Kellar Sirstins AP English, 3B Abstract Definition October 10, 2013 Belief Behind The Truth Truth: the real fact or actual statement. (Dictionary.com) Plainly stated, truth can be compared to the colors black and white. It is complete; there are no grey areas. But how can it be proven if something is true? Are the statements in a textbook as true as the statements that a friend tells me? This is where black and white collides. Can everything be true? On a multiple-choice test, how can there be a most correct, or completely true? A peasant, from millennia’s ago, recounts a fable of a beast greater then all animals combined. Even though he may have lied through years of retelling and changing, this once fable has become a truth in our modern society. Many Scottish folk of today know of the foolishness of the, “Lockness Monster” as being true. What drives these people’s minds to believe that Nessie rules the same waters this day? Belief, you are the key to unlocking the heavy driftwood door that conceals the truth. Belief, you come in many forms: religion, witnessing, and peers. Belief, you allow us to find the truth. Belief, you make statements have passion, as I believe them to be true. As a person sits near the pulpit and listen to the Bishop of things that only God can fix, someone must believe in his words; and if they do, these blank sentences become strong statements that anyone will use to defend their church to the death. To the death they will fight for the truth. If someone believes in Sirstins 2 something then, no one can change his or her mind. Like a bull running towards the Matadors cape, they shall always plow forward. When they witness something then it instantly becomes true. Only 12 astronauts have stepped on the moon, but it was televised to millions of viewers. How can we believe this to be true? This is belief again. Through photos, videos, and evidence we believe that Americans have been to the moon becoming you, truth. Another belief is through peers. Our peers are a commonly misused source for information. They are not credible and should never be cited on a paper. But here is the million-dollar question do we need truth? Why is truth such a vital part of our society? It does not make us feel secure. It does not always make us jubilant. So why do we crave this terrible misfortune? The thrill of knowing the truth is what causes people to seek after it. If everyone were comfortable with himself or herself truth would not be such a scary thing. Since there are lies a deceit we seek after the complete truth. Within injustice we find thrill in uncovering the truth, whether we like what we hear or not. Truth, you are cruel. You leave us to suffer alone in a cold dark place. You make us weep to our pillows and roar in frustration. For if we trust our peers to give us their honest opinion, then we must be willing to suffer the heartache. Truth, you cause pain; no one ever wants to hear the truth. We want to be told a lie to keep our egos safe. The sad truth is that in today’s society, we cannot rely on our friends to speak nothing true to or about us. Aristotle once said, “For though we love both the truth and our friend, piety requires us to honor the truth first.” Even tough Aristotle Sirstins 3 was very old and very intelligent, he still understood about the paradigm of friendship. As we seal a friendship our oath is to believe everything our friend may gab to be you truth. As we battle through life we all must cling to the truth. Through centuries of constant change and deceitful foes we are left in a grey pasture of uncertainty. But we are not forever lost. As we fall down the rabbit hole, truth, you give us a hand to reach for. You give us tools such as: evidence, understanding, and respectful colleagues. These tools tip the scale and give us clarity. As we use this process, we take grey and sift through the lies, leaving the black, clumpy, disrespectful lies behind, and we finally find our clear, white pallet. Emile Zola once said, “If you shut up truth and bury it under the ground, it will but grow, and gather to itself such explosive power that the day it bursts through it will blow up everything in its way.” To hide the truth is dangerous. It can be ticking time bomb. When truth is finally given people can find clarity. Throughout all the adventures in life the truth is one thing that sits above all. Apocrypha stated, “Great is truth, and mighty above all things.” Truth is a power that is honored by the strong and feared by the weak. Sirstins 4 Ammer, C.. N.p.. Web. 15 Oct 2013. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/truth>. Aristotle, . N.p.. Web. 15 Oct 2013. <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/aristotle378330.html>. Zola, E.. N.p.. Web. 15 Oct 2013. <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/emile_zola.html>.