Anyone who has watched enough true crime shows knows that DNA never lies; It is the standard of truth and accepted in court. When the truth must be cleaved from circumstantial evidence, or the story given by the defendant. Both the defendant and the prosecution are subject to DNA found at the crime scene and presented in court. We know this can prove a person was at the crime scene, and even the identity of the deceased. No amount of pleading or weaving of stories, however plausible, can overcome DNA evidence—Even the most sympathetic jury can discount the defendant’s story, when presented with the DNA evidence; Human remains found long after death can still be determined to be either male or female regardless of the presentation or story told by a defendant. When this truth is revealed, all Citizens can feel confident and comforted that the correct legal decision is made, and justice is done; The legal, ethical and moral standard of Truth and equal application of the Law, has been retained and reinforced. For most of our history, We all agreed with Tom Cruise when, in A Few Good Men, He shouted “I want the Truth!”

That movie was released in 1992, and sadly, the common understanding and respect for the truth has since deteriorated.  The past many years have witnessed objective truth under attack from a very vocal and powerful minority.  These people are trying to change the definition of Truth itself. It is loudly-argued that truth can also be “My Truth”; Meaning that what one person understands as the truth, is different than what another person sees as the truth—Truth is subjective, and one can live their lives adhering to “their truth”.  The proponents of this type of thinking are members of many groups, and a have a myriad of stated reasons—Too many to list in this short essay. Suffice it to say, that the “real” truth makes them uncomfortable, and they would rather change the truth, than change themselves. They want all of society to change so that their minority can feel better or have more rights, which they feel they don’t have now. The main problem with all of this, is that the majority of people are being forced to become part of the delusion.  And that force is being understandably and rightly-met with much resistance. 

The term for the type of thinking and a person’s “my truth” can be correctly termed in psychiatry as a “delusion”. Delusions are things that people believe that are not true, and they are part of the differential diagnosis for a number of mental illnesses and personality disorders.  These delusions are caused by mental illness, or by drugs, and can be endured, treated, or employed as as a life strategy.  George Castanza of Seinfeld fame, once revealed how he was so good at lying and famously said: “It’s not a lie…if you believe it.” Unfortunately, a life of delusional thinking normally leads to nowhere, to sadness or very bad endings.  No one believes that living like George and his life of lies, has any benefit but sadness and despair.  The encouragement of delusional thinking when we encounter it, should not be encouraged. Sadly, encouragement and acceptance are the currency of today. This too often creates more of the same and this acts as a virus which can infect every part of the societal body.  

Fortunately, for most of us, a good amount of truth about life comes to us over time. We shouldn’t forget or jettison what we have learned over such a long time in favor of some new “wisdom”. In fact, civilization has learned much of these real truths over 4000 years of living.  Anyone with children can see how they grow from a world of make believe where a stuffed bear can speak and move, to the real world where bears, although beautiful and often cute, can be quite dangerous.  In order to stay alive, It is safer to realize the cold hard truth about bears.  This isn’t the delusion of a child, It is the rational and “objective truth” that will keep you both sane and alive.  For a real-world illustration, watch “Grizzly Man” to see a delusional man meet his end at the claws and teeth of a beautiful and “gentle” Brown Bear. I will summarize and tell you that The Grizzly Man tried to get the a cute bear to be a part of his delusion. The bear, being a bear, didn’t share in his sentiments and one day, got very hungry.

Because of the current political and social climate, I cannot close without describing another famous and illustrative example from the cinema. In Monty Python’s Life of Brian movie, a small terrorist cell in Jerusalem is discussing strategy when one man says he wants more rights for women; Asked why, and the answer is “I want to be a woman–From now on, I want you all to call me “Loretta”—It’s my right as a man”.  The reason he gives is “because I want to have babies”.  The leader explains there no use in “wanting to have babies” because “you haven’t got a womb”, and “there no place for the fetus to gestate.”  Finally, to keep Loretta from crying, it is proposed that the group “fight for his right to have babies” as it is “symbolic of our struggle against oppression”.  The scene ends as the leader says what we are all thinking and know as the truth: “It’s symbolic of his struggle against reality.” This  truth which was comedy then and now, would not be “allowed” by the current group of censors who seek to impose “their truth” on anyone and everyone.

In closing, I will remind everyone that the majority of human history in Religion, Science and Philosophy is focused on the determination of truth.  We build libraries and databases of facts in an effort to collect and organize the truth. Understanding truth is a huge part of our lives and our being. Fortunately, in the U.S.  We enjoy so many freedoms that allow us read about and think about the truth—Or conversely, to live any delusion we want.  However, when we force others to “play along” with someone else’s reality, and then some impose punishment for not doing so, this creates a very dangerous situation for all of us.