The First Casualty Is the Truth- The Sunday Collage

A few years ago, I got a call from my first love. The one thing I always hated about her was her ability to white wash the truth. She is one of those people who will tell you how fantastic her life is while her house is burning down along with all of her possessions. Never, ever, would she disclose anything about herself or her life that was less than perfect.

That kind of self deception is nauseating. I hated it back in college and while we were on that phone call, she began telling me about her perfect life- while throwing a few little barbs my way. I remember thinking how close I came to marrying this gal. Marriage would have been disastrous. For just as she edits every last scintilla of awkward truthfulness about her life- I am the polar opposite.

I embrace the inconvenient truths about my life. I have no problem telling anyone my entire life story, the unedited and candid version, particularly if I think it will help them. I don't view my life as a series of events that I should be ashamed of. Should I be ashamed of living my life, making some bad decisions, and then cover them up? Is that how we learn? Is that how I grow and become a better person? By telling lies? Has that ever helped anyone?

I think a lot of families teach their members to keep the family mistakes private. In fact I believe so many people are accustomed to doing just that- that is is imprinted on our national conscience. It has become a universal truth in America that we have all tacitly agreed that lies about our personal lives are acceptable. In fact, if you tell the truth about yourself- often your peers will look at you like you've lost your mind. That's how bad it has become. So we all agree that it is acceptable to lie about personal issues because the judgers will make us feel ashamed. Sometimes our mistakes cause us to lose jobs, get divorces, lose custody of our children, and become bankrupt. Clearly, we can't always tell the truth, can we?

I have no other explanation for the rise of people like Barack Obama. Conceived by an unwed and juvenile mother- Barack Obama is the quintessential example of a person who we really know nothing about. His life is this giant mystery wherein if anyone dares look for the truth- they are castigated by the millions of supporting minions who have all agreed to the great lie. It's none of your business.

Hillary Clinton. Hillary might be the most scandalous person I have ever laid eyes on. Her entire life has been one scandal after another. I am in awe that in America- Hillary Clinton could accept millions of dollars in bribes, call them donations and put them in the "Clinton Foundation" while Secretary of State. The Clinton's foundation, a tax free charity organized in Canada, allows them to use the money any way that they wish. About 10% of the money is spent on charity- the rest is spent by the Clintons. Benghazi might be the greatest lie ever told by anyone in government- where good people fought desperately and died needlessly. We know the truth about what happened. Yet nobody is held accountable. That this woman actually stands any chance of becoming President is mind boggling.

We have a national debt that nobody ever talks about. A debt where nearly 20 trillion (on the books) is owed (and 100 trillion off the books) which is never going to be paid off- financed by a Federal Reserve Bank that is private and unaccountable to the American people. That debt will become the onerous burden of someone else.

People don't care. Not only do they not care but the majority of them have all apparently taken oaths wherein discussing the truth is akin to treason. You are forbidden to discuss certain things particularly if it involves high ranking officials. This is also the way it is in North Korea- that bastion of freedom.

So we have serious problems in America and like the good dysfunctional family that we've become- we're going to ignore our problems and hide them. Pretend they don't exist. That's how far we've fallen as a country, as a society.

The first casualty is always the truth. That has been the way of the world forever. The decline of civilizations everywhere can only be brought about after truth has been taken to the gallows. Once the quest for truth dies, then any number of lies can be offered up as replacements and accepted by a society that has found the truth to be inconvenient, useless, or even shameful.

Once again, I shall leave you with the Isabelle Patterson quote. It always seems appropriate.

Most of the harm in the world is done by good people, and not by accident, lapse, or omission. It is the result of their deliberate actions, long persevered in, which they hold to be motivated by high ideals toward virtuous ends.