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Truth Matters! We expect national politicians to do everything they can to make their opponents look bad. That’s just the way it is. They translate anything that might reflect upon their adversaries in the worst way possible. They go so far as straight out lying, and they continue their lies even when proven false. They call their opponents names. Professional propagandists hammer out their twisted ideas over and over, often vehemently, to make them seem real. Legions of supporters loyally repeat these lies. This has been going on so long that we seem to believe that politics gives us permission to act uncivilly and embrace what is false. Chivalry does not condone this. Indeed, the 4th Trust plainly says: “I will speak the truth at all times, and forever keep my word.” The 9th Trust says: “I will abhor scandals and gossip – neither partake nor delight in them.” Backing these up. the 2nd Trust lays the personal groundwork to it all: “I will place character above riches, and concern for others above personal wealth.” The basis for these Trusts goes back even further. The 9th Commandment of the Judeo-Christian Bible tells us this: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” None of this is trivial. We all know that it is wrong to lie – especially on such a grand scale and for issues so important. It is certainly dishonorable. Some would call it a mortal sin worthy of eternal punishment. It is a verbal poison to our elements of democracy, and weakens the sanity of everything that flows from it. It invites corruption. Our culture and even our religious beliefs are not immune, and we see this everywhere. Chivalry is not just a call for truth; it is a call for returning to the honest discourse of a civilized society that promotes human progression. It is an ethical path to virtue upon which a virtuous nation can thrive. This will not happen on its own. We, the people, as individuals, must make a moral decision to embrace the best parts of our heritage dating back thousands of years. We have faced and experienced the distractions of greed and ego. If we are honest, we have found them wanting. Deep inside us we long for what is true and authentic, and resounding to the conscience of human nature. This places us, you and me, in a unique position in all of recorded history. And the fate of humanity’s future awaits our decision. Despite a collective lack of diligence, we know what fails us. We know and do it anyway. We also know the strong, inner longing for a better world, the benefits of truth and civility, the love that feeds humanity versus the selfishness that steals away from it. And we know that a failure to return to a higher moral impetus will eventually deliver our complete ruin.
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