The View From Scranton

Nothing But

There are some remarkable stirrings that I dare not remark upon till they're absolutely finalized; meantime I share this, spurred my way by the great good Kretzschmar.

Dig in:

Five Truths

Nothing exists until or unless it is observed. An artist is making something exist by observing it. And his hope for other people is that they will also make it exist by observing it. I call it "creative observation."

William Burroughs


Symbolic Truth

The first truth is the symbol-word "Truth." The one spelled with a capital T. It is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It is a thin veil of semantics used as a shield against reason, often raised in the defense of some ideologic somethingism. It is the blind truth, faith undeniable, the operating system of all religions.

It is that which attempts to rise above a simple grouping of alpha-numeric code, to shine in some god-granted light. It is an abstraction of an event or concept beyond any physical or perceivable reality.

This is the sovereign truth of all official histories.


Our Truth

The second truth is the truth we tell ourselves. It is the limit of our perceptions, it is a filtering of reality which becomes our story. It is my side of it.
It is the facts we build lies on, the memories we cherish, the life we lead. It is our hopes, aspirations and dreams. It is life and death in the modern world.

The second truth is rarely true.


Their Truth

The third truth is the truth they try to sell us. It is the same truth as number two but from different eyes. It is their side of the argument, seen through their history, their belief system.

Call it Propaganda if you want -- but it's still a truth.


The Hidden Truth

The fourth truth is the truth you won't tell yourself. It's your hidden secrets -- compulsions, anxieties, fears -- the memories we can't edit. These are the dark truths that are the foundation of the underlying self, the controller, the rational voice in the daily dialog of momentary indecisions.


The Final Truth

The fifth truth is the true truth, the absolute truth -- it is everything which is the truth is or could ever be.

The final truth is the fate of Universe itself. It is birth, life, death. It is the closing of a circle. It can only be experienced, never fully known.

The final truth is the most beautiful truth of all.

posted by John Hood. @ 10:38 AM