'Truth is an essential part of a healthy public life, and personal integrity helps create the trust that binds a democracy.' Photo: from Pxhere
Truth ache: The clerks of a new Quaker group make their case
‘This group affirms that “truth” goes beyond mere “truthfulness”: it is a quality of life.’
For some time now the Friend has been publishing concerns about the state of truth and integrity in our country. The 2021 Swarthmore Lecture looked at creating space for truth, and an entire issue of the Friends Quarterly was devoted to the subject. Every so often, a fresh cultural tide sweeps across the nation. It seems we are entering a new and troubling phase in which legislation and regulations are being amended, unwritten conventions ignored, and accepted practices overturned. Standards of truth and integrity are being undermined to the extent that democracy is under threat. In addition – with the backdrop of the climate crisis, Covid and a resistance to scientific findings – social media and the internet enable disinformation and the promulgation of unverifiable narratives.
