No, Rudy Giuliani, truth is not relative

I can't let this go unchallenged.  Rudy Giuliani the former Mayor of New York City, in an interview with the Washington Post, made a statement that is very insidious, yet so indicative of the Trump team's mentality.  Giuliani, now attorney to President Donald Trump, discussed the subject of Trump's willingness to testify before Robert Mueller and his Special Counsel investigation.  He argued that it would be a perjury trap for his client because "Truth is relative."  Then he added, "They may have a different version of the truth than we do."

No, Rudy.  There is only ONE version of the truth.  The truth is not subjective.  The truth is objective.  Facts can be checked and proven right or wrong.  Two plus two equals four.  There is only one correct response to that, only one truth. In Trump World, perhaps two plus two equals five.  However, Trump World is an Alice in Wonderland place, somewhere down the rabbit hole.  The American president and his team seam to subscribe to the Humpty Dumpty Theory of Language.  Like Humpty Dumpty in Lewis Carroll's 1871 classic Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There, they seem to believe they can make words mean whatever they choose them to mean.

"I don't know what you mean by 'glory'," Alice said. Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't- till I tell you. I meant 'there's a nice knock-down argument for you!'" "But 'glory' doesn't mean 'a nice knock-down argument'," Alice objected. "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean- neither more nor less." "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things." "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master-that's all." Alice was too much puzzled to say anything; so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again. "They've a temper some of them- particularly verbs: they're the proudest- adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs- however, I can manage the whole lot of them! Impenetrability! That's what I say!" - From Looking Glass, Chapter VI

Robert S. Mueller III is a man of integrity.  He goal is not to trap Trump.  His goal is to find the truth, nothing more. If Trump and his associates are innocent of wrongdoing, why should the have anything to fear from a man like Mueller?  If the President of the United States is not guilty, why is he so afraid of the truth?

What is truth?  Over 2,000 years ago, Pontius Pilate who governed the Roman province of Judea, famously asked that question.  In the Gospel of John, Chapter 18, Verse 38, Pilate questions Jesus' claim that he is "witness to the truth."  A jesting Pilate replies, "Quid est veritas?" ("What is truth?") in Latin.

The Trumpsters will not stop muddying the waters. So, I will do my best to challenge them.  The Oxford English Dictionary defines "truth" or "the truth" as a noun meaning "That which is true or in accordance with fact or reality"  Facts can be proven true or false.  That is why the truth is crystal clear.  It is pure and unadulterated.


- Joanne