Speaking the Truth

Oedipus was a truthful, legendary man. He was given the plague to protect his people and fight the man who killed their great leader. Little did he know that he was protecting his people from himself. The man he killed was his father, and not knowing this he continued on with his life as if nothing happened. That was until he realized that he married his mother, and that he was the one to murder his father, the great king of the land. Initially Oedipus was astonished that he was the one who he was actually searching for. After long contemplation, he gouged his eyes out and then exiled himself from others. This act demonstrates honoring the truth. Oedipus told his people that he would punish the man who killed their leader and that was what he did. He followed up on what he promised his people he would do. Essentially he spoke the truth and stuck with it, and did not shy away from it but face the truth and learn to accept it.

Truth is a concept that is difficult for mankind to wrap their head around. For each person has their own personal definition of what truth is and what it should be. According to the dictionary truth is a noun that means “sincerity in action, character, and utterance.”  The truth is the opposite of a lie, it is what is real. Sometimes, the truth is difficult to find in today’s society. People like to stretch the truth in order to make them look better. Is this the right thing to do? Well, that answer is differs depending on the person who you ask. For me, I feel that the pure truth is more important than a lie that makes you look good because ultimately you should do what is morally right not what will make you look socially better than others. In today’s society, I find it difficult to find many people who honor their word. You often want to believe that people are telling the truth and honoring their word, but in reality you know that they are not. This disappointment and unsatisfactory let down is a constant. I try my best to always honor my word and tell the truth and I wish my peers would do the same. I find that lately people not telling the truth is becoming more frequent. Not telling the truth can hurt people, but those who are telling these lies do not realize their impact. It is unfortunate that this is what our society has come down to. Will the truth ever become pure again? Will the truth ever over power lies? I hope that these things occur, but until then I keep hoping that the future becomes better than the present.