The Truth Hurts

In my attempts to catch up on some old movies, I decided to watch a movie 'Basic'. Admittedly, I had not heard anything about the movie and had no expectations whatsoever. Although I stayed up late, it was rather engrossing in the weaving of the different stories.

Without giving too much away, it was rather interesting to see that the underlying principle which the movie relies on is the truth. To get to the bottom of things and to know the truth about an incident is something which seems to be a common thread amongst us. Of course a number of movies previously had used this tactic: 'Primal Fear', 'The Usual Suspects', 'Courage Under Fire'....the list goes on.

So based on this, it appears that there is something in the majority of us which drives us to uncover the truth about the situation, especially when it is concerning us individually. I want to know why something went wrong, what the cause of it was etc.

But all too often we have heard of the saying that the truth hurts. In some circumstances, is it better to lie (or tell a white lie) rather than speak the truth? When is it acceptable or not acceptable? How does one know that lying isn't hurting someone even more?

Personally, I would want someone to tell me the truth. But does that mean someone should pro-offer the truth to if they felt that it was important to me? I think so - if it is negatively affecting me and they mean well. I would want to know no matter how much it hurt me, so that I know and I am not the only one left in the dark. However, I guess some would argue - hey, you didn't ask, so I am not going to say anything.

Sometimes, it is also difficult to discern truth from very subjective comments - which are not necessarily constructive, but can be misconstrued easily. I guess, that is a matter of the delivery.

However, the next question is whether I would extend others the same courtesy. Would it depend on how they take it? Or would it depend on whether our friendship was jeapardised? I guess, I wouldn't want to lose a friend, or have a friend be angry with me (selfish reason, I know), but in the long run, if it is beneficial to them to know - I guess I would do it (but it would be a real tough one). If they were a close friend, then I would most likely do it. But even then it would be hard. Perhaps this is just me and my obsession with the truth.