Truth is irrelevant

One of the great tragedies of the modern world is the fact that truth is now considered irrelevant in public life. It does not matter whether a thing is true or false. What matters is whether it can be made acceptable to the majority.

That is true not only in Communist countries (the great oppressive dictatorship in China was called the People’s Republic) but it is also the case in the Philippines. We have officially declared truth irrelevant. Let me quote here a very perceptive reflection on the recent congressional canvass of election returns, written by Dr. Antonio L. Ledesma of the NGO Cendhrra:

"The discovery of truth is not the goal of congressional canvasses; it is adherence to the procedures defined in our Constitution, asserted the majority’s highly respected constitutional expert.

"Truth is neither the objective nor the concern of our electoral process as it is presently defined; it is fidelity to constitutional procedures. As one member after another of the majority trumpeted – it is the essence of democracy to follow the rules laid down in our constitution. This trend defines democracy in purely procedural terms where political actions are evaluated not on the basis of right and wrong but upon the vested interests of the majority.

"The American Jesuit John Courtney Murray, the major architect of religious freedom in Vatican II, termed such as theory of democracy which reduces moral issues to questions of means: totalitarian democracy. In such a society, any serious debate on ends and values, on what is true and good, is practically eliminated.

"When history offered a unique opportunity for Congress to be the one national arena where conceptions on the truth of our electoral procedures could be debated with wisdom and civility, its representatives chose instead to offer the Filipino public a theater of the absurd whose script revolved on the cunning use of parliamentary rules to prevent debates from entering the realm of truth. The rhythmic intoning of the mantra: "It has been duly noted" hammered in by the gavel’s bang made the gallery’s Shut up! slap like a courteous greeting by comparison.

"It is duly noted’ the unnerving finality that lurks behind these words are not unknown to our people, especially the poor. ‘It is duly noted’ hears the slum dwellers asking for potable water. ‘It is duly noted’ is he bored comment of the supervisor to the widow asking for the release of her husband’s pension. ‘It is duly noted’ intones the clerk to the applicant for low-cost housing. ‘The book is on vacation. Come back next month.’

"The lesson that comes across to the Filipino public is clear: our democracy is inhospitable to the search for truth.

"People readily obey authority when truth, that moral principle which animates, directs and limits laws is made available to them. Deny them this right and our society’s existence is in peril."