Truth Bombs and F-Bombs: How To Deal With Opposers Of Truth In A Fake World

Being a truth detective comes with realizing not everyone will be happy about it

We live in a fake world.

A world where lies have become the truth. And when those lies get exposed, the liars double-down on their original lies when confronted with uncomfortable questions by engaging in…you guessed it…more lies.

Call it a survival instinct if you will.

I can understand it to a degree. It’s not as if I’ve never been dishonest about anything.

But as the years go on, I value the idea of truthfulness even more. Except when confronted with those very common and extremely dangerous questions from my spouse.

“Is it okay if my parents come stay with us for a few weeks?”

“Do I look like my mother?”

“Do these jeans make me look fat?”

No, no, and not at all honey.

By the way — speaking to the guys here specifically — if you do get these types of questions, I have some simple advice. Answer as I did, then move on. Quickly. Before she asks if you are lying, putting you in a position to defend your lie. In our world, you might even be called fake, by not keeping it real with her.

Speaking of real…

The estate of the late legendary comedian and actor George Carlin sued the media company behind a fake hourlong comedy special that purportedly uses artificial intelligence to recreate the late standup comic’s style and material.

Welcome to our angry, new, disillusioned, and distorted reality.

A world where truth is not valued. Where truth is increasingly exposing lies and falsehoods, putting dents in the once shiny armor of reputations of those who are upholding false beliefs, practices, and images.

Those who are confronted with the truth are not happy about it.

The lies were normalized for so long that they shrug their shoulders at whether they felt it was important to engage in truth and reality.

• Embellishing your resume or accomplishments in a book? No big deal.
• Nicki Minaj being accused of having plastic enhancement surgery on her booty? Indirect denials aligned with passive-aggressive reactions. For years. Until she admitted she did have surgery.
• Television editors cutting out portions of original interviews — after the fact — where athletes take a few seconds to acknowledge their faith and give thanks to GOD (what are these television execs afraid of?).
• Smugly denying accusations of false advertising with deceptive marketing and unethical practices while defrauding investors? Elizabeth Anne Holmes, the American biotechnology entrepreneur who was convicted of fraud in connection to her blood-testing company, Theranos, comes to mind.

It can be exhausting. It can be uncomfortable.

It’s the explosion of lies, fake news, fake people, fake programming. But it’s not really so much about the lies that is the dangerous part of this whole thing.

It’s about the attitudes of the liars once they get confronted about their lies.

Why the game of truth is dangerous

Unfortunately, many of us look to others to provide us with the information or image we are seeking, accustomed to being led in the right direction. But good and accurate information can be hard to come by.

In fact, misinformation — or fake news — is the number one risk facing society over the next two years, according to the World Economic Forum. Life is being treated like a game of truth or dare. But the game of truth is a serious matter, from my perspective.

“A lie gets halfway around the world before it has a chance to get its pants on” — Winston Churchill)

When you have a public that does not prioritize critical thinking, filtering out information and asking basic questions, you tend to have a misinformed public.

Sadly, a misinformed public leads to situations where bad decisions can be made and rarely questioned, sometimes with bad outcomes. Relationships cannot blossom and are sometimes destroyed.

Even worse, truth is questioned as to whether it really exists or not.

Unfortunately, the line between true and false is becoming blurred. People now seem to be persuaded more by emotion and personal belief than by truth and facts.

Some may even take the position of the truth being old-fashioned. Being old-fashioned—to me anyway—brings a warm and fuzzy feeling usually, like being around your grandmother. But the truth does not always feel so warm and fuzzy to those who do not prioritize it.

The danger in that?

You have a society that takes focus off the truth and places it elsewhere, manifesting itself through negative behavior and irrational reactions when confronted with it.

The manifestation of the divisiveness of truth

Mark Twain said it best: Truth is stranger than fiction.

“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.” — Mark Twain

Could it be that the truth is not subjective, and therefore not as interesting or important to some when it comes to their image or story they are trying to sell?

Whatever the case, those who are confronted with the truth, or asked hard questions about the truth, are responding to those inquiries by going on the offensive.

Anger and slander are common reactions to those seeking the truth.

Perhaps due to the possibility of losing status or position or being faced with a false reputation, individuals with emotionally reactive traits are resorting to name-calling while avoiding the real issue.

Weaponized pettiness rules the day.

With faces straighter than the guards at the Tower of London, liars today will double-down on their dishonesty while not blinking an eye, spewing venom at their attackers as if they stole something from them or made a crude joke about their mother.

• There is American sports television personality Stephen A. Smith reacting badly to those questioning facts in his recent book memoir. His response to his most notable critic — journalist and podcaster Jason Whitlock — is to go on several embarrassing profanity-laced tirades and personal attacks.
• Donald Trump picking meaningless fights and consistently laying verbal grenades at his critics. Pick one. There are too many to count.
• Former political rising Democratic star and New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo lashing out at Assemblyman Ron Kim, both publicly and in a private phone call, over Kim’s accusations of Cuomo’s handling of nursing home deaths during the pandemic. Cuomo’s reaction was, dare I say, misguided and lacking discipline, especially since he was undergoing accusations of sexual harassment from multiple women accusers, of which he was recently found guilty.

Whether right or wrong on the issues their critics want them to answer for, at the very least, Smith, Trump, Cuomo, and others like them, have sadly demonstrated unprofessionalism and a severe lack of restraint about the harmful effects of their alleged actions, and reactions.

Ways to deal with attacks on truth

In this age of truth-telling, it might be wise to not respond in kind to those who lash out at you for accusing them of lying or engaging in improper conduct.

Consider the following steps to reduce conflict, and better process your emotions while maintaining dignity under fire:

Have empathy

Learn to understand what is motivating others to react negatively to your critiques and questions, trying to see things from their viewpoint, listening carefully to discern their real concerns before responding.

Speak with mildness

Try to avoid arguing and engaging in verbal conflict, even if you feel hurt by someone’s speech and reactions. By choosing our words carefully, even embarrassing, or uncomfortable situations can be tactfully resolved without resorting to anger and a revengeful attitude. If not successful, well then, at least you tried.

Plan ahead

Think of situations that might lead to conflict and determine how to handle them. If I knew I was going to potentially visit a family member or go into a workplace meeting that might have opposers lying in wait who may have been offended by something I said or did, I would prepare topics ahead of time to discuss.

That way, I could keep the conversation friendly and focused, while also setting a time limit mentally to avoid going down a rabbit hole that can lead to a heated discussion.

Be a truth detective while aware of the consequences

Yes, speaking the truth can often leave a trail of angry people in your rear view, dusting up among them a path of dishonesty and an unwillingness to at least consider an alternate point of view. This can often result in trying to discredit the truth teller with irrelevant facts, slander, and name calling.

Unfortunately, the fake world we live in often requires some to feel pressured to keep up with their lies, responding angrily to any counterculture critics while fearful of being exposed.

Understand the level of inauthentic behavior in our culture, and how others may angrily react towards your versions of the truth and criticism.

It can be helpful to have a strategy to respond with empathy, tolerance, and patience by using your power of reason rather than relying on your emotions.

There is no doubt in mind that George Carlin, “the dean of counterculture comedians,” would have your back.