In his poem "The Black Cottage", Robert Frost declares, "Most of the change we think we see in life is due to truths being in and out of favor". Notionally, truth proves an impressionable force on social norms, whether by its existence or its delinquency. Yet, where should we find "truth"?
Any dozen philosophers, pundits, and theologians contest that truth remains the hallmark cornerstone of justice, law, and religion. Without it, our qualitative judgments prove subjective, discriminatory, and prejudicious to sound reasoning. Such ambiguity would render government, order, and citizenship meaningless. Without a standard (a truth), every measure of currency, tenant of law, and expectation of authority would subjugate humans to the temptable egos of their peers. Truth interweaves the fabric of our society making each thread stronger.
Even computer programmers would be lost without truth. The "boolean expression" captures this sentiment with its If/then/true/false syllogisms. Represented in binary code, we may see this expressed as a "1"(true) or "0"(false). While truth (the behavior) often suffers the liberalizations of truth (the concept), its importance can be found in any avenue of civil society.
As the Dow Jones continues to set record breaking highs on Wall Street and politicians rally behind a tenuous socio-economic recovery in America, our country's cultural foundation lacks its quintessential cornerstone: Truth. In all the seemingly right places to search for truth, we find it missing. Search the public schools and find tired teachers and cozy coaches unwilling to hold our youth accountable to the moral, ethical, and scholastic responsibilities of this world. Attend many of our Christian churches and find that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been diluted or misconstrued. Sit at your family's kitchen table for dinner and realize a lack of substantive discussion.
While some may indicate that increases in social networking, the advancement of technology, and popular media influence has contributed to such rapacious change in American culture, I defer these protests. The Hollywood movie set, the mudslinging-pandering politician, the iTunes "explicit" artist, the vulgar video gamer, and the self-inflating professional sports athlete. These figures don't blossom from a sterile state of nature. Instead, they manifest themselves from our family, educational, and religious structures. Once pillars of our cultural-behavioral norms (truth), their recent brittleness lends itself to a fracturing of the firm social foundation upon which this country has invested heavy freedoms.
Arguably, these are the right places to search for truth: family, school, church. The truth found in these places emphasizes disciplined behavior, impeccable ethics, and the highest sense of morality. In and of itself, truth is a concept. When associated with action, it becomes an expectation, a habit, a norm, a culture. And what happens when truth seems conceptual or unimportant? Concept without action devolves into a semantic liberalization, a frumpish scholastic pursuit, a trite-Socratic half-truth, a numbing and dumbing of existing culture.
America, it's time to get it in gear! People need to find truth in all the right places. Otherwise, what hope should we have that they'll find it in the wrong ones? Our country's social structures (and robust culture) depend on the fortification of its truth epicenters: family, school, and Church. A truth-centered culture doesn't require Aristotelian genius, just ethical courage. Truth-filled culture does not imply that everyone is blameless, just the opposite. From truth comes personal accountability, self-government, and the ultimate sense of citizenship.
Any dozen philosophers, pundits, and theologians contest that truth remains the hallmark cornerstone of justice, law, and religion. Without it, our qualitative judgments prove subjective, discriminatory, and prejudicious to sound reasoning. Such ambiguity would render government, order, and citizenship meaningless. Without a standard (a truth), every measure of currency, tenant of law, and expectation of authority would subjugate humans to the temptable egos of their peers. Truth interweaves the fabric of our society making each thread stronger.
Even computer programmers would be lost without truth. The "boolean expression" captures this sentiment with its If/then/true/false syllogisms. Represented in binary code, we may see this expressed as a "1"(true) or "0"(false). While truth (the behavior) often suffers the liberalizations of truth (the concept), its importance can be found in any avenue of civil society.
As the Dow Jones continues to set record breaking highs on Wall Street and politicians rally behind a tenuous socio-economic recovery in America, our country's cultural foundation lacks its quintessential cornerstone: Truth. In all the seemingly right places to search for truth, we find it missing. Search the public schools and find tired teachers and cozy coaches unwilling to hold our youth accountable to the moral, ethical, and scholastic responsibilities of this world. Attend many of our Christian churches and find that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been diluted or misconstrued. Sit at your family's kitchen table for dinner and realize a lack of substantive discussion.
While some may indicate that increases in social networking, the advancement of technology, and popular media influence has contributed to such rapacious change in American culture, I defer these protests. The Hollywood movie set, the mudslinging-pandering politician, the iTunes "explicit" artist, the vulgar video gamer, and the self-inflating professional sports athlete. These figures don't blossom from a sterile state of nature. Instead, they manifest themselves from our family, educational, and religious structures. Once pillars of our cultural-behavioral norms (truth), their recent brittleness lends itself to a fracturing of the firm social foundation upon which this country has invested heavy freedoms.
Arguably, these are the right places to search for truth: family, school, church. The truth found in these places emphasizes disciplined behavior, impeccable ethics, and the highest sense of morality. In and of itself, truth is a concept. When associated with action, it becomes an expectation, a habit, a norm, a culture. And what happens when truth seems conceptual or unimportant? Concept without action devolves into a semantic liberalization, a frumpish scholastic pursuit, a trite-Socratic half-truth, a numbing and dumbing of existing culture.
America, it's time to get it in gear! People need to find truth in all the right places. Otherwise, what hope should we have that they'll find it in the wrong ones? Our country's social structures (and robust culture) depend on the fortification of its truth epicenters: family, school, and Church. A truth-centered culture doesn't require Aristotelian genius, just ethical courage. Truth-filled culture does not imply that everyone is blameless, just the opposite. From truth comes personal accountability, self-government, and the ultimate sense of citizenship.
