You Can't Handle the Truth! (I can't…)
“You can’t handle the truth!” A Few Good Men and a few good words…
You know the movie. Those fabled lines set up Jack Nicholson for a monologue that is his undoing but that resound so deeply in our culture that we are forced to admit that we want to him to be right – even if he’s wrong.
You see, the truth is: he’s right. I can’t handle the truth.
In a recent, let’s call it “discussion,” with a dear friend I was confronted from fairly, let’s call them “cutting” remarks.
Of course, they cut because, at least, in part, they are true.
I wish I could re-enact my personal version of A Few Good Men for you today. I want to take you to the courtroom and I want you to side with me. I want you to see there was a lot of stuff not addressed in those remarks that cut me. Deep. What about HIS problems? What about the screens HE looks through that color all of HIS observations?What about the good things I’ve done?
The problem is. That’s just me hiding the truth. The truth is in some ways he is right. What he said has some TRUTH in it.
Of course, that brings up a much bigger question – posed by a much more famous actor in a much more important story. Pontius Pilate. He was the guy who, in the end, gave Jesus to the Jews to be crucified, but not before asking (himself, his wife, Jesus?) this little zinger: “What is truth?” (Quid est veritas?)
Jesus had just told him that anyone who was for truth was for Him (Jesus.)
Whoa! FOR truth? Like I’m FOR my wife or I’m FOR, idonno, some football team or something? Like it’s its own unit? It’s own thing that exists irrespective of our opinion of it that we have to side with or not?
I’m afraid so.
And while it may be my friend was having a bad day (or not) or that he has some issues to work through, too (or doesn’t) the absolute fact is that as a result of his remarks this unit, this thing, called truth is knocking at the door of my heart. (Or is it slowly slicing into the meaty part of it? Cutting?) In any case, it’s there and it can’t be ignored. No matter where it came from.
What is truth? The truth is that I am a work in progress and that regardless of my (hopefully, more often than not good) intentions I can hurt people – badly. (I can and I have…)
It’s probably best I can’t answer Pilate’s question – I doubt I could handle it.
-sb
A Few Good Creative Men Clip (Parody of the original – very funny!)
PS.
It drives me nuts that Tom Cruise is always the somewhat-smarter-than-everyone-else guy in movies. Come on People… How on EARTH did he end up being the Last Samurai?? Why does he get to win over Jack Nicholson? (A superior, or at least, less annoying actor IMHO.) I’m so grateful for Southpark putting him in his place. A closet.
You Can't Handle the Truth!