nothin' but the facts

“The facts, ma’am, nothing but the facts”, so said Sergeant Friday on the detective series ‘Dragnet’. The Sergeant was out to solve some crimes and needed the necessary truth to help find the culprit and send them to jail. Most crime shows in the 50’s and 60’s relied on finding the facts, which usually were as solid as granite in knowing right from wrong, good from bad.

Somehow finding facts as this new millennium sprouts and grows is not a priority and far from helping anyone distinguishing truth from lies, good from bad, and right from wrong. Facts don’t count anymore. What becomes real is repeating falsehoods and fabrications, laying a few innuendos, and screaming shrapnel filled epitaphs to drown out anyone who demands honesty.

The great debate on Health Care Reform did not permit reasonable response from resonating much further than the offices of politicians who were either for or against this Bill to pass. When most politicians tried to hold ‘town hall’ meetings harangues of death panels, abortion clinics, sex change operations echoed as loud as the chambers on a pistol when fired. When trying to explain why all Americans would benefit from inexpensive, less restrictive health care, the response was socialism or communism. Because of the influx of fact less falsehoods honest and sincere dialogue never found its way to the tips of people’s tongues. We were told by the Republicans that too much control would hurt the insurance industry from lowering prices for services and informed by the Democrats that the only thing that won’t decrease in sum was the money the lobbyists used to bribe the politicians.

The great recession of the two thousands has devastated this nation and for many of the lower class and middle class families has left a scathing residue of poverty, depression, and emptiness. While many of us participated in spending endless dollars, purchasing our dreams on worthless paper, the people with the titles, like CEO, FOO, and Executives were busy developing a set of guidelines based on lies. We were all told by the professionals in the banking and finance business that more was better. Spending was king, and that there should be no worries because those in charge made big salaries and they making all that money was justification enough for us to spend ours on their make believe products. We were also told that the checks and balances were in place and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) was ready in their Teflon capes to protect Americans from any wrong doing.

The oil companies have boasted that they were capable of drilling for crude anywhere and everywhere. Starting with a secret meeting with then Vice President of the US, the CEO’s of major oil companies created a pact of lies in which they said how competent they were in drilling for oil and made up some blueprint of paying off those legislators who might feign concern, and infiltrate the various regulation committees of the government with lies sex and videotape. No one had balls enough to demand the public be privy to ‘Dickie’ Cheney’s private meeting with the oil giants and since he was Captain America most everyone swallowed his pack of mistruths and misconduct. We were more concerned about “Drill Baby Drill” as expounded by quitter half term Governor, Sarah Palin, (who has no need for facts but relies on fable and foible), then we were in finding alternate energy supplies. And now we find that the truth companies like BP espoused like “we have a back up system for failure, or our safety standards are the best,” were wistful fairy tales not ending happily ever after. And the heroes we thought were at the ready to save the day like the Mineral Management Service, (MMS) were lackeys and shills for the oil companies they were supposed to oversee.

And we are told by Family Values groups, the Mormon and Catholic Church, Republican Senators, that separate but equal is the correct way to treat the LGBT community in America. We are told based on selective scripture in the Bible not in the Constitution of the United States that God finds Gays to be the seed of the devil. We are told that the Institution of Marriage is so weak that if same sex couples wed it will fall. We are told by the same heterosexual people who cheat on their spouses, commit adultery that their actions and behaviors do not reflect on the stability of the Institution, but anything Gay will send it tumbling to the ground. We are told by men and women who have not served in the armed forces that the soldier’s marines and sailors who are serving this country will not feel patriotic or brave if they serve with a homosexual. We are told homosexuals make bad partners in the trenches and the dormitories, even the ones winning stars and medals for acts of valor and bravery. We are told that homosexuality is the root cause for pedophilia, but if the priest is a heterosexual and molests a girl it is not really that important. We are preached at that Gays are bad, based on some Biblical or made up American fact.No truth squad needed to justify the hate, just trust that God is on their side (the Tea Baggers, Evangelicals, John Birchers, Neo Cons), all calling themselves God’s mercenaries.

We watch FOX News, we listen to Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and we rally around Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich and never ask them why or how or really? We find leaders who divide and conquer, like Karl Rove who rather then find a friend told his Republican co-horts identify the enemy. We pray with religious leaders who ask what would Jesus do, but do the opposite. We use racism, homophobia, elitism, sexism, as truth. We permit our fears, self loathing, and self victimization and bide by them as road maps. We indulge in extremism to constrain any common ground; and we luxuriate in lies to define who we are.

The truth ma’am, ain’t no way we want that because admitting the truth is admitting we, us, as individuals are weak, are fragile, have failed. Better to live on lies in the twenty tens, safer to avoid what is real. And if we ought out the truth perhaps we might have to do the hard work and fix the injustices, the wrongs, and all of that would interfere with some corporation or institutionalized religion. Keep the dumb dumber feed them lies and get them so bloated in falsehoods they either implode or lose consciousness.

The truth, you can’t handle the truth!