Witness to truth
Published 8:47 pm Thursday, November 5, 2026
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Truth is a fleeting trait of humanity’s willingness to tell a cohesive story. We are witnessing obvious falsehoods told by those in positions of power on a level that has become exceedingly difficult to contend with. All the lies, exaggerations, and falsehoods should have ended most careers long before they gained much traction. Some politicians are apparently immune from the consequences of their false approach to life. That supposed immunity degrades society, as a whole, and burdens humanity’s ability to progress.
Obvious falsehoods, such as Ukraine being solely responsible for higher diesel prices, grate upon our collective consciousness. We all know it is blatantly false, yet some folks take such falsehoods as part of the normal political activity of modern society. Some accept such lies at face value because “powerful people” offer those lies. Apparently, their power offers them an escape route from accountability.
Until it doesn’t, of course.
Nixon’s lies and corruption led to his downfall, but he lacked true accountability. He was pardoned for the irrational reasoning that the nation “must move on.” His pardon has negatively echoed over the decades. It illuminated that corruption, lying, and general malfeasance is somehow acceptable by some who hold power, especially since the subsequent president offered the pardon. Another “powerful person” reducing lies, corruption, and unethical behavior to something to forget.
Lies, corruption, and unethical behavior do not have to be accepted no matter who holds power. Our duty requires our reminder to those in powerful political roles that they serve us. Barack Obama recently offered a clear call to action. He mentioned that we have “an election where people are so ready for something new, so hungry for something better, so sick and tired of being sick and tired that everywhere you go, it feels like change is in the air!”
Based on the national response to what has been occurring since January 20, 2025, Obama’s message completely resonates. We are sick and tired of the lying, the corruption, the endless parade of nonsense. Lies about the reflecting pool. Lies about the golden ballroom. Lies about immigrants. Lies about the reasons for the rising price of nearly everything. We are sick and tired of all the lies. Wouldn’t it be so much easier to tell the truth?
We implore our children and grandchildren to do so, and when they are caught in a lie, we are quick to discipline them for being dishonest. Mark Twain reputedly wrote, “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” That adage was apt in Twain’s time, yet, for our era, powerful people being held accountable for lying has become rare insofar that they don’t bother with remembering their lies. When questioned about their lies, we hear the pathetically immature rejoinder, “Who are you with? You are fake news.”
Fortunately, we are no longer accepting of such answers. Such answers impact our ataraxia — our mental calmness — a position Stoics have striven toward for continuous equanimity. When a powerful person offers a known lie, we feel our ataraxia fracture slightly. Thankfully, we do not have to sit idly by any longer. On the contrary, we have a moral obligation to speak out against such fractures. Our ataraxia requires our reaction in a positive, calm manner. Stoicism’s essence is a philosophical path of tranquility that offers a clear path for clarity. A calm pool of water. Lies become the ripples funneling outward after the initial disturbance. In our case, the ripples never seem to end.
How can we stop the ripples from forming? Well, unfortunately, that is not possible given the human predilection to lie. Nevertheless, we can help minimize the ripple’s effect by encouraging each of us to tell the truth even when it is painful. We can remove folks from positions of power when they are caught lying. And we can be witnesses to truth by acting on its behalf without fail.
Dan Brigman is a Warrensburg Resident.
