Readers share their thoughts on truth

Here are some emails we got from readers in response to a recent “Today’s Moderator” column in which reader Mary Ray talked about the state of truth in our society today.

From Jim Woodford: Truth in the legals system, truth in politics and truth in advertising and how much do we value the truth? Is it truth defined as a “belief that is accepted as true,” or that which is “true in accordance with fact or reality”? The one example most Americans would know and agree with is in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

But even these truths did not really include slaves at the time or even women for that matter. You probably have your own list of other groups that were in effect excluded. But the fact of the matter is that the Declaration of Independence resulted in the founding of these United States, an experiment that continues. As Mary Ray writes, “The truth is out there.” Truth is valuable when it boils down to facts, something that is accurate — all too often it turns out to be someone’s idea of reality rather than actual facts. Most important is having a society able to distill the ubiquitous information that bombards from every conceivable angle practically non-stop, down into facts.

Here is an item from your own paper, from Steven Pinker in “Enlightenment Now”: “Far from being better informed, heavy news watchers can become miscalibrated. They worry more about crime, even when rates are falling. Consumers of negative news, not surprisingly, become glum.”

From Vic Presutti: Sometimes it is possible to know what is true or not true. Sometimes, as is the case with religious belief, it is not. One should care enough to make an effort to determine if something is true, false, or an opinion. Unfortunately, there is plenty of evidence indicating that many of us do not care enough to make the effort.

From Sheila Heck: After reading your column today I could not help recalling the old Superman radio program which introduced Superman as a man of “truth, justice and the American way.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if politicians applied those Superman qualities now and as we move toward the November elections?

From Bonnie Goldberg: If we do not have truth we have nothing. It is one of the first things we teach our children.

From R. Greggory Cross: Greed, ignorance, the abuse of power, lies, twisted facts, half-truths .... words used by previous editorials when discussing the role of ethics in our country today. Yes, many of the opportunists, manipulators, and outright liars are sadly and most visibly too often within our government. We always talk about how our youths need role models ... good parents, teachers, coaches. Has anyone ever thought that our divided country needs role models?

Can we honestly say that our children, and even adults, should look to our current chief executive as a model of ethical decorum? I won’t argue policy with our president; good arguments can be made on both sides of any public issue. The true long-term damage will be from diminished values. Job creation and a booming stock market are fine but an eroding ethical foundation will destroy us from within.