Saddam Hussein was telling the truth, we have had confirmed, when he told the U.S. and the U.N. that he no longer had active weapons of mass destruction programs. The Bush administration knew the truth, so they did not ask their intelligence agencies for the truth. Instead, as administration insiders later recounted, the agencies were told to prepare a case for war. In other words, bend the truth, shape the truth, alter the truth, and manufacture truth to suit the reactionary needs of the power elite. The truth did not set Saddam Hussein free, but lies masquerading as truth were set into play, resulting in his termination as leader of Iraq, and in his physical incarceration with no real opportunity for justice or a trial or any end in sight.
Hugo Chavez told the truth. His presidential rule was nearly terminated by a coup orchestrated and financed by the American government behind the scenes. What the Americans accomplished against Aristide in Haiti almost happened in Venezuela, a nation of far greater strategic significance to the U.S. because of its large reserves of petroleum. Chavez angrily and truthfully denounced the U.S. plots against himself. But Condoleeza Rice cares not about the truth. She completely ignores the truth and continues to attempt to undermine the democratically elected President Chavez. Truth and Democracy have not set Hugo Chavez free from the ire and the machinations of the American government.
George Galloway told the truth, that assertions regarding his alleged involvement in corruption of the oil for food program were fraudulent, false lies based on political maneuverings. Galloway told the truth about his long-time opposition to crimes by both Saddam Hussein and by the American and British governments, including the unjust killing of huge numbers of Iraqis and large numbers of American soldiers and a small number of British soldiers.
Galloway boldly entered the chamber of the reactionary Senate committee who conspired against himself. But, the truth is not relevant to Norm Coleman or Carl Levin. According to those senators, why believe the truth when it injures your reputation, when you can manufacture perfectly useful lies? The truth has not set George Galloway free from the crosshairs of the Senate committee.
Truth in government is now a commodity, and it seems to have little political value these days. Truth is never viewed as important or useful strategy for its own sake. Truth is more often an obstacle to government strategizing, and so it must be altered, manufactured, suppressed, silenced, or ignored to make policy objectives successful.
But, for people of conscience, people with ethics and morals, truth remains a gold standard for objectivity in assessing rightness of government policies, behaviors and actions. If truth is not present in government communications, there is ALWAYS a reason, and the discovery of the reason for deviation from truth usually reveals the correct course to take, if one wishes to operate morally and ethically.
In a democracy, truth should set us free from bad government. We find out the truth and vote out the bad guys. Unfortunately, the public is no longer demanding or accepting truth. The American public cherishes the lies it hears from its government, and in so doing, is actually set free from real democracy and from good government. Americans are voting for illusions, and embracing fabrications, and tying their futures to falsehoods. In the process, freedom itself will ultimately be lost; because where there is no truth, ultimately there will be no freedom.
