The truth behind the lies

Lately, the clamor in social networking sites for the truth behind the Sarin chemical attacks in Syria, the illegal slush fund of the Partido Popular in Spain, and the pork barrel scam in the Philippines has led me to ponder the question of truth in world events.

A quick, even superficial, read of history's greatest events will reveal that major, life altering political actions were, at best, undertaken on the bases of half truths, confabulated facts, and selective amnesia. And these are just the justifications for taking such actions; the hidden agendas leading to these actions are even more nefarious and convoluted. Certain events immediately come to mind. Off the top of my head: the Crusades, the Inquisition, the creation of the Church of England, Napoleon Bonaparte, Hitler's lebensraum and the Final Solution, the military-industrial complex, the Six Day War of 1967, the oil crisis of 1973, Black Monday 1987, the Iraq War of 2003.

The truth of the matter is, since the appearance (or creation) of man, the world has operated and progressed on the basis of lies, not truths. The truth only serves to muddle "the facts;" it is the refuge of those whose lies have no meaningful socio-political effect. In other words, the rest of us. And for the rest of us, an explanation of the lies perpetuated upon us is mandatory because we cannot conceive that our lies are any less important or impacting.

The truth is non-negotiable
There's a reason why lies have been used to shape the history of mankind - because they work. The truth leaves no room for negotiation, you're stuck with it. And once it's out there, you don't have much of a choice other than to right the wrongs. Truth kills your freedom of choice.

Lies, on the other hand, are much more creative and original. They provide obfuscation,  misinterpretation, misinformation, and deception. They afford the liar plausible deniability and ways out of a sticky situation. Consider any mafia movie where a "rat" is caught. Once the rat spills the beans and tells the truth, he no longer serves any purpose and is swiftly put to death. Conversely, lies leave room for doubt providing an extension of life with which he can plot his survival. He who fights and runs away, can come back to fight another day.  But he who in battle is slain, will never fight another day. The same is true of lies and truth.

And the reason lies work is because they allow us to speculate on the truth and bet on the outcome. It's how wealth is created. You don't believe me? Just go to your nearest stock exchange. Stocks rise on doubt and uncertainty; they decline on fact and truth.

This is why lies will continue to be the paradigm through which progress is measured, whether we like it or not. The truth, or what we think is the truth, is always sugar coated with deceit. And there's a very good reason for that - from the beginning of time, all animal species have relied on deception for survival; it's hard wired into our DNA, which is why we find it easier to believe a lie than the truth. The truth is often more insidious.

As Col. Nathan Jessup said in A Few Good Men, "You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!"