Telling the truth sets a man free
Thinking about the true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy
Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” We are not talking about that truth today.
No, one of my contemporaries was quoted in an interview recently about how freeing it is to tell the truth.
[Quoting Youtube's auto transcript with some light editing for clarity.]
"The most important experience in the life of a man is humiliation and failure. . . I realized how wrong I was [about the Iraq War] and I made the decision that I had to admit it. And I did admit it in December of 2003 in a New York Times interview. I'll never forget it. . . I got a text or an email from one of my former editors . . . who was like 'this is disgraceful.' And I remember thinking I'm making a permanent break with my old life now because people won't accept this. . .
"I do think the beginning of all wisdom is acknowledging just how screwed up you are. That's the basis of Christianity but it's also the basis again of temporal, human wisdom. It's like 'I'm the problem. I screwed it up. I am not God.' If you start here, you're much more likely to wind up at the truth. So I just like made a decision and it's hardened over the years and now it's just that iron clad. I'm not lying. I am just not gonna lie, you know. . .
"To just decide 'I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna go along with these lies' is the most liberating thing you can do, whether it leads to professional success or failure, it doesn't matter. It enhances you as a person that makes you stronger every time you tell the truth, you become stronger. You feel this power coming into you. By contrast, every time you lie, you get smaller and weaker and more afraid. . .
"It's been this amazing and beautiful experience for me, to be in the face of these lies and feel like, ‘I don't have to go along with this at all’ and be like, 'are you gonna fire me? Okay, fine, go ahead. I'm still not lying.' 'Are you gonna arrest me? Go ahead. I am not lying, period.' “
I am happy for you, brother! What a breath of fresh air.
This part of the conversation starts at 16:11. The quote starts at 19:50 and ends at 23:56. [And fair warning for folks who believe that Russia blew up the Nordstream Pipeline; or that Tucker Carlson shills for Putin; or that natural immunity for Covid is unattainable. Carlson uses these as examples of lies that he won’t go along with any more.]
And if you are politically liberal and a reader of this blog: stick with me! I am not politically doctrinaire but only seeking that which is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. This week it is Tucker Carlson. It could have just as easily been Naomi Wolf and her loveliness.
UPDATE 1: Tucker was let go today by Fox News. The truth won out and Tucker is free. Reportedly, he has no non-compete agreement or non-disclosure agreement. Personally, I find that hard to believe. I don’t know that Fox can legally pay him without receiving services. (Maybe that was in his contract.)
As to where he goes next, I will update this again with more information as it becomes available. In the interview above, he talks about how much he enjoys truth-seekers who came from the left, like Glenn Greenwald and Matt Taibbi. I won’t be surprised if it is something centrist, but not of the Clinton variety but of the “Crunchy Con” variety. [Such as myself!]
UPDATE 2: Carlson put out a cheery update at his usual 8:00 p.m US Eastern Time. In it, he said, “There is no reason to give the manipulators any power over your peace of mind. Stay connected to the truth in things and accept things as they are, not as we would wish them to be. . . .There is great freedom in speaking the truth of the thing. The natural laws cannot be defeated by the schemes of men…. The Truth Has No Agenda and is very easy to notice. Thus, the final and larger point, trust your instincts. You know the truth of the thing when you see, hear and feel it.” At this moment, 13.6 million people have watched this brief Tucker Carlson video on Twitter, as per https://theconservativetreehouse.com/
It's really remarkable that I encountered this article and video now. I've been working on an essay about being wrong about Big Things, and what I think may be a good way to come back from that.
Anyway, thanks for this, Jeff. I don't think I would've come upon it otherwise.
Andrew Tate (btw the guy was a boxer! so much wisdom here): " Fatigue makes cowards of us all. " fighting defense is brutal. even if you are to succeed at the defensive tactic, it leaves you dragged and a bit weaker than you were before that battle. fighting on the offense, every success encourages and emboldens you and gives you more energy. the key to winning any war is to be on the offense, not the defense.
this is why offense is the best defense :) this is the same what is said above!
Telling the Truth is the offense to the lies. Jesus said do not fight the evil, but expose the lies. So focus stays on the Truth all the time, not evil, so we do not get fatigued!
brilliant :)