Is the truth important anymore?

How is it possible that many believe that if you say something often enough that people and yourself will believe whatever you say regardless of whether it’s true? Why is our present cultural and societal setting so fearful of the truth? I know that most of us as little kids truly believed that if we just wished hard enough our dreams would come true! Has relativism really taken the place of truth that represents absolute facts? Is it possible to for someone of normal intelligence to buy into the proposition that truth is totally relative to the individual? So; what if I want to redefine mathematical notions and say that 2 + 2 now = 5 and not 4 is that really true? Is it possible to continually redefine truth or the lack thereof to benefit my life setting without any regards to reality?

Merriam-Webster’s definition of the truth:

a (1) :  the body of real things, events, and facts :  actuality (2) :  the state of being the case :  fact (3) often capitalized  :  a transcendent fundamental or spiritual realityb :  a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true truths of thermodynamicsc :  the body of true statements and propositions.

Recently, there was an article about the mayor whose city is on an island. He had been asking for help with the rising of the ocean around his little mass of land. According to the facts that island is losing 16 feet a year for some reason. It was rather interesting that our president contacted him because the Island was full of conservatives. Yet, the reality regardless of whether you believe scientific fact or not is the tiny island will diminish significantly over the years to come. Yet, our president seemed to make fun of this notion and say that the island will be here for hundreds of years to come.

So why does the truth matter? The real question is whether I believe if there is such a thing as right and wrong or morality? If there isn’t absolute truth than morals become questionable or the rationale behind laws or speed limits go out. Yet, I can remember in one of my philosophy classes something about Kant’s notion that it’s better to live as if God exists and follow his commandments or laws for the benefit of everyone? If truth is a body of knowledge, physical laws or mathematical equations then ultimately all will discover over time the consequences of what happens when you break the laws of physics! Most little kids have discovered the law of gravity is a truism as they jump off a tall roof believing that they can either fly or bounce up after hitting the ground.

I know that most have heard the phrase that the truth will set you free and make your life so much better. The downside of lying or promoting falsity is that you must continue to postulate falsehoods that require you to have an excellent memory. I know that in today’s science, philosophical and theological setting that the difference between fact, theory and absolutes is too often dependent upon my perspective instead of an absolute that is outside of my own life. The opportunity is to help others see that there are consequences to breaking laws regardless of whether you believe them to be true, i.e. don’t jump off the Empire State Building expecting to fly or if you’re going 100 mph and slam into a brick wall you’re ‘toast’.

So how do we discover and live out the truth? This is the more important question. Science would say that it has an ongoing work to reveal the laws of nature that ultimately are absolute. Much as people that have faith in God will go back to their ‘Holy Book’ which will define for them the truth about man, life and God.

Too often the avoidance of the truth is the attempt to not get in trouble for doing something that wasn’t too smart. The reality is that the truth that loving kindness can transform any life will impact and transform lives for generations to come.