A blogger that calls themself Christmeal asked: “Would you say that truth and falsehood are indistinguishable, or that they are distinguished by some essential quality?”
I find this question intriguing due to my own never ending political and religious metamorphosis.
I currently believe there is an absolute difference between truth and falsehood. The dispute I have is how humans tend to place choices that are neither true nor false into one category or the other.
For example. Is it true that education is good? I can easily argue both sides of that equation because the question must be addressed: Good for what purpose? If you are teaching a child to be a socialist then such education is anything but good because socialism is founded upon force and fraud.
How about: Is knowledge good? I can also argue both sides of that equation because the question must be addressed: Good for what purpose? Knowledge without an understanding of responsibility is always dangerous.
It is a maxim of law that: Quod alias bonum et justum est, si per vim vel fraudem petatur, malum et injustum efficitur. What is otherwise good and just, if sought by force or fraud, becomes bad and unjust.
So what truth is can change if its implementation is sought by force or fraud. Therefore the first thing that must be done to determine if a truth is different from a falsehood is to determine whether or not its attempted implementation is sought by force or fraud.
I know that if I never taste caviar that I will never know if I desire its specific flavor. If I am poor and cannot afford caviar then it would probably be best if I never taste caviar. But then again if I taste caviar while being poor it may encourage me to become rich so that I can eat all the caviar I want. But then again is being rich good?
I know that I do not want to educate or give knowledge to my enemy and yet if I give him no education nor knowledge he will remain my enemy. But then again he may remain my enemy anyway. So is the following statement a truth or a falsehood?
“I should educate my enemy.”
It is like the two terms “Liberal” and “Conservative.” What is a Liberal? What is a Conservative? Was Patrick Henry either one of those? What was Hitler? What was Nixon? Is the ACLU liberal or conservative? Is the USA PATRIOT ACT liberal or conservative? Is the Independent American Party of Nevada Liberal or Conservative.
I have, in the press, been called an Ultra Conservative. I have also been called Baby Murderer, Oppressor of Women’s Rights, Homophobe, Gun Rights Nut, Pro-gun Control Fascist and many more… because people feel the need to put labels on things. And if they cannot label you then you are evil, which is, of course, ridiculous. Or is it?
Is sex good or evil?
Is it always wrong to steal?
Must you always tell the absolute truth?
What is right and wrong during war?
If your country is invaded what is right and wrong in defending your country?
What is right or wrong is a self-defense situation?
When does life begin?
Is all life sacred?
Is religion good or evil?
What is truth?
What is falsehood?
I know this one truth: Freedom of choice is the most important principle in the universe. Those that seek to take away freedom of choice are evil. Those that wish to enable freedom of choice are not necessarily good, but they are not evil while seeking to enable freedom of choice.
The problem with this truth is that the actions and choices of those around us take away our freedom of choice and our choices take away the choices of others. Abortion is a prime example. If you take away the “choice” of abortion then you have stopped that freedom but if you do not stop abortion then the life of the child to be has been taken and the child never had the right to make a choice.
Without mercy and forgiveness and tolerance life becomes intolerable. And yet without justice and punishment life become intolerable.
Then the questions comes about: What is freedom?
Is freedom truth or falsehood? That is like asking if self-defense is good or evil. Do you have the right to defend yourself against a person that is trying to retake, by force, his property?
I believe that freedom is the result of correct choices.
You have freedom from being burned by the fire if you do not put your hand into the fire but that does not save you from a sunburn. And sometimes if you do not put your hand into the fire then you risk that same fire consuming everything you have including your life.
So is it truth that a person should not put his hand into a fire?
You wil not catch a sexually transmitted disease if you do not have sex but you will not have even the chance of finding the joy and companionship that can be found within a sexual relationship.
So what is truth? What is falsehood? I know what they are in certain circumstances but I also know that such a truth is MY truth and to you may be a falsehood.
I know that Cherry pie is the best pie there is. But is that the truth or is that a falsehood? I know that if I try to force you to believe that Cherry pie is the best pie that Cherry pie becomes the tool of evil.
Time Saving Truth from Falsehood and Envy
