Can you handle the truth?

Speaking Truth to Power is often seen as a cornerstone of democracy.

Citizens must be able to criticize those elected to power without fear of punishment, imprisonment or “disappearance”.

But what about the duty of those in power to speak truth to the public, when the public have a preference to believe in beautiful lies?

The public want to believe the promises of politicians and those politicians want the public to believe that they, their party and their set of policies will lead to the promised land of professional and efficient public services with a minimum tax burden on the individual.

So, who are you going to vote for, the politician who says “leave it to me and my party, we can take you to the promised land of peace and plenty” or the politician who says “change isn’t easy, sacrifices need to be made, there is no magic wand, everybody needs to play their part to make the country a better place”?

Who wants a free ticket to the sunlit uplands, and who wants to work hard to build a better future?

Who’s going to vote for the politician who promises to do everything for you, and who’s going to vote for the politician who says, “things aren’t that easy you know, we need to work together, things take time, there are some things you need to do yourself”?

When we demand truth from our politicians, we have to ask ourselves first “can we handle the truth”