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Tuesday March 19, 2024

Tell the truth

By Scott Owen
October 15, 2019

It’s wonderful how good things can come in small packages. Like Greta Thunberg out waking the world to the urgency of action in addressing the climate crises. Like Ellen DeGeneres out for a game with George Bush. Like a butterfly, flapping its wings in the forest. Like the sound of truth.

I’m writing here at my desk on what would have been John Lennon’s 79th birthday. I can hear him crying in the background, “Just give some truth” and it all comes together on the point of that word, truth.

Greta standing with her sign, building a movement, traveling the world, speaking to nations from the UN to Standing Rock, speaking the truth about this thing that, whether you want to face it or not, affects us all.

Then there’s Ellen, not to be compared to Greta, who without effort or intention brought up some conversation about friendships, kindness, George Bush and war crimes. Ellen, who I wouldn’t want to degenerate for an “act of kindness”, quite accidently regenerated a much needed conversation about a living (if you can call it that) war criminal.

Bush, who was never held accountable in any way for his war crimes has been even further privileged with a social rehabilitation by none less than that paragon of virtue (whose husband is also a war criminal) Michele Obama. Now Ellen befriends and defends him as well.

I love kindness, forgiveness and generosity of spirit and I’m glad that there is so much of it, found as it is, in this world. I pray that we can extend it to the other 2 million or so who sit helplessly passing time in our prisons.

But what excites me beyond the acts of Greta or Ellen willfully committed or not, is the truth that finds its way and comes out from behind these acts.

I recently attended an eXtinction rebellion information circle and I was impressed with both the demands and the stated principles that guide this movement.

The first demand is this… 1: Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency of change.

Indeed, first and foremost we must know, recognize, proceed and act according to this truth. Without this truth there is no movement. Here’s another truth. We will not be able to address the climate crises while, at the same time, waging war. It won’t happen because we need to be in agreement and cooperating with each other at home and around the globe to address the crises to act and heal, we will need those resources that are swallowed up in war and because war itself is a leading cause of environmental destruction, it must end.

We will not be able to effectively or successfully confront the climate crises while at war and we will not get out of the wars without some more of that hard to swallow but so delicious thing, truth. Its lies that get us into wars and George Bush told a whopper. 18 years of death, destruction and the failure of democracy in the US and abroad can all be laid at his feet, this is the fruit of his lies.

So why does it matter that Ellen sits with Bush at a football game? It’s important because he never answered to those lies that brought us into this war nor did he answer to his other crimes. Because by him not answering to his crimes, Barrack Obama never answered for his and Hillary Clinton will not answer for hers and Donald Trump will not answer for his and on and on.

It was wisely and clearly told that “Without justice there will be no peace” – MLK; that “Justice will only exist when the truth is honored” – Hina Syeda, and it is so.

It occurs to me, that everything that we hold dear, from peace to justice to even life on this planet is at risk of being lost now and possibly forever if we cannot bring ourselves to face the truth about truth.

We must tell the truth, like a butterfly!

This article was originally published as: ‘Truth, Justice and Life’.

Courtesy: Counterpunch.org