Telling the truth vs. being truthful

Congressional hearings continue in Washington in an attempt to discover the who, what, when, where and why of so many scandals. I am fascinated by the rhetoric. No one lied. They misremembered, misspoke, incorrectly claimed, needed to backtrack, were misquoted, repeated incorrect information, and one I had to look up — they obfuscated. What concerns me more is their truthfulness. What is the truth: what I say it is, what you say it is, what they say it is?

Let me show you how the answer could affect your life. You need to pay the parking meter and you ask me for 25 cents. I respond that I do not have a quarter. I do have two dimes and a nickel, but you did not ask for two dimes and a nickel, or five nickels, or 25 pennies. So, while I may be telling the truth, I’m not exactly truthful. But that doesn’t help you, because you just got handed a parking ticket.

As far as the congressional hearings go, will we ever know the who, what, when, where and why of issues concerning the misuse of power, position, or personnel? Even when we know, how can we be sure that what we know we know is really true? Confused? Tune into the hearings on CSPAN and try to figure out who is being truthful and who is just telling the truth.

Judy Resele

Mount Prospect