Truth.  Suspect, unreliable, arguable, and perhaps even fake. What is the truth?  Who tells it?

I believe truths often lie in the middle found on both sides of an issue, but ultimately, who decides what is true or untrue? Who decides what is fiction? Does truth need proof to be true? Whose truth is it?

We are intelligent beings. We can argue, make our points, rationalize, compare, and make sense. Have we given up our control and permitted others to tell us what we should believe or understand? Do we need interpreters with agendas and bias to do our thinking?

We can acknowledge our bias and personal truths colored by the lens of our experiences in the world, and we can seek broader understanding. Do we need our information and news filtered? So much news is broadcast to dramatize and share a short review with limited supporting evidence and no alternate points of view? When did we stop thinking for ourselves? When did we stop asking for explanation, or the simple why or how?

Talking about what is true can be challenging. In competition to be right, truth-tellers criticize, name call, and threaten. We are reactionary and tender.  In exchange of said truths, words can tinge and influence, words can clarify, support, inform, exaggerate, raise furry, and provoke.

In our interactions, we dismiss, isolate, and cancel people who have truths different from our own. These high emotions distract us from what might be the central purpose of the exchange – understanding. Where does that leave us? Can we share truths without hostility?

I defend your right to share your truth. I will try to listen and understand your point of view. We may never agree, we may disagree with animation, but you have the right, the same as I have a right to tell our truths. And we might discover in sharing that we are of like mind, perhaps approaching a topic or an issue from an alternate point of view. We may find places of agreement and understanding in our truths.

We can ask questions. We can be curious. We can respect each other. We can listen actively and with care. We can agree to disagree.  In this place of divergence, we can find allies and common ground. The cacophony of our unique voices is rich and holds fertile ground for the seeds of understanding.

I want to believe in truth-telling and being real. I never want to be clouded by untruths – that seduce and claw.