Truth & Facts

What is Truth?, said Pilate. And indeed we might ask. I’m hitting the Oxford English Dictionary for a history of the word over time. Here are some definitions

Year 1734 - God’s Truth:. The absolute truth (also with the and as a count noun); also God's honest truth; (b) int. used as an oath. (Interesting that use in an oath still seems to apply in 2023)

Year 1833 -A fundamental truth. Also: the real or underlying facts; information that has been checked or facts that have been collected at source.

Year 1977 -Ground Truth. A fundamental truth. Also: the real or underlying facts; information that has been checked or facts that have been collected at source.

Year 1982 -Post Truth. Originally U.S. Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping political debate or public opinion. (Aha. Has it really been that long that we have been living with this meaning and are we just waking up to it now? )

2023 Smith Indictment. “The defendant, like every American, had the right to speak publicly about the election and even to claim falsely . . . . . . “

If all Americans - and because we Canadians are frequently copycats - have a perceived right to claim things falsely - as a right, is there any way back to truth definitions of earlier times? In my country as well, we see politicians of all stripes claiming questionable things, but generally we are willing to consider rebuttals. But if adherence to law depends on the evidence of facts - and “alternative facts” are permitted outside the law, how and when will be move toward justice? Martin Luther King, Jr., reminded us that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Is the arc getting longer?