#truth #falsehoods #DisturbingImages #opinions #facts
Sometimes, one has to see or hear the worst to learn how bad things happen.
An ad for diabetes awareness shows three stages: illness, disability and death. The narrator says, when death is shown, “Too much? That’s the point.”
In the true-story movie “Till,” currently showing in theaters, Emmett Till’s mother insists that her son’s dead body be shown in its entirety after his lynching, to illustrate what those who lynched him in Mississippi did to him before they killed him.
Some TV news clips may be preceded by the broadcaster telling the audience something like: the images you are about to see may be disturbing. Some even advise you to take young children out of the room before viewing. Some even spell out what you are about to see, to allow the viewers to decide whether to watch.
The main point is that sometimes, seeing things we’d rather not look at is necessary to know the true story, instead of some sanitized or varnished view of a story.
So, why is that? Can’t one just let his or her imagination determine how bad something looks? Often, leaving things to one’s imagination creates a vacuum, a place in which falsehoods can reside masquerading as truths.
Not showing EVERYTHING, no matter how bad or disgusting, can be a form of cover-up.
The images may be disturbing, but often, we need to be disturbed. Certainly, there are things that are not suitable for young children to see. They need to mature before being acquainted with some of the nastiness of life.
A good rule of thumb might be: if the activities of humans create the disturbing images, and the images are not altered for extra drama, they probably should be shown.
If people are doing bad things to other people, they need to be shown.
In the hardened modern world, disturbing images don’t always alter opinions. Even the most verified information can be called false, even if it’s true, because certain people want others to think it is false.
The same actually goes for falsehoods. If someone wants people to think something that is false is true, he or she can keep showing or saying it, and, eventually, some will indeed think it is true. But, repeating something false never makes it true.
We can’t always persuade, but if truth is on one’s side, keep showing or saying it.
Truth can not only be disturbing, it can be inconvenient, to borrow from former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.
But, if truth is on one’s side, timing should be irrelevant. Ramifications should not be the primary consideration, even though, in some cases, thought should be given to those ramifications.
Of course, in political campaigns, timing is everything. But, again, in our hardened, opinionated world, timing matters less and less.
When in doubt, if one possesses the truth, it’s better to say it or show it when one knows it – at least in important matters. Perhaps, in trivial matters, things might be better left unsaid, or not shown.
The truth may not always set one free. But, more often than not, truth is always better said or shown, rather than concealed.
Peter