Truth or Consequence

Life is not a crazy game show, although it might seem like it.

Do you remember that old game show "Truth or Consequence"? The contestant was asked a trivia question which no one in their right mind could answer. Then, when they couldn't answer the question, they would be asked to perform a wacky often self-deprecating stunt. In the end, after being a good sport, the contestant would be rewarded with a reunion with a long-lost relative or some other warm hearted gesture.

Sometimes in this crazy world we live in, we are asked to play the same game. Crafty politicians very often spin their platforms by hurdling facts and figures and "phrase-ology" (as referred to by the character Mayor Shinn in Meredith Willson's The Music Man) towards us at break neck speed. The problem is, very often, the "facts" are lacking in one area, the truth. They pull out all the stops, omitting valid information, molding the facts to meet their own interests and even presenting complete lies as fact. Then we are left with struggling to figure out the right answer. There we sit,  arm-chair contestants on Truth or Consequence trying to answer the million dollar questions of the day.  But, how do we figure out the right answer before we end up being a victim of some ridiculous, mis-represented stunt based on deception?

I, for one am tired of being a good sport and being rewarded with the booby prize.

For the past few years, I have made a conscious effort to try to do some research on the candidates in local, state and federal elections. But, I assure you that this has not always been the case, particularly in local elections where information about the candidates is certainly not on every major t.v. channel and radio station. I may not be alone and would wager that this is the case for many voters that find themselves in the midst of the parenting years. Young first time voters and senior citizens just do a better job at educating themselves on the issues. As parents, we often feel a patriotic duty to get out there and vote, but don't always spend the time fully researching the candidates. Sometimes, we simply vote for a person because they go to church with us or we know them through the soccer association. This can no longer be the case. What we often end up with is elected officials that surprise us in their decision making and don't have the same priorities as we do.

We need to be truth-seekers.

We need to be well informed. We need to ask the tough questions of our leaders, and we need to hold these leaders accountable at the ballot box. We also need the grace of God to assist us in the pursuit of truth. This blog is dedicated to the Splendor of truth.

The title for the blog comes from the encyclical Veritatis Splendor, written by the late Pope John Paul II. In this encyclical, JP II states,

"In particular, the question is asked: do the commandments of God, which are written on the human heart and are part of the Covenant, really have the capacity to clarify the daily decisions of individuals and entire societies?"

"Certainly, in order to have a "good conscience" (1 Tim 1:5), man must seek the truth and must make judgments in accordance with that same truth. As the Apostle Paul says, the conscience must be "confirmed by the Holy Spirit" (cf. Rom 9:1); it must be "clear" (2 Tim 1:3); it must not "practice cunning and tamper with God's word", but "openly state the truth" (cf. 2 Cor 4:2). On the other hand, the Apostle also warns Christians: "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom 12:2)."

"Paul's admonition urges us to be watchful, warning us that in the judgments of our conscience the possibility of error is always present. Conscience is not an infallible judge; it can make mistakes. However, error of conscience can be the result of an invincible ignorance, an ignorance of which the subject is not aware and which he is unable to overcome by himself."

"In the case of the correct conscience, it is a question of the objective truth received by man; in the case of the erroneous conscience, it is a question of what man, mistakenly, subjectively considers to be true."

I warmly welcome all seekers of truth to this blog site, be you Catholic, Protestant or any other religion. Truth has no owner but its self, although men often try to claim it as their own. It is our moral obligation to seek truth in all things, educate ourselves on the issues, and share what we find with our community. If we don't become seekers of truth, then we surely will have to live with the consequence.

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Mary Kidd Flemming is a self-ascribed seeker of truth. She also is the wife of John, her soul-mate and husband of almost eighteen years. John played an integral role in Mary's conversion to Catholicism while they were still in college. This was in spite of the fact that she once commented to the members of the worship committee (to which she was the teen representative for her church), "I simply won't marry a man unless he is Presbyterian."  God the Father ultimately has the last word and always knows best. Together Mary and John are attempting to raise six young truth seekers amidst an extended family of Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians and Episcopalians also seeking truth.

Visit her other blog postings at www.handmaidsofmercy.typepad.com (The Message of Divine Mercy) and www.thecompassrose.typepad.com (Parenting and Family Life Issues). You may also be interested in her husband's website: www.crossroadsfamilycenter.com.