Truth and Freedom

                The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is the simple fact that our freedom depends on our government telling us the truth.  We are capable of governing ourselves and making good decisions only when we know the true facts.  When we know the truth, we can make the choices that will keep us free.

                Jesus Christ taught the importance of truth to freedom when He made this simple but true statement:  “And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

                The Obama Administration has done nothing but lie to us.  We can name any scandal under this administration and find the lies they have told.  After terrorists attacked an American consulate in Libya and killed our ambassador and three other Americans, we were told for two weeks that the attack was a spontaneous reaction to a video about Islamism.  When the IRS targeted conservative groups prior to the 2012 election, we were told that it was some rogue employees in Philadelphia.  Remember when the jobs numbers miraculously improved and unemployment dipped below 8% about a month before the 2012 election?  We now know the numbers were fabricated.  Recently Barack Obama said in a telephone conference that “100 million Americans had signed up at Healthcare.gov in the first month.”  We know this is an outright lie because we have been told by other sources that fewer than thirty thousand signed up.  Obama apparently says whatever he wants to say – and gets away with it.

                The administration does not just lie to us.  They change the meaning of words, rules of procedure, and laws in order to take freedom from us.  For instance, the term “ObamaCare” has become poison; therefore, the health care reform is no longer referred to by the Obama Administration as “ObamaCare” and the term “Affordable Care Act” is now used.  The administration is now claiming that the health insurance “cancellation notices” sent to millions of Americans in recent weeks were not statements of cancellation but were “renewals with improvements.”

                One of the best statements I have ever read about truth and freedom was written by Glenn Beck entitled “Lies Cause Great Pain.”  “That’s why we put such an emphasis on truth, because we know lying leads to another lie and another lie, and it all causes pain, pain to the person on the receiving end and ultimately sooner or later even greater pain to the one dishing out the lies and everyone along the line.  But what defeats lie?  Truth, the truth sets you free.  It’s the most powerful weapon you have.  Empower the truth.

                “Play your cards face up on the table and you’ll be able to stand with courage.  Keep things hidden, and you will cower in constant fear of being exposed.  … Lies hold us hostage.  Lies keep us enslaved.  Lies tear us apart.”

                Beck wrote about two different Americans destroyed by lies.  One of those people was a woman known as Tokyo Rose, a Japanese-American caught in Japan by World War II.  She was actually a patriot, but the media and our government painted her as a traitor.  She was imprisoned for several years, and her life was ruined.  It is an interesting story.

                Jack Welch’s reputation was destroyed more recently.  When Jack saw the unemployment figures that came out just before the 2012 election, he tweeted:  “Unbelievable jobs numbers… these Chicago guys will do anything … can’t debate so change numbers.”  He did not “see anything in the economy that says these surges are true.”  The figures were not true, but Jack was called “a crazy old man, an unemployment rate truther, an insane crabby lesbian,” and he was labeled “Conspiracy Jack.”  Jack was once one of the most respected businessmen in America, but his reputation was destroyed by lies.  This is another interesting story for Americans to read. 

                How do we survive in a society of lies?  We tell the truth.  Good will defeat evil in the long run.  We need to choose the right path and do the right thing – and let the chips fall where they may.  Now is the time when we must choose truth over lies because only truth will bring freedom.