2 FACED: The ugly face of facts

WHEN THE LIE IS ALL YOU KNOW, THE TRUTH BECOMES UNCONSCIONABLE

The Mind Is the Muscle — Blog #3

Truth is not rejected because it is false.

Truth is rejected because it is too expensive for the mind that has been raised on lies.

This dynamic—where illusion feels safer than reality—has been observed across ages:

• George Orwell pointed toward this when he wrote,

  
  

  “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

• Plato, in the Allegory of the Cave, described individuals who lived their entire lives staring at shadows on a wall. When exposed to the real world, they were not liberated—they were offended.

• Carl Jung revealed the psychological battle within each of us:

  
  

  “People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own souls.”

What all three understood is this:

When falsehood becomes your foundation, truth feels not like clarity—but like an attack.

And this phenomenon is not limited to criminals, con men, or manipulators.

Sometimes the most outwardly respectable people—professionals, leaders, even pillars of the community—will defend a lie with more passion than the liar himself.

Because once a person builds identity, reputation, and social standing on falsehood…

truth is no longer information.

Truth becomes a threat.

THE LIE AS A SYSTEM — NOT A PERSON

We often imagine deception as an individual flaw:

A cheating spouse.

A kid with their hand in the cookie jar.

A low-level grifter.

But personal deceit is not the most dangerous kind.

The most destructive lies come from institutions—places we are conditioned to trust.

Doctors.

Companies.

Governments.

Financial systems.

Religious institutions.

Corporate employers.

Law enforcement.

Educational systems.

When the lie comes from a powerful entity, it carries weight, legitimacy, and consequences for the innocent who accept it.

THE MEDICATION EXAMPLE: A SYSTEM OF TRUST BETRAYED

Imagine your spouse falls gravely ill.

You consult a doctor you trust.

He prescribes a medication he sincerely believes is safe based on the information provided to him.

You give the medication to your spouse…

And instead of healing, it causes septic poisoning.

A tragedy.

But who is morally responsible?

• Is it the spouse? No. They trusted the one meant to protect them.

• Is it you, the caregiver? No. You acted in love with the best information you had.

• Is it the physician? No. He relied on data he believed came from credible sources.

• Is it the pharmaceutical rep? Not fully. Their job is to distribute information—not create it.

The fault lies with the manufacturer that knowingly released a dangerous product, falsified risk levels, and manipulated the chain of trust for profit.

This is what happens when a lie is institutionalized:

The innocent suffer,

the well-meaning become unwitting accomplices,

and the guilty hide behind hierarchy and complexity.

When deception is supported by power, knowledge, and authority, its victims rarely see it coming.

THE DANGER OF FOLLOWING ORDERS FROM THE UNQUESTIONED

History is filled with people who followed the instructions of superiors who told them:

“What you are doing is for the greater good.”

But behind the curtain, the actions served:

• greed,

• corruption,

• political advantage,

• personal gain,

• or quiet abuses of authority from the top down.

When the lie becomes the culture,

when the illusion becomes policy,

when leadership normalizes wrongdoing…

People become pawns without even knowing they’re on the board.

Some follow orders blindly.

Others know something is wrong but prefer ignorance because the truth would require courage.

Jung warned about this:

People avoid truth when truth demands transformation.

Plato revealed that those imprisoned by illusion will fight to protect the illusion.

They defend their chains because the light hurts their eyes.

And Orwell showed us that truth-tellers become outcasts in dishonest environments.

THE REAL HARM: WHEN LIES DIRECTLY SHAPE LIVES

A community is injured most severely when:

• officials mislead residents,

• leaders distort facts,

• organizations hide wrongdoing,

• systems manipulate trust,

• and those in authority silence dissent in the name of “order,” “procedure,” or “protocol.”

This is not mere deception.

This is interference with the right to live one’s own life.

Because when people must make decisions based on false information,

they are not making choices —

the lie is making choices for them.

They are guided into harm’s way believing they are being protected.

They are pressured into compliance believing they are being supported.

They are robbed of clarity while thinking they are receiving guidance.

Nothing is more dangerous than a lie endorsed by authority.

THE TRUTH BENEATH THE TRUTH

The greatest challenge is not identifying lies in others.

It is confronting the lies we were taught to believe:

• That certain institutions cannot be questioned.

• That authority is always benevolent.

• That compliance equals safety.

• That silence equals wisdom.

• That dissent equals troublemaking.

When these lies are all a person knows,

the truth becomes unconscionable—

not because it isn’t true,

but because accepting it would unravel too much.

Illusions provide comfort.

Truth provides responsibility.

Many choose comfort.

Few choose responsibility.

FINAL WORD: WHAT YOU BELIEVE SHAPES WHAT YOU SEE

This blog series, The Mind Is the Muscle, exists for one purpose:

To strengthen the inner world so no external lie can define your life.

Truth is not always gentle.

Truth is not always welcomed.

But truth is always liberating.

Because once you see clearly,

you cannot be controlled, misled, or manipulated by those who profit from your confusion.

And that is why lies are so aggressively defended—

because truth threatens the power built upon deceit.

When the lie is all you know, the truth is frightening.

But when you embrace the truth, the lie loses its power forever.

A.G..P