Most of the noise in the US today has to do with avoiding, denying, or lying about the simple truths. Things that are obvious, like “water runs downhill,” or “nature abhors a vacuum,” or “you must eat to live.”

Some of the simple truths have been lied about for so long, that the lie has become a “cultural value.” Who would we be if our cultural values turned out to be lies on the order of “water runs uphill,” or “we can all live on air and empty platitudes?” We would be fools, to start with. To stop being fools, we have to let go of our foolishness, and that means — in some cases — letting go of our cultural values.

Unwillingness to let go of foolish cultural values is perhaps the greatest foolishness of all.

So it might be good to remind ourselves, from time to time, of some of the simple truths.

To be continued…