From today's SF Chronicle, I read Lies are no longer damned lies / Americans reduced to expecting deceit, an article that comes at a good time for me, especially as I reflect on the challenges of getting at the "truth". The article calls for a more nuanced response than what I can give immediately -- but my off-the-cuff reaction is this: The fact that I'm not surprised by the great amount of deception half-truths, mistruths, failed attempts to convey the truth, delusions does not mean that I don't long for the truth to be told or for a system in which we can trust each other and our leaders to be truth-tellers (and perhaps, more importantly), truth-bearers. I am tired by the amount of effort it takes to figure out what's going on. It's hard enough when well-meaning people try to communicate. Add to the mix people who are struggling for power over each other and we start to get this incredible mix. I don't exempt myself from the class of people who add to the mess -- for I am deeply sinful too. Hence my dependence on a hermeneutic of self-suspicion in addition to skepticism of others. And to throw in something else I will want to elaborate as I go along -- even well-intentioned self-suspicion is insufficient!

[If I get back to revising this post soon, it would behoove me to deepen my understanding of the "hermeneutics of suspicion" -- an article on Paul Ricoeur might be a place to start for my own self-education.]