If truth matters why does expressing it often require exceptional courage?

   “I was never more hated than when I tried to be honest,” Ralph Ellison wrote in Invisible Man. The truth of his statement describes why everyone lies. We want to be loved, not hated. We want to be praised, not punished. We want to please the boss, not get fired. 

   We learn lying early. Truths can bring punishment – especially for a group in which I claim life membership – the rule-breakers. 

   Truth is problematic because it is never black & white. A million nuances create a wide range from near-truth to flat out falsehood. 

   Shockingly, Kindness can be Truth's biggest enemy. We lie to protect other's feelings. Caregivers can feel trapped when a family member warns, "Do not tell mom she is dying."

   Ellison describes the searing cost of one of life's compromises when his title character mourns, "What and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do?” 

   Truth-telling kills heroes: Socrates. Jesus. Galileo. Joan of Arc.

   Picasso was attacked for painting "too much truth" in his classic painting "Guernica." Artists (including me) use aliases to protect themselves & their work. 

   I was punished as an artist for hanging the pictured nude in my office &  fired as a CEO for refusing to lay off staff. However, I have often given false compliments to power brokers to win their support & kept silent in the face of lies. 

   Lying can become such a skill that one friend confessed, "I wish I were not such a good liar."

   The usual defense? "You have to pick your battles." But, this can lead to chronic retreat. Former FBI Director James Comey warned White House staff to watch out or "Trump will gradually eat your soul." 

   If we became better truth tellers would we discover the best of who we truly are?

-Erie Chapman

Nude Study #3 – Dane Dakota aka Erie