I've Made My Bed

By Terry Langton

My sun introduced me to a word yesterday, unauthentic.   It gave me pause to wonder about the use of this word.   I have lied and been lied to and delude myself into thinking that I want the truth.   Ouch, the truth is the scariest of all words and needs a caveat associated with it.   The fabric of our lives is so enmeshed with the lie that in many cases it is the fabric.   To separate it would be an exercise in futility. Perhaps he was not referring to a statement of untruth but merely ways of not being real.   He is one of the most brutally honest guy's I know, so I give him the benefit of the doubt, realizing it is not his intention to deceive.   Is intent the most important factor in defining a lie?   We live in an age that supposedly reveres morality.   Our President is reported to have been swept into the White House by the moral majority.   The White House and for that matter all of the major networks, employ spin doctors.   These experts of language use ambiguity to make the unpalatable seem tasty and rancid delicious.   Do we want the truth?    How do we define the word?   My dictionary defines the truth as conformity to fact.   Truthful is defined as corresponding to reality. Hmmmm, reality for each of us is different, so where does truthful lie?   Seriously now, I am not sure if he said unauthentic or inauthentic.   If you make a mistake is that a lie.   If I perpetuate someone else's lie am I in fact lying?   I know the answer to many of these questions but I pose them to you because I want to know what you think.   Is it OK to lie in your reality?   Hey, pardon me; can you say it's OK to deceive?   The answer to this question is simply that we make choices to deceive others by the words we use.   We rationalize or we tell ourselves that it is necessary to give others a false impression.   I think that this is what my son, the sun was referring to.   He did not want to give a false impression but I deceive others.   I must say that I also tell lies.   Why point a finger at George W Bush to make my putrid lie more palatable.   It is in the examination of our words that we can truly discover our reality.   I do know now that if I was truly an authentic guy, I would be worthy of trust and that is what this is really about.   Have we opened another can of worms?   I need feel as if I can trust people in my life.   Can I be trusted?   To many people this question could be posed as, can I be believed.   Will the jury buy my testimony or will my wife believe my excuse?   Has the truth taken a vacation or is it passé in our brave new world.   I want to know what people think and it really matters to me.   I try not to be jaded and I try to be objective about my life in the scheme of society or for that matter my community.   I've made my bed and now I am going to lie in it.