Sunday, March 25, 2012

Is speaking the truth so very difficult??


(A reply to today's article!)

From the article on today’s open page, The Hindu “When I decided to speak the truth…”, I understand that the author is just being satirical and not serious.
However I would like to point out something quite important. Speaking the truth is not as difficult as is portrayed by the article.

It is the way in which a TRUTH is conveyed that creates the side-effects.

For example:
His reply to his wife could have been, “This dish does require some modifications, but I can barely wait to savour your modified dish!”
Reply to his boss could have been, “Sir, I am more concerned about your health than your looks. You look a bit fat and it’s high time you start on changing your lifestyle and you could improve your health a lot better.”

I remember a story I’d heard during my childhood days. 
A certain king enquired an astrologer about his family’s fortune. One version of the story records that the astrologer speaks the blatant truth as shown by his cards. He declares that the king’s brother would die earlier only to find himself being punished by the king! The other version portrays the astrologer as a wise man. He tells that the king would live longer than his siblings and gets amply rewarded.

Speaking the truth is different from voicing your opinions!

Most of the examples quoted in the article were his opinions rather than truth! For example, he felt that his wife’s recipe was not tasty and it was totally his personal preference.  His son might have liked it, maybe!
Truths are those which don’t change versions between persons!
If I were to ask him “Did you write an article for The Hindu today?” He would say yes. His wife and children would also declare it affirmative.
But if I were to ask him “How was the article you wrote for The Hindu?” he might say it was the best of the articles today and his friend might say it was totally nonsense etc…

So assuming that the article was just trying to be humorous, I humbly suggest that it also subtly sends a false message that speaking the truth is extremely difficult and one can’t live that way.
Just think about it. Pls don’t consider me as being abusive or anything of that sort.

3 comments:

  1. Nice logic Abi... The fact is we have become so used to lying to please others, that speaking the truth has become something weird and so unnatural... Arun

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  2. Short and sweet article on one of the complex ideas.. Truth in itself is relative. Those who can express their ideas in a way not to hurt others feelings are the ones who are loved by all.

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