The truth of the present and the past

Tell me the truth! Yes – but whose truth? What kind of truth? Whose view of things makes up the world? Yours or mine? What about other people's truth? What about their view?

When I ask my child if it broke the glass, it shakes its head violently and says no, no, no. Is that a lie? Or is it just not wanting to deal with it because it is an unpleasant thought?

If I say that I will be in a certain place at a certain time, can that be the truth? Isn't truth happening in this moment, here and now?

Is there a future truth? And if I'm not there, have I lied? Or did I believe something wrong?

When I remember, I remember the images in my head, the feelings I had. Someone else can't remember that and sees their own images, feels their own stored emotions.

What was it like then? What was it like for whom?

If I say it was like that for me – is that the truth? Do we have to show each other our inner pictures so that we can construct one truth from all the pictures?

What happens when we have to stand up for something?

Describe the course of events!

This is easy because you can see the sum of the previous events. Something was missing or someone was hurt or dead. But what about the truth?

– The woman was just hitting back for fun.

– The child wouldn't stop screaming and my head was spinning.

– Oh, he didn't need that.

– Everyone does that.

– He provoked me all the time.

– I didn't want to take it without paying.

– I only had a small beer.

– I don't remember.

– I never said that.

– I was just a simple soldier.

Is this really the truth you felt or just the truth you put in brackets?

Does your inner being agree with these words? Or does your soul know differently? Are you issuing slogans to your conscience so that you can strike?

– Foreigners are all criminals.

– Children need to be spanked from time to time.

– Most women actually like it when you're a bit rough on them.

– If you make a fool of me, you'll get one.

Do you make things small so you can do what you want?

– One more or less is not noticeable.

– Everyone does it, you're stupid if you don't.

– You just have to see where you are.

– I can stop at any time, no problem.

– In fact, I drive better when I've had a drink.

– These beggars don't get anything from me, they usually have a Mercedes around the corner.

Making it small is easy – it works by itself

I think of Cassandra of Troy, who was cursed with the truth by a god. Her visions and prophecies were based on actual events. She could only tell fortunes, but the curse also meant that no one ever believed her, or perhaps even pretended not to. Still, it would not have taken her visions to see the coming downfall of Troy. She appealed to people's fear and horror with the truth and failed.

Our ability to protect ourselves from the real makes us temporarily blind. We see nothing. We hear nothing.

No one heard the children crying for days in the flat next door. No one noticed that the young woman was screaming out of fear, not excitement, as the man dragged her along. No one saw the old woman dragging her shopping trolley up the stairs. No one noticed that the boy hadn't spoken to anyone for weeks before he took the gun to school. The boys with the combat boots and spray cans roamed the neighbourhood unnoticed – and responsibility slipped away with them.

The truth of the past is sometimes a majority decision of those involved. The truth of the present is inside you. You may not be able to tell it, but you must show it. The truth of the future can be created.

Let's just accept it when it becomes visible

© "The truth of the present and the past. What about the truth of other people? What about their view?": Questions by Winfried Brumma (Pressenet), 01/2025. Image credit: Question mark on a tree, CC0 (Public Domain Licence).