Why are we all so afraid of the truth when we’re so often told the truth will set us free? How is it that as “intelligent” (and as you will later see I use that word very loosely) human beings at the head of the food chain we still feel its necessary to “be nice” rather than “be straight”.
How many times have you been asked by your loved ones “How do I look”? now the “correct” thing to say at this point is to tell them what they want to hear, something like you look great darling, because that’s what they are really asking, they do not want the truth. You may remember the line from the film “A Few Good Men” when the great Jack Nicholson roars under questioning from Tom Cruise “You can’t handle the truth” and how right he is. We can not handle the truth.
As children we are constantly told by our patents, our teachers and everyone else who can get a word in edgeways, “tell the truth”, “honesty is the best policy” and all that kind of stuff. So why in the previous scenario with our loved one when asked the question “how do I look” and you want to say “you look awful” but in fact you end up lying throughout your teeth and giving them what they want.
When asked our opinion by someone we care for, why can we not tell the truth, will this then not set us free, you know the answer, of course not, we are more likely to get in to trouble. But if we are to follow these wise words from our all knowing elders from days of old, the truth can only the right way, if only it could be that easy, you’re saying. Well why the hell not.
Life is very simple when you get down to basics and it’s to basics I wish to take you too now, bear with me. A long long long time ago we were not here, that is to say we had not yet crawled out from the primordial soup that helped to create us, now if you are one of those “god created man etc” types (far me it from me to argue with that one so early on in the book) then that’s cool also the concept is the same, either way it all happened a very very long time ago and things were a little different. If I may be so bold to paint a typical scenario it was probably some thing like this:
You woke up in a cave, you went outside to find something to kill (assuming it didn’t kill you first) then you ate it then you returned to you cave only to repeat the process a little later when the desire for food reared its ugly little head again. Is this too simplistic or are you getting the picture. Net result life was simple, really simple. And we all knew our place in the circle of life (did you see the Lion King, great film, just hated that Scar, little shit!) or so we thought.
I am sure in day s of old when your “mate” asked you how he (or she) looked in the new pelt you recently beat to death for them and as we had not yet become “civilized”, if you thought they resembled a wild boar dressed as a Neanderthal in drag you probably would have said so blissfully ignorant of committing some caveman faux pas because some smart arse git hadn't invented them yet.
At what point in our glorious rise to world dominance did we all agree to say its ok to lie when we’re being polite? What I am trying to say is when did we stop talking straight, when did we invent this thing this way we speak to each other were under the rules of basic human society we all agree to tell the truth but we no have a few sub-clauses or exceptions. Perhaps more importantly whom can we blame, because that’s something else we love to do, blame? Pass the buck, let somebody else shoulder the burden of responsibility ‘cause it’s all too much for me. No sir not my fault it was him sir, honest. Sound familiar? We’ll come back here later.
Enough of that, so we then “evolved” we got cell phones, digital stuff and Professional Financial Advisors and now, we really are in control, still got the old cave (can’t shake those basic instincts) but now we call it a condo. But at least we can sleep at night firmly assured that we are on top of the food chain, ain’t nobody gonna eat me no more, no sir, I do my hunter gathering in Tesco’s. Really?
Put you hand up right now if you would really love to say what you feel but never do, come on lets see those hands, I know I am not alone on this. There are zillions of people on this planet, who are, as we speak going through this dance we call civility, who would rather say when asked the question “how do I look darling” simply say “you look like shit darling”. But you know as well as I that just wont happen, will it?
We would rather blatantly lie to the one we promised to “always be truthful to” in this case because that’s the right thing to do. NO IT IS NOT! If you think that the dress she has just spent an entire months salary on looks terrible, surly if you love them as much as you say you do the its your place to tell them so, isn’t it? I mean that’s part of being there, to say the things that others feel they shouldn’t. But we still don’t. We say one thing we mean something else.
Lets go wandering for a while and have a little fun on the way…
