Week 17: Truth

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

Buddha

Currently, I feel like I live in three worlds. World 1: with my family. World 2: at school. World 3: in the news media. World 1 and 2 are very familiar to me; I’ve always lived in them, but world 3 is new. I’ve consistently kept up with current events. It’s an interest of mine and, as a World Studies teacher, it’s part of my job. However, I don’t think it consumed enough of my thoughts to be considered its own “world.” It simply lived in the other two. However, since I went to the inauguration, it has carved out its own “world” in my consciousness.    

My guess is that I’m not alone in this. What’s happening in our country right now is abnormal. We have a president with no political experience, and his first 17 weeks have played out rather dramatically. It’s kind of like watching a train wreck that we can’t look away from. It seems like every time we try to look away another car careens off the tracks, luring us back in.  

I noticed a common thread in my three worlds this week. Truth. This week I seemed to be chasing the truth everywhere I went. I spent so much time and effort this week looking for the truth that I had to take a step back and ask myself, “why is this so complicated?” It’s crazy when you think about it: The truth is not complicated. Something either happened or it didn’t. However, us humans have really figured out a way to mess it up. It goes all the way back to Adam and Eve. God’s like, “Hey, what happen here?” Adam and Eve blamed each other, and the human race has been lying ever since to cover up that first lie.

World 1: Home. The bullying situation at Maddie’s school resurfaced, and this time things were messy. Maddie now knows what it means to be a bully and a bystander, but navigating this with her friend group has not been easy, as I warned her a few weeks ago. She swears that she is not bullying or bystanding, but the teacher still sees the problem within the group. The teacher can’t pinpoint Maddie’s role, but she just knows that kids are still upset at school. Getting to the bottom of what is going on with a bunch of 8 year olds is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

World 2: School. As you can imagine high school teachers spend much of their life searching for the truth. Students rarely admit when they’ve made mistakes, which makes sense because teeenagers know everything, so how can they make mistakes? Here’s the shortlist for this week: one kid claimed his mouth and lips were moving but he wasn’t talking. Another had a doctor’s appointment miraculously scheduled right before an assessment. Lastly, one got caught with his phone but somehow claims he didn’t have a phone. What? As a high school teacher you can go around-and-around all day with this kind of stuff and never get anywhere.

World 3: News Media. You see where this is going. Let’s see, what happened this week? On Monday, Trump met with some Russians, and the media reported that he leaked “highly classified information.” The White House said this was “false.” On Tuesday, James Comey, the recently deposed FBI director said the president asked him to “let go” an investigation into ties between Russia and Michael Flynn, the also recently deposed National Security Advisor. Trump, of course, denies these claims. Wednesday… OK, let’s stop. You get the idea. I’ll let the president have the last word about world 3:

    

By the time I got to Friday, I was exhausted. I searched for the truth all week in all three of my worlds, and I came up empty. What a waste of time and effort!

I started writing this post Saturday, but I didn’t get back to it until Sunday. I’m glad I didn’t because I went to Mass Sunday (Catholic speak for church service) and the Gospel spoke to me. Now don’t freak out; I’m not going crazy religious on this blog. It was just interesting how the quote I picked from Buddha to start the post Saturday was corroborated by words from Jesus on Sunday. Jesus talked about a “spirit of truth” that comes from the Father. Now, I am no theologian, but my take away was that there is an absolute truth, and that it will be revealed and that we should just relax. I may be way off, but I’m going with it.

Buddha says the truth can’t be “long hidden” and Jesus says there is a “spirit of truth”. These words from these two really smart and really holy guys make me feel better. I don’t think we should give up searching for the truth. I don’t think that’s the message. I should stay vigilant in working with Maddie to being honest about what’s going on at school. I should always work with students and hold them accountable when they are not willing to admit their mistakes. We cannot let our politicians or the media get away with spreading falsehoods. However, I think Buddha and Jesus are telling us to keep these things in perspective. Two of the greatest thinkers in the history of the world are telling us to relax and be patient. Let’s take their advice… There is a “spirit of truth” and it won’t be “long hidden.”         

So, we have two things for homework this week. First, tell the truth. Remember Adam and Eve! One little lie can turn into so much more. Second, be steadfast in your search for the truth, but don’t let it consume you like it did me this week. Remember, there is a “spirit of truth” and it won’t be “long hidden.”