Is Truth a Casualty?
By Shiva
@Shiva49 (28366)
Singapore
March 24, 2021 9:51am CST
It is said - Truth is the first casualty in war. Truth takes a back seat in the face of relentless propaganda from those engaged in wars.
However, I get a feeling truth is always a casualty to an extent we do not know what and who to believe. The common folks are bombarded with news, views, and interviews of every permutation and combination. I have been reading only the headlines which vary and are slanted.
Even history is written by victors and that means, like truth, it is also manipulated.
Democracy and freedom are supposed to get us right up there to elect leaders of majority choice but then the citizens still end up as puppets in the hands of a wily few. Truth and facts are selectively used depending on the agenda. And now just like cross border trade, other countries seem to have their heyday in times of election and influence the outcome!
Then we have issues that come up during election time, some are portrayed as enemies to suit the needs of leaders.
We have knowledge and information overflow but they have only complicated the basics.
Looks like if one cannot convince, then confuse, seems another relentless tactic.
Is truth a moving target manipulated at will to suit the needs of a few?
Do you think we are making any progress to get to the bottom of truth and facts or they selective and depend on who purveys them?
Image: Truth from Free media site Pexels
16 people like this
15 responses
@Chellezhere (6421)
• United States
24 Mar 21
What is missing is critical thinking. Instead of listening to both sides and researching on their own, people just accept what the media and politicians say, and roll with it.
7 people like this
@Shiva49 (28366)
• Singapore
24 Mar 21
At times, not only lying but also trading insults, hitting below the belt, become the norm.
It becomes tough for the common folks to maintain equilibrium and also what an example to set for the future generations.
Then hypocrisy reigns and the cycle continues, passed on from generation to generation. .
2 people like this
@vandana7 (102698)
• India
24 Mar 21
I think telling truth perfectly is an art. It is not as simple as math. To tell all angles, it will take ages. Moreover, people would not know where to start. From the bottom of the pyramid or from the top.
So we all lie some, at times deliberately at other times by omission, or wrong interpretation due to laziness to confirm the truth. Indeed, we would not have enough time on our hands if we were to set out to confirm truth about everything we wanted to communicate.
5 people like this
@Shiva49 (28366)
• Singapore
24 Mar 21
My way is to be forthright.
If I am not sure, I will say that and if I give an opinion I will make that clear.
What I had in mind was people deliberately misleading others, deliberate lying, - mostly our political leaders who twist and turn to suit their own selfish interests to sway voters. They know what they tell is not the truth and hiding facts. Selective use of data is also one factor.
Of course, it is not only the politicians that indulge in lying, deceit, dishonesty. Thankfully, they remain a minority but they take advantage of the majority for selfish gains. They cast a pall of gloom over society leading to cynicism all around.
Being truthful and trustworthy has been the biggest asset for me. I will not trade them for anything else in this world.
4 people like this
@DianneN (254949)
• United States
25 Mar 21
Our perceptions of truth vary. I know that many politicians don’t tell the truth nor common people. I can’t change them, but try to be honest, forthright, and sure of myself when giving my opinions. It’s very difficult to weed out fact from fiction unless you happen to know the real truth.
3 people like this
@innertalks (23734)
• Australia
26 Mar 21
Yes, and the real truth is being more and more hidden these days, and left up to the speculation of the masses to try to work it out for themselves.
Like with the COVID virus, somebody knows the real answers, but these answers remain well hidden.
Nobody wants to fess up these days, and speak the truth.
Cover-ups are rife, and everywhere, from plane crashes, to assaults on women. Nobody is sure of the real truth, anymore.
@Shiva49 (28366)
• Singapore
26 Mar 21
@innertalks Playing it safe when it comes to the crunch.
No one is willing to bite the bullet to set things right - all play along with the mighty for selfish interests as it was played out for the whole world to see recently.
And this virus too is a case in point - the origins are murky as a powerful country is involved.
Greed and ego cloud love and truth.
2 people like this
@m_audrey6788 (58468)
• Germany
24 Mar 21
It depends on every person. As much as I can, I want to tell the truth. There are times that it is unavoidable 
3 people like this
@RebeccasFarm (91299)
• United States
26 Mar 21
This is the bottom line you are stating..truth.
3 people like this
@RebeccasFarm (91299)
• United States
28 Mar 21
@Shiva49 The wold now is not standing on truth.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
24 Mar 21
I would say truth is the first casualty of politics.
3 people like this
@Shiva49 (28366)
• Singapore
25 Mar 21
Earlier many took what the leaders told as the "gospel truth" but now we have many variations of truth ranging from truth itself without "buts and ifs" and outright lies.
Even when confronted for the lies some have ways to counter them with more lies! They manage to give the pursuer the slip.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23734)
• Australia
24 Mar 21
I would say that truth cannot be found by the masses.
Truth never exists for the masses, combined into groups such as society, or even as families.
Truth only ever exists at the individual's level.
Truth lives within each soul.
You lose your own truth, when you try to live from another person's truth.
Truth is an individualised soul's understanding of God's love.
This is the only truth. All other truths are relative, and only ever generalisations.
Love is an aspect of God that becomes truth when truth is mined, or created from, his love.
Love creates its own truth in you, but love remains always greater than the truth that it creates.
Love can destroy truth by burning it in its furnace when required, because sometimes truth must be let go of to allow the greater power of love to recreate a newer, and a greater, truth than the one that you are stubbornly trying to hang onto.
Truth grows as love's understanding grows within you being you.
Everybody has all of his own truth, but never any of anybody else's.
This means that absolute truth does not ever exist.
All concepts other than love are created by the individualised souls.
Truth, wisdom, understanding, perfection, knowledge, everything is only a creation of soul.
So, all of this means that truth is only a casualty, if we ourselves are a casualty of it, not remaining a true vessel, for our own truth, by our living it, and owning it.
What you said, conforms this idea too, I think, siva, that the biggest part of truth, is the individual's own participation in his own truth.
"Being truthful and trustworthy has been the biggest asset for me. I will not trade them for anything else in this world."
@innertalks (23734)
• Australia
25 Mar 21
@Shiva49 Yes, your approach is eminently more practical than mine, dealing with what's in the trenches of life right now.
How can truth win over lies?
Truth spreads its wings over all creation, when God is seen for who he is, and then love blossoms across, and in all of creation.
Without love, lies and deceptions are the weeds in truth's garden, left there for now, but they will be cast aside when the real fruit is gathered at the harvest which is eventually made later, by God himself.
That's what the Christian bible says.
The untruths, the weeds, are left there for now, as to pull them out and uproot them now, might disturb too, the ground around the righteous, still growing there also.
This is told in this parable of Jesus's.
Matthew 13:24-30
New King James Version
The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares
Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
But, when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.
So. the servants of the owner came and said to him,
‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
He said to them,
‘An enemy has done this.’
The servants said to him,
‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’
But he said,
‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ "
@Shiva49 (28366)
• Singapore
25 Mar 21
@innertalks I recall the words of the Buddha - “As the lotus rises on its stalk unsoiled by the mud and water, so the wise one speaks of peace and is unstained by the opinions of the world.”
Over time, the tide will turn for love and truth to prevail. That hope is in us though a few have been overcome by cynicism.
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (28366)
• Singapore
25 Mar 21
Thanks again Steve for your well considered take and opinion.
What made me write this post was the increasing cynicism in news reporting and our leaders getting away with outright lies. Then they say they are the lesser liars and others are worse! So it becomes a no win for the common citizens having to choose between lesser of the evil who soon end up outdoing others!
Yes, in the face of relentless onslaught of lies and deception we can individuality hold our fort and guard the truth but then I worry about our degeneration over generations My father used to call the "generation gap" more as "degeneration gap".
Now love and truth are also-rans to cynicism and hypocrisy with anything goes take to cling to power. In most countries leaders are loyal to themselves first and to their political party. In some countries blaming others is their way to cling to power with nothing positive in play to improve the lot of the masses.
Basic truth is a no brainer but why complicate it to confuse and confound the citizens and also future generations? Again, if we cannot convince then confuse seems to be at play for our supposed leaders as they play out those who elected them with hope for a better tomorrow. It is becoming an assault on our mental equilibrium to an extent we cannot 'See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil', though we can by choice speak no evil which the majority do anyway.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238268)
• Walnut Creek, California
24 Mar 21
I've been wondering the same things for years. But it's probably been this way forever. Remember that Martin Luther didn't translate the Bible into German until...what...the 1600s? Religion has been used to manipulate people for centuries.
3 people like this
@Shiva49 (28366)
• Singapore
24 Mar 21
My view is even scriptures may not be above prejudiced interpretations.
One educated woman from a religion which does not encourage women to be educated told me there was nothing in their scriptures to treat women as second class but the custom made it so.
I told her as women are half the population they should not take it lying down, but so far truth has not prevailed.
1 person likes this
