Does ‘The Truth Always Save?

Ephrem Endale  Contributer

 Would the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth be better for the world? Would telling everything like it is without any better deliver this world from whatever doom that is around one corner on the next? No, I’m not some eleventh hour ‘save-the-world’ buff or something. Like many I wonder why lies seem to be steering this of ours.

Though things have somewhat became normal you couldn’t escape those moments when reality deals you that sudden blow leaving you breathless. You thought things happened to ‘them’ and not to ‘me.’ You thought you were comfortably placed on ‘cloud ten’ (as the ‘cloud nine’ on is supposedly ‘crowded!’).

Someone close to you lies to you so much so that you lose some important thing, be it money or credibility or something very dear to you. And you thought the person was an angel on legs! And you thought you’ll ever taste the bitterness of being lied to! Well, in case you’re too soft-hearted to admit there is anything wrong with mother earth, I’ve bad news for you.

The world, especially THIS world doesn’t work that way. Never did anyone suspect the twenty-first century, the IT age, the AI age would be so messed up. That is what it is, messed up.

The funny thing is those of us who believed we deserve the gold medal of the moral high ground lie. Familiar, isn’t it? In whatever small ways you’ve been tossing out lies here and there.

The laws tell you lying would have consequences. Of course, many times the case is ‘who’ is behind the lie. The priest, who is your ‘soul father’ wouldn’t be happy. He has told you lying was a sin. Of course, that nice man sometimes lies with impunity as if he’s exempt.

When it comes to our social interactions your inner struggle to lie or tell the truth could prove real painful. Say it comes to you attention the spouse of a friend was cheating on him. And he is a friend who has been there for you in your darkest times. You decide to tell him. On person who will certainly be happy is your ‘soul father.’

The two of you are sitting facing each other over tea. You want take it right from there.

“Look I…” It’s tough to say the words you’ve been rehearsing the whole night.

“Are you alright? I’ve never seen you so pale!” Pale is the ‘harmless’ thing you could be at that time. You could even go into some cardiac arrest! We are talking about your best friend whose beloved wife is fooling around in the wrong bedrooms.

“I’m alright.”

“You said you wanted to talk to me about something. Don’t tell me you’re about to launch a new political party.” You try to smile; you’ve to if you’re going to keep your sanity. You’re about to tell him something that’ll change his life and he’s still in good spirit.

There is this story that happened many years back and it surprises me that I could even recall it. The marriage was the made-in-heaven one. So people believed. The couple was the envy of the married and those planning to get married. They have lived years and years together and not the slightest stir has happened.

One Sunday his best friend was in the western extreme of the city having a good time with a couple of friends. The hotel they were in goes deep from the main road and it was the quietness the sense of privacy that made them choose it. From the window they could see the bedrooms which were very busy especially on weekends.

Suddenly, this guy has all the daylight blown out of him; He stared and a stared and stared. He wasn’t mistaken.

The woman he saw going into one of the bedrooms with a stranger is none other than the lady in that made-in-heaven. He was angry, very angry. Their worried questions his colleagues went unanswered. Suddenly he pulls out his cellphone and dials.

“Where are you? Don’t be angry, but I am going to tell you…” He goes on to tell the man about his wife with the name of the hotel and even the room number! As he hung up his friends having realized what was happening turned on him. They really were all over him.

“How could you do that? What if he does something bad?” And then what he did hit him real hard. He dials again, “Hey are you home?” the guy tells him he was home and has no intention of going out that day. Satisfied he told his friends the good news. After a couple of rounds they leave.

Late that same night some friend calls. He answered the phone with a smile and when he ended he was a completely broken person. His friend rushes to the hotel, breaks into the room where he shoots the two and turns the gun on himself.

Maybe some would argue he had to tell his friend to protect him from unseen danger. After all, this is a country where at one time in history officials running the country like their private fiefdoms were rumored to have men killed to steal their wives. Perhaps by telling the unsuspecting husband hotel and the room number he went way over the top.

If you browse YouTube the amount of posting about this country could put your brain to task. I mean it seems everyone has some ‘breaking news;’ everyone has some ‘secret’ to divulge, everyone has finally discovered some ‘conspiracy’ in the works, everyone has solved the riddle as to why we seem to have some many enemies.

It’s mind boggling, to say the least. What is worrying even some people supposedly not given to sudden burst of emotions, people thought to be as logical as any sane person is supposed to be do believe such stories!

A lot of us have those already formed opinions and whatever comes close to that is ‘the truth!’ even then if they took a few minutes more and asked even if this is the truth which is most beneficial to people telling it or letting it lie low until conditions are suitable?

So in this age when fake news has become some sort of art the truth might not always be calm the storms

The Ethiopian Herald March 28/2021

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