Does truth matter anymore?

Growing up, we were taught that a person’s word meant everything. Honest people could be depended upon. Truth was society’s default setting even when it hurt, when it meant admitting a mistake.

Through the years, we’ve learned facts are not so absolute. They can be shaped by perception, political beliefs and cultural background. There are also downright lies that are consumed and repeated as truth. For all the good the Internet and 24-hour news cycle do, both should come with warning labels. “Buyer beware, many of the facts expressed here are pure crap.”

We’ve all heard the term “shades of the truth.” As this world wobbles under the weight of war, famine, flooding, political strife and economic upheaval, it seems like we now face a Crayon box of colors worth of truths. Why believe respected experts who have dedicated their lives to a field when you can dive down a conspiracy rabbit hole that affirms what you already believe?

As Americans, we have choices. Countries like Russia, China and Iran force-feed their citizens the official line. To question those “truths” is to risk your life.

In Washington D.C. Thursday, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol unanimously voted to subpoena former President Donald Trump. The vote came after the committee presented new evidence showing how Trump’s lies about the election led directly to the violent assault on the Capitol Building. Though he knew an attack was likely, he held that morning’s rally anyway. As aides, family members and fellow Republicans pled for the president to call his people off, he chose to watch the chaos on TV.

As much as we would like to hear Trump testify under oath, it is unlikely to happen. There are times when it is safer to say nothing. Just ask former Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who announced she was quitting the Democratic Party this week.

Keeping her conservative views under wraps is how Gabbard managed to represent Hawaii’s 2nd District for eight years. Had she come out as anti-abortion, anti-same sex marriage and a lover of appearing on Fox News, it is unlikely she would have been elected to late Rep. Patsy Mink’s old seat four times.

Gabbard told us her truth by finally speaking it. Here at The Maui News, Gabbard was an enigma during her time in office. She did not do in-depth interviews and she did not debate. Her appearances on Maui were short and tightly choreographed, far more photo op than information sharing.

Though Gabbard’s conservative roots ran deep, she claimed to be a Hawaii liberal when it came time to run for Congress in 2013.

Before he was elected, Trump bragged how he could get away with shooting someone in the middle of a street.

With words and actions, people tell you their truth. We must learn to listen.