"They Always Tell the Truth"

Yesterday while running errands I was listening to a call-in show on C-Span Radio. The question of the day was whether or not the listeners listened to political talk radio, and if so, to which sort of show: one with a liberal or a conservative focus.

One caller was absolutely adamant that he listened only to conservative shows like Rush Limbaugh's. The reason, as he stated over and over, was "They always tell the truth!"

And I suppose they do...at least, the truth as filtered through an ideological prism. This gentleman was obviously a very staunch conservative, and as such, was ideologically primed to believe whatever a conservative commentator said and discount as lies anything said by a "liberal" one. On the other hand, I can imagine a staunchly liberal listener calling in to say - with equal conviction - that the conservatives were all liars and one had to listen to liberal commentators to hear the truth.

So where is the truth? Who's right? If you have been reading this blog regularly, you know that I believe in weighing the strength of the argument before deciding whether the speaker is right or wrong, truthful or not. The label doesn't really matter - whether the message makes sense does.

The same holds true in the realm of religion. Muslims are absolutely convinced that the Koran represents the ultimate truth and the literal word of God. Christians believe the same of the Bible. Jews venerate the Torah. Hindus look to the Bhagavad Gita as a guide to life.

Who's right? Where's the truth?

One of my favorite quotes is from Andre Gide, who said "Believe those who seek the truth, and doubt those who find it." I think that's a pretty good guide to life. We all need something to believe in, but when we believe too firmly the result can be ugly - you need only look at the chaos and violence of the Middle East to see that.

So seek the truth...but don't blindly believe the man who tells you he's found it. After all, hundreds of people died at Jonestown in 1978 because they believed in the truth as spoken by Jim Jones.

Don't let it happen to you.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo