Searching for Truth

“You never find yourself until you face the truth.” Pearl Bailey

Scavengers 9.2010

Today I am thinking about truth and art. I strongly believe an artist has a duty to reveal truth.  The people I most admire are the ones who dare speak it loudly.

I know there are people who simply cannot handle the weight and responsibility of the truth.  I understand no one is perfect but if everyone did that we would plunge into another dark ages.

I'm working on a story that explores how our personal truth changes depending on which side of an issue we are on.  If we bend when we are on the side of favor how can we avoid ultimately becoming its victim?  How far will a society go before it explodes into a full out rebellion?  Mine is a work of fiction but we see examples of this everyday.

How far can you be pushed before you stand up for truth?

“Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe no thing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true.” Buddha

“For the great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearances, as though they were realities, and are often more influenced by the things that seem than by those that are.” Niccolo Machiavelli

"Truth: the most deadly weapon ever discovered by humanity. Capable of destroying entire perceptual sets, cultures, and realities. Outlawed by all governments everywhere. Possession is normally punishable by death." John Gilmore

“We allow the most atrocious lies uttered by political and moral prostitutes to go unchallenged. These lies are endlessly recycled in the commercial media until they become ingrained in the public conscience as truth. Worse than burying our heads in the sand, we bury them up our collective ass. How do you like the view?” Charles Sullivan