As the history of man progresses, there are innumerable instances where the pride of one ruler changed the course of what would be eras of peace into eras of wars.
During my lifetime, there have been so many historical instances concerning both the political and religious realms where the vanquisher rewrote history, and proceeded to teach it to the youth. As the generations increased, the error once taught becomes truth without question.
And this trend will continue as long as fallible humans roam upon the earth.
It shows first in the littlest community…
Ask a child who has chocolate all over their face, “Did you eat my chocolate?”
What do you think their answer will be?
Not wanting to get into trouble, they simple offer an innocent answer, hoping beyond hope that their act of thievery would not be revealed.
“No”
Then, in their newly fertilized mind of deceit, they go on to rewrite history in their tiny little heads.
“It was Suzy who took it!”
Their response to being caught is one of rejection and hostility. They will even reach levels of tiny violence toward those who reject their lie expecting the outcome to change in their favor. They will stomp their little feet, call the accuser names and insults (even toward their parents) in an attempt to prove their innocence.
Without the wisdom of the parent and patient correction for their obvious lie, they would consider that they had “gotten away with” that deed of dishonesty. And they will replicate their apparent victory every time they have an opportunity.
Without correction, they will grow into teenage and adult years with a now-habitual habit of covering their tracks by deceit and trickery. Even when it is obvious to the eyes and ears of those who see the truth clearly.
Expand the habit in a larger community…
Listening to those in power within school boards, faith led church committees, city council members, mayors, and the like, such a habit of dishonesty exists and will be reflected in their policies and perspectives. One cannot separate personal values from external exemplification of those values. It is impossible.
If you are trying to discern what is being promulgated, you will discover that even the least influential person within that larger community will retain that desire to cover up their duplicity if their character retains the art of habitual lying.
Their intention of preventing discovery is one of the reasons for continuing to live lives in such a state of perpetual faelshood.
The other is for personal gain.
Do they get caught?
Yes. They get caught. And whether that revelation comes from eventual discovery during their lifetime, or further into the realm of historical reflection, those acts of deceit will become uncovered.
Yet in the immediacy of their actions, if they are caught, they will use whatever means in their power to squelch the revelation. Historical references will be conveniently left out of revised historical documents and teaching. Media will serve to suppress any proof of their misdeeds. Paying off public communicators to disappear into the realms of the unknown.
Lies will be spread by whatever means necessary to try to fool the ignorant.
But in the end, there will always be those who will not be deceived. And it is those to whom the liars direct their greatest attacks. Their reputation will be questioned. Their finances stripped, and property forceably taken from them. Extreme cases have gone as far as threatening their friends and families to silence them.
Lies will be spread by whatever means necessary to try to fool the ignorant.
But in the end, there will always be those who will not be deceived.
That antagonism often comes in the form of accusations against the opposition with the very crimes of which they are guilty. But they are careful to not allow that to be revealed. If those acts are brought to light, they are slapped with “disinformation” labels.
The purpose in every case is the same. To strike the opponent at their weakest link to withdraw their revelations to the public.
It also sets a precedence to strike fear in those who, also, see the truth. By remaining silent, they allow the lies to exist because they become assailed in the same manner.
So what has this to do with anything?
As I began to learn about the use of misleading information within the political and religious realms, a pattern began to arise. Once one lie is told often enough so that the majority of people believe it to be true, it is easier for other deceptive tactics to follow.
And the greater the desire to relegate their misdeeds to secrecy, the greater the push to try to suppress the truth. By force if need be.
In Greece, when Socrates sought to promote Reason instead of Passion in the hearts of the citizens, he was threatened, then captured, put through a mock trial, and sentenced to death.
And the greater the desire to relegate their misdeeds to secrecy, the greater the push to try to suppress the truth. By force if need be.
In Russia, anyone speaking out against the KGB and brutality against peaceful citizens who resented being lorded over by thugs was sent to the Gulag. Their lives remaining were spent in torture in which many died from the abuses they incurred.
Look about in the other countries that exist today. Korea, China, many countries in South America and Africa. Even here in the United States. If someone does not commit their lives to whatever ideology the state deems desirable in the moment, they are stripped of their rights as humans and relegated to lives of stress and exile.
But how do we properly discern truth from lies?
If the one who is lying controls the media, chances are that you will have a difficult time finding out if what they are promoting is true. It is even harder now when those revealing physical books are being banned, changing them out for electronic versions which are far more easily able to be hidden in the dark recesses of the internet.
“Half the truth is often a great lie.”
Benjamen Fraklin
Worse is when those same deceivers use what is called “half-truths’ to hide their discrepancies. Just enough of the truth is given out, with the pertinent facts left off. Twisting what is true into what is ultimately a lie, deceiving those who don’t desire to put the proper and necessary effort into discovery of what is really going on
The surest way to discern truth from falsehood is to watch the actions and resulting outcome from what is being told. Test the substance of their character that is most clearly shown in their personal lives. Their personal habits will be reflected in their outward actions most readily.
Let’s give a few examples:
What about an individual who promises someone publicly that he will be behind them in their support of the innocent. But when he faces opposition and discovers that he would lose his popularity with others, abandons his promise. In your mind, would that person be someone you could trust?
What if an acquaintance verbally proclaims their contempt for certain people, parroting a popular belief about their character without discovering the facts? Much like the German citizens did in their twisted opinion believing the lies that Jews were less than human. If you knew the facts, would you trust their new-found belief?
And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. ‘Who controls the past’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.
George Orwell, 1984
What about those who would profess their support of looters during times of environmental catastrophes, but decried injustice when the victims rose up to secure their belongings and ask for help. In your own mind, would you trust them to have your back should you be up against similar attacks? Whose side would they be on?
What they do in the personal lives reveal how they will behave in the public sphere. Unlike the popular myth that you can separate personal and public character, who a person is behind the scenes will be revealed in public.
So how will we be able to see clearly in the midst of the fog of deciet?
Fast from the world. Stay away from the technology. Keep your eyes far from any form of media – analog or digital – and give time for that temptation to “know what is going on” subside. Perhaps as long as 30 days. It there is something important that will occur, you will be informed. I know. It’s happened to me on so many occasions.
Then be in silence. Let nothing of the outside world come between you and that inner and external stillness, as a monk within their cell walls. Pray.
After that time, when you no longer crave to satisfy the vice of curiosity, return to the world. Resume your place. Then go back to your old life.
Then listen to your inner spirit…
Reflect on what you see by the world’s perspective and compare it with what you have gained in the stillness.
If you are being honest with yourself what was once obscure will become plain. You will see more clearly that those who make the accusations are the very ones who are perpetrating the same acts. It will feel unbalanced and incoherent.
When fasting from foods for extended periods of time, once you introduce something that had been pleasurable to you before the fast, your body will react negatively to it. It is a sure sign to steer clear from it.
If you are being honest with yourself what was once obscure will become plain.
When you find yourself befuddled, your emotions running high, it is time to take that emotional fast from what is feeding your soul and return back to stable ground. Like the bodily fast, your heart and spirit will tell you when something you reintroduce doesn’t seem quite right. You may not understand what that is specifically, but steer clear from it. The problem will be revealed in time.
The body and the mind require that cleansing from the offerings of the world in order to see clearly. Do it often.
Seek Truth first…
…in all things.
When you look for truth, stay far from the clatter of distractions. It is not found in noise. It is found in silence. Practice it often and you will no longer be deceived.