Everyday Canvas

If the Truth Hurts

Prompt: Better to be hurt with the truth then a lie. Do you agree?

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Absolutely. Truth, as we know it, is always the better road to take. What we believe as the truth may not always be 100% true, as any truth is never simple; still it is what we know to be true. Besides, lies usually beget other lies, and eventually it becomes difficult to remember them.

Truth may hurt, but who wants to look foolish by believing in the lies? Eventually, the lies we once believed in will end up hurting us anyway. Truth may hurt especially when we know the truth but hide it with a lie, as this lie festers like an internal tumor gone bad. Truth may also hurt when we fool ourselves by knowingly denying the truth and acting on lies only because those lies are easier on us. A lie may soothe temporarily, but in the long run, truth will win out, and the person who was lied to will feel as if he wasn’t worth the truth.

Yes, truth may hurt but it will also offer us freedom, because truth works better than anything. Even in writing, when we are telling the truth, even if our writing is not up to par, its context will be better accepted. By mentioning truth in writing, I am not putting down fiction at all; on the contrary, fiction can tell the truth with emphasis, while an article that sounds real may be a lie or a half-truth.

Some people “cannot handle the truth”--like the part of a famous movie quote--because truth is real, and it matters. It takes a strong person to face and acknowledge the truth.

Yet, if the truth is so bad that the power of it will hurt another person’s health, we have to be careful with the delivery of it, as that delivery has to be strategically planned and worded with utmost care. Even in such a situation, a lie is not an option, for when the lie is discovered, the intent behind it will be questioned and the person who told that soothing lie will not be believed again.