“Tell the truth.”

most provocative bumper sticker I’ve seen in awhile. maybe ever. which says something about the extent of my relativism.

black block letters on a white background on a white honda odyssey. and little itty bitty microtext in a line below that, goddamnit, I couldn’t from my seat inside my vehicle get close enough to read, even nudging practically right up against the bumper. not even any other accompanying stickers or decals of affiliation or positionality to give a girl a clue as to context. blank fuckin’ slate.

I mean, come onwhose truth, for starters? which truth? are you talking Truth, buddy, like the bible-thumping variety? or the kind-of opposite, verifiable scientific certitude? geezo, that dang thing could mean so many simultaneous contradictory things…

and even so– even if we’re just talking the everyday variety of factual accounts, what he did then what she said– tell the truth always? and all of it? don’t you think there are some cases where that’s arguably the least constructive approach to communication?

it’s just so fuckin’ bald, that imperative. so impossible. that’s what pisses me off. of course, it’s probably meant well, crafted and marketed and peeled and stuck on the fiberglass with the best of intentions. but seriously. nothing’s given me pause like that in days.

which is probably precisely its rhetorical point.

postscript:
yikes. if it’s this, well, then I guess I have my answer. I guess it makes sense that I got so pissed off without even knowing exactly why. black and white. exactly. fuckheads.

3 Replies to ““Tell the truth.””

  1. hey sweetie.

    i guess, when i read “tell the truth”, i thought of things like- how many people really voted for Bush, not including the fabricated votes from imaginary people. tell the truth.

    what companies are polluting the environment the most? tell the truth.

    why do we want to wreck the artic refuge when we know fossil fuels are a limited resource. tell, you know, the truth.

    i know that facts are fashion depending on the source and limited understanding/research, but somethings are so obvious. yet blinding truths are sacked and labeled under other titles that have no bearing on reality. cuz someone wants to make a lot more money than they need. someone(s) has some serious power issues and believe might makes right. some people have lost touch with their own soul and happily sublet it to marketing excecutives who know people at MTV. and so- sadly, that’s the truth. and i’m tellin’ it.

    whaddya think?

    smooches.
    hope to hang out w/ you this summer.

    Kman

  2. Hey, Lady S,

    here is the text that i got “facts are fasion from. I think you’ll dig it:

    “parables from other planets”

    this is an excerpt from the book with the title above written by Gail and Hugh Prather:

    Your treasured opinions never made anyone happy.

    PLANET: Sauv (10)

    TRANSLATION: The primary industry on Sauv (10) is the codification of all mortal knowledge. Their encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference books are widely used in several galaxies. The long-term effect of this ocupatoin on the Savits themselves has been to develop a deep neutrality regarding all intellectual issues. “Facts are fashion,” they say. And when someone is overheard insisting doggedly on his or her point of view, the typical Sauvit retort is, “About even this, you will change your mind.”

    MEANING: You cannot insist on being right and at the same moment extend the gift of love. The only punishable crime on Sauv (10) is narrow-mindedness, the penalty for which is to be a foster parent to a two-year-old and a parrot. The parrot is trained to say “I’m right” in a firm but cheeful voice forty-eight times a day., and the two-year-old is not trained to, but nevertheless does, say “No” in a firm but uncheerful voice to all attempts at communication. Despite their apparent skepticism regarding opinions, knowledge, and facts, Sauvits have cultivated an unreasonable love for all living things. Language is used carefully, not to achieve accuracy but to achieve compassion. Or, as the Sauvits themselves would put it: An unloving question has no answer.

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