Truth
/truːθ/
noun
the quality or state of being true.
a fact or belief that is accepted as true.
Even the definitions of truth are hedging bets. A fact is something which can be demonstrated as true and seen as such by more than one individual. A belief is not necessarily a fact but an opinion, and it seems, if it is generally accepted then it is true. That may well be the case.
We could argue that truth is in essence demonstrable facts but it is tricky because some people do have or hold a different form of facts which they call truth.
Palestine is a classic example. Many people put absolute faith in religious writings and consider that because Jews had a tribal kingdom in Palestine thousands of years ago, they have a right to claim it today. That is their truth.
This is where international norms of law and justice are so important and where civilised principles need to be applied to establish a common truth. That is easier said than done particularly where religion is involved because religion is often not just about belief, it is often about fervent, passionate, fearful, fanatical belief where facts are just too hard and even more inconvenient.
Some might argue that morally right has religious connotations, but in fact it is just another word for JUST – you act in a way that you or people in general consider to be right, honest, or acceptable. No-one is in any doubt that being fair is the best way to be. So, being Just, is being fair. Everyone wants that but not everyone wants it for everyone. And that is where things go terribly wrong.
Humans have evolved in a slow struggle to establish norms of truth which apply equally to everyone. Would most people prefer to live in a Just world, a world where what is morally right and fair is upheld and defended? I think they would. Why would they not?
It is a fact and it is true that Israel has military control over all of Palestine and denies its people justice, freedom, and human and civil rights. That is wrong. It can never be justified because the fact of the matter and the truth of the matter say it is just wrong because it is unjust. This is why holding to principles of facts and truth is so important and applying them to everyone is even more important because unless we do that, we are being unjust.
And that is why humans have tried over millennia to develop principles which will allow decisions to be made whether truth is fact or belief, or both. More important than a fact or belief is the impact it has on who we are as humans and how our society functions. More important questions are: Is it just? Is it fair? Is it healthy? Is it compassionate? Is it reasonable? Is it wise? Would I like to be treated like that?
It is in asking such questions and formulating principles which defend them that we have evolved from primitive brutality and barbarism on many counts. Not all of course and humans, particularly in war remain as brutally and barbarically primitive as they have ever been. Given a chance too many will commit the sorts of atrocities done in the past. Would the Israelis line the roads with the crucified bodies of Palestinians as Romans did in the past? Probably not but they would certainly construct variations on those themes as would many humans, particularly when at war.
Is that a fact, we may ask, that the Israelis have ignored the rules of war? There is solid evidence that they have although as some General once said, once war starts all plans go out of the window and unless a military is well trained and well governed, so too do the rules of war. And for Israel, there has never been a time without war. The State was founded in genocidal war, has functioned through genocidal war and the attack on the Gaza prison is simply more of the same war.
We then need to ask ourselves, is it a fact that abiding by rules of war is worthwhile? Most people would agree that it is and targeting civilians, children, the old, the sick, the crippled, the unarmed, the powerless should, in any civilised society be condemned by any rules of war. It is also a fact that there are those who do not believe in rules of war and who take the view that destroying what is deemed to be enemy, by any means possible, is all that matters. That is the might is right approach which has been the way of things with humans for millennia.
We have done might is right, slaughter them all, so well recorded in Judaic and Christian religious writings, and most humans decided there were better ways to be.
Is it a truth that the more we seek to live in the light of our humanity, the better place this world would be? Some might try to deny that but any psychological or anthropological study of human nature and relationships would say that was true. And, because it is true, it has been the goal of humanity for centuries.
Which is why, the truth of truth must be sourced in some civilised principles which can be established as facts and accepted as beliefs. Without being true to truth, we are indeed lost, because only with truth can we humans find common ground and secure agreement which connects us and allows the pursuit of a common goal – A better world. Without the support of civilised just principles, not just in war but in life, we become bestial, sadistic, cruel, and evil and perhaps that is the lesson Zionist Israel brings to the world – What not to be and knowing why.
Roslyn Ross
Roslyn Ross is a former journalist and editor, who has been writing poetry, fiction and non-fiction for many years.
Born in Adelaide, South Australia, she is now settled in the Adelaide Hills. She has spent much of her time living overseas, including Belgium; India; Angola; South Africa; Zambia; ,Canada; United Kingdom and Malawi. She has also spent extended periods in Russia, Portugal and the United States, as well as living across Australia.
She had had poetry published in a number of anthologies, mainly in the US, but also in When Anzac Day Comes Around, 100 Years from Gallipoli Poetry Project, edited by Graeme Lindsay.
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