Truth

Truth and the Reality Formed by It

Can something that is true to one person be true to another? Does a universal truth have to be agreed upon by everyone? While searching for the meaning of truth, we stubble upon many obstacles that can leave us lost in search for the answers. Reality is what forms ones truth. However, can truth also create reality? The answer is yes. In my last paper, I tried to give my audience a feeling of what reality is, defining it as a world created by the being through the use of the human senses, past experiences, and language. Now I believe that in order to properly use our senses, rely on our past experiences, and use our language to ultimately form our reality, we need truth to set the table for us. For example, by observing a camp fire we notice that the fire burns at high temperatures. If we move our hand towards it we can feel the heat. We can hear the wood crackle, and we can also see the flames dance. Our language helps us form the physical truth about the camp fire. Without words to characterize the physical appearance of the fire, we would not be able to understand it. Our language also helps us identify the fire through our senses and even rely on past experiences to form truths about the present.

Up until now, I have been describing truth as a method of defining our physical reality. However, another question of truth still exists, the question of the absolute truth and why we are put here on this planet. Is it to "make a difference," and if so what are we trying to change, or is the answer as simple as, "we are put on this planet to help other people," in many cases, that might just be the correct answer. If we look at it from a different perspective we can see how that can make sense. We spend our entire adult lives working hard in order to support other people. For example, taking care of our family, however it goes much deeper than that. When we work, we do a job in order to feed the needs of other people. In return for our hard work, people do a job in order to feed our needs creating a universal balance. People who are unemployed or homeless actually contribute to society by allowing other, more qualified people to have the jobs they either lost, or could never obtain. This idea of truth may not sound all that great. Working a lifetime just to fill the needs of other people isn't exactly a dream job for most people, but what other options do we have? In most cases, people can feel trapped in their own world, finding no way out, they decide to end their misery and take a few people out as well. That is the idea of truth that they obtain.

On April 16, 2007 a tragedy had struck Virginia Tech. Seung-Hui Cho, a senior majoring English at Virginia Tech, shot and killed 32 people before committing suicide. Throughout his life Cho had been rejected. Considered an outsider he had even been accused of stalking two women. His idea of the truth was so different from others that one of his professors even suggested him to take counseling. The constant rejection by his peers, and added on pressure from his professors created Cho's truth. Ultimately his truth was not worth living, so he decided to take out the people who caused his truth and decided to put an end to his own life causing one of the most terrorizing events in modern history.

Terrorism is a scary truth. September 11, 2001 may be one of the scariest of them all. This date caused an attack so drastic, that it created a religious and political war that still goes on today. It is an interesting battle. Through the eyes of the Islamic leaders, America was the evil one. However, through the eyes of the Americans it was vise versa. What is even more interesting is how the American government was able to condition the public and ignore the fact that Saddam Hussein did not cause the attack, yet nevertheless he was the one America was after. Americans were brainwashed, confused, and distracted from the truth conditioned into believing what was false. Aldous Huxley's, Brave New World, goes on to explain how this process can occur.

The swiftest crawlers were already at their goal. Small hands reached out uncertainly, touched, grasped, unpetaling the transfigured roses, crumpling the illuminated pages of the books. The Director waited until all were happily busy. Then, "Watch carefully," he said. And, lifting his hand, he gave the signal.

The Head Nurse, who was standing by a switchboard at the other end of the room, pressed down a little lever.

There was a violent explosion. Shriller and ever shriller, a siren shrieked. Alarm bells maddeningly sounded.

The children started, screamed; their faces were distorted with terror.

"And now," the Director shouted (for the noise was deafening), "now we proceed to rub in the lesson with a mild electric shock."

He waved his hand again, and the Head Nurse pressed a second lever. The screaming of the babies suddenly changed its tone. There was something desperate, almost insane, about the sharp spasmodic yelps to which they now gave utterance. Their little bodies twitched and stiffened; their limbs moved jerkily as if to the tug of unseen wires.

"We can electrify that whole strip of floor," bawled the Director in explanation. "But that's enough," he signaled to the nurse.

The explosions ceased, the bells stopped ringing, the shriek of the siren died down from tone to tone into silence. The stiffly twitching bodies relaxed, and what had become the sob and yelp of infant maniacs broadened out once more into a normal howl of ordinary terror.

"Offer