“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.“
– Martin Luther King, Nobel Peace Prize 1964 acceptance speech
The distortions are numerous, because, like silly putty, it can be twisted, bent, and stretched in a multitude of ways. The basic consistency of the silly putty never changes. What I am alluding to is “truth”. The definition of the word “truth”, as defined by Webster’s Dictionary, is “the body of real things, events, and facts”. Truth is very similar to silly putty. No matter how much we attempt to spin, dismiss, denigrate, diminish, or deny it, its core still remains. Sometimes, we have to dust off the truth to assimilate the correct information.
Today, we are observing informational and spiritual warfare taking place, pitting true concepts against false concepts, truth against lies, or, in other words, Good against Evil. We are witnessing this phenomenon as generated by individuals, institutions, government, corporations, and many forms of media (social and otherwise) and it has permeated to the core of our society. So much so, that people question the authenticity or veracity of much of the information that we receive.
I myself have struggled to search for the truth, and have enlisted a variety of methods and resources that I have shared with both relatives, friends, and neighbors. Here are but a few examples that may assist you:
1. Time – One must be willing to spend the time to devote to research. Many are unwilling to do this, as they are acclimated to the quick fix of information that is being fed to them.
2. Sources – When reading, listening, or watching newsworthy programs, you should research to see if they are reliable and trustworthy by vetting them. By that, I mean one should investigate the source’s background to see if they are affiliated with or have vested interests in the topic that they are covering.
3. Information – How was the information obtained? Was it first-hand or from unidentified sources? These unidentified sources may require additional research. For example, when viewing the various national TV news stations, I have found minor—and sometimes huge—discrepancies of the same information that is being presented or omitted.
4. Facts – Once the source is revealed, you may wish to trace the facts. Check if the information was reported by a few other verified sources. Try to cross-reference the information. Oftentimes, it is important to check the timeline of the facts. Is the report, especially on social media, about current facts or something that happened in the past?
5. Prayer – Taking time to pray and ask the Lord for guidance, because He is the one source of all truth.
In closing, the path that we travel in search of the truth is wide and full of twists, turns, dead ends, and pitfalls; but if we are persistent, we may achieve the goal of truth, which never gets stale.
“Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t going away.”
– Elvis Presley
I would like to thank Father Robb Jurkovich for his inspiration and input.
