern, and those gullible, easily-swayed folks who never look for real truth, who live to blame others for their perceived woes, have bought into all of it— pointing accusatory fingers, promoting violence and actually threatening the lives of those who might expose them for what they are. Is this what was meant by “Make America Great Again?” Great for whom?
Wake up, faithful seekers of truth! You have been silent too long. Nothing is more important today than the support of our democracy. Your silence is dangerous. Your complacency is deadly.
Jeanne Schutz
Winona Lake