By Philip Suzara
Pondering… as I sit here at the edge of my mythical life pond.
One can see many things happening at the edge of life’s pond, as in any pond. Decisions are made there, life changing decisions, defining moments… to get in the pond, or not. The pond is encircled by its edges in different forms and kind: straight, jagged, rough, rocks, pebbles, sand, soil, or mud. Very much like people. No matter the differences we have, we all belong there… around the life pond, inside, outside, at the edge, but there.
Have you ever noticed the preponderance and prevalence of fake news being utilized in our country as a communications tool these days?
I have noticed these types of questionable information insidiously creeping and penetrating cyber platforms which were either created way earlier or chosen to carry such material of disinformation and/or media manipulation.
True lies seems like an oxymoron, a figure of speech and a creative approach to language that plays with meaning and the use of words in a non-literal sense. An oxymoron combines opposing or contradictory words with different definitions to create a new word with its very own meaning.
But, true lies are not as innocent as they present themselves to be; they are insidious, malicious, and definitely vicious – criminal even. A true lie has to be, and will be, peddled and embraced several times by its purveyor; he has to transform a certain lie into a “truth” – his lie has to be a truth to him.
Dissecting the true lie, one has to go through its anatomy to get to the bottom of it – of how it gets to be what it is. One starts with a lie that has to be told/sold, this lie that has to be passed on to others for whatever purpose that it will, or has to serve. It will always have to seem to be true… plausible. They are persuasive arguments that were intentionally created to deceive. You cannot dissect a lie without going through the inner wrestling inside the heart and mind of its purveyor – the liar. Knowing full well that a lie must be told, the liar has to come to terms with the particular lie that has to be passed on; the liar has to sell the lie to himself/herself, believe in the lie intellectually and emotionally, and embrace it both ways, too. Going through this process enables the liar to seem convincing and sincere thereby giving the green light and allowing the transmission of a true lie. The liar has now prepared the transformation of a lie into a “gospel truth” – a true lie. The liar is now ready to set out to the “world” and peddle the true lies, like sowing seeds on a chosen field with unsuspecting, undiscerning audiences – they fall on fertile ground when the audiences are not discriminating, not discerning, and, definitely, not critical thinkers – that lie flourishes and gets further propagated.
I have been hammering about truths and lies that come in many forms in our midst in most of my articles. I dare say that never have lies been so openly told that it has reached a level where it has sown confusion in our known truths – we have started to doubt the truths we have so long known. May I also add that its prevalence is reaching a stage where it has gone almost as pervasive as the “Covid veerus”, but this time, assaulting even our basic and collective moral values, our own accepted notions of right and wrong.
With the lies being peddled for a long while now about Martial Law being the golden age in our history, my eyes grow really wide, at once in shock and amusement; the statement negates and trivializes all that we, the survivors and victims, have been though. While some of the perpetrators may still be seen roaming and strutting around after reinventing themselves to slither their way back to the welcoming arms of their sinister enablers.
The family of the erstwhile despot came back to the country in an effort to regain their lost power and dominion over their former “kingdom and territory”, like a thief in the night, their custodian even caused the burial of the despot in the hallowed grounds reserved for heroes. His progeny even has the gall to run for the highest public office in the country, deflecting all accusations against his family for perpetuating Martial Law, and even disavowing participation thereof.
I am reminded of this upbeat song popularized by singers Shaggy and Rik Rok in the year 2000, it is about being caught red handed but denying everything straight faced and with all “honesty”. No, it wasn’t me!
The song is actually long, so I will just write excerpts from it, enough to capture its meaning. I encourage you, dear readers, to read the lyrics and listen to the song – it’s a nice one, I meant the beat.
It Wasn’t Me
“Yo! (Open up, man) What do you want, man? (My girl just caught me) You let her catch you? (I don't know how I let this happen) With who? (The girl next door, you know) Man (I don't know what to do) Say it wasn't you (Alright)
Honey came in and she caught me red-handed Creeping with the girl next door Picture this, we were both butt-naked Banging on the bathroom floor How could I forget that I had Given her an extra key All this time she was standing there She never took her eyes off me
How you can give your woman access to your villa? Trespass and a-witness while you cling to your pillow You better watch your back before she turn into a killer Let's review the situation that you caught up in a To be a true player you have to know how to play If she stay a night, convince her stay a day Never admit to a word when she say And if she claim, ah, you tell her, "Baby, no way"
But she caught me on the counter (It wasn't me) Saw me bangin' on the sofa (It wasn't me) I even had her in the shower (It wasn't me) She even caught me on camera (It wasn't me) She saw the marks on my shoulder (It wasn't me) Heard the words that I told her (It wasn't me) Heard the scream get louder (It wasn't me) She stayed until it was over”
Deny to death and tell them your true lies!
I have been rallying friends and others to call out a lie or any infraction when they sense one – to nip it in the bud and censure its perpetrator/s. We should all be duty bound to this moral crusade, your effort could mean the preservation of our society and our nation.
Pondering, as I sit here at the edge of life’s pond.
Philip Suzara
Creature of God. Child of the Universe. Global Citizen. Lover of Life. Freedom Fighter. Agent of Change. Lone Wolf. Occasional Consultant for Strategic Communications.
