Call a friend

Thursday 28th May, 2020

I received a letter from an old acquaintance I met years ago in Suffolk. She is a Jehovah's Witness. She knocked on my door in October 1995. She is a lovely person full of fervour and kindness wanting to impart and share the truth (as she sees it). Her letter arrived just as I had been reading about President Trump and the 'fact check' attached to one of his tweets. I had also been following, half heartedly, the ongoing rumpus re the Prime Minister and his advisor, Dominic Cummings, whose drive to Yorkshire is under scrutiny. Did he, did he not break the law?

Was he justified? 

I have off and on read all sorts these last few months about the Covid 19 virus. Is the scientific advice adopted by the Government the best advice (many say it is not)? Is the Government's strategy acceptable or a major infringements of human liberties? Is the effect on the economy a worse case scenario than the lock down? The questions go on and on. The answers are many, varied and often contradictory.

" This is an era of flagrant misinformation, of spin beyond justification, of emphasis and sound bite in the realm of the absurd: this is an era of lies, false justifications, evasions and deliberate distractions..." or so a friend of mine says.

When out of the envelope from my Jehovah Witness friend popped the 'Watchtower' with the bold front cover phrase ' The search for Truth' I decided not to recycle it but to read it. I did wonder in passing whether there was much searching for truth in political circles or just for advantage. Every justification for a cause or action, whether in Syria, persecuting the Yazidis or re educating the Uighurs, claims to be the truth. Sometimes I sympathise with Pontius Pilate and his remark 'what is truth?' 

Looking at my  pamphlet I hit upon this questions: 'can you fine truth?' " Many people do not trust Governments, businesses or the media to tell them the truth" stated the first paragraph. It goes on about the difficulty of distinguishing facts from opinions, half truths and outright lies that are presented as reliable information. " In this climate of distrust and misinterpretation, people disagree not only on how to interpret the facts but also on what the actual facts are".

We are encouraged to:

1. Get the facts,

2. Do additional research

3. Make sure our sources are credible.

Here I am stymied. One can try to attain facts, do additional research and check if one has reliable and creditable sources. Yet I have attended too many debates, arguments and court cases, I have read too many books on history, biography and psychology not to realise that truth is a relative term. I cannot at times even state that my senses are accurate or factual. I am however sure that the search for truth is vital and worthwhile. Sadly one has to make judgements at times and one hopes it is the right choice one makes. All I will say is that I trust my instincts, my research, my experiences and my faith and until proven otherwise I will stick by them. 

In the end I always go back to my first principle, my corner stone of judgement: anything that is loving and up builds love is truthful and to be believed and pursued.

I have written to my friend to ask if she agrees.