Fiction is the New Reality

Honesty.

I think we're all used to our governments lying to us. It doesn't matter where you are. Your government lies to you, you know it, and even if that bothers you (how could it not?), it's no shock, no true outrage to learn about another lie. A dishonest politician is the standard.

Think, for just a moment, of what the world might be like if the governments of different nations dealt with one another honestly. Not even world peace, just world honesty. Picture it.

I won't tell you what my own vision is like, partly because I hope you'll actually give it some thought of your own with no interference from me, but also because it's a difficult concept to process. My brain rejects it. I guess I'm more at ease with liars and crooks running the planet than with our leaders admitting fault and being open with others.

I received an e-mail this morning that reminded me of one particularly offensive lie, the denial of the Armenian Genocide. In case you're not already aware, in 1915 the Turkish government began the systematic killing of over 1.5 million Armenian people. The genocide was well documented and there are still survivors, but, according to the Turkish government, it never happened. According to the United States government, it never happened.

Obama has said that he'll change that. I hope he will. Bush said the same thing before he was "elected," but changed his mind, and said it would be a poor choice to speak ill of the Turks, who have been an important ally in the War on Terror.

I think it's a poor choice to deny over 1.5 million murders and to allow a lie to pass for the truth. I'm quite aware that the U.S. doesn't need to make any new enemies right now, but it's been nearly a century. We can't keep putting this off. We don't need an ally that's allowed to kill 1.5 million innocent people without consequence, or even having to admit it. We don't need to hold the current government accountable, but we shouldn't allow killers to rewrite history. By allowing this lie to continue unchallenged, we are making ourselves accomplices to genocide, and that's a problem.

I highly encourage you to read this.

We have not always been at war with Eurasia. 2 + 2 does not equal 5. Turkey committed genocide against the Armenians, and genocide remains unchallenged in Darfur today. This is not okay.