“YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH”
by COLONEL DONALD J. MYERS USMC (Ret)
You can’t handle the truth are famous words in the movie “A Few Good Men.” A Marine at Gitmo is killed and an investigation shows that the command was possibly implicated in his death. Jack Nicholson plays the colonel in charge who is being questioned at a court martial by the trial counsel (prosecuting attorney) about a “Code Red.” The trial counsel asks if the colonel ordered the “Code Red” and the judge interjects that the colonel does not have to answer the question. Nicholson says that he will answer the question and asks if the trial counsel wants an answer and the trial counsel says that he deserves an answer and he wants the truth. That’s when Nicholson responds with “you can’t handle the truth” and then goes into a diatribe about the military defending the country and what that can entail. It is a classic speech that portrays what defending this country can involve. Today, with some of our troops on multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan facing continuous threats on a daily basis, I am sure that they can relate to what Nicholson said. Veterans of our other wars can also relate.
Telling the truth appears to be a trait that too many of our countrymen seem to take too lightly. When President Clinton lied under oath before a grand jury, a large percentage of people said that it was only about sex and almost everyone lies about that. The papers even came out with studies about how lying was not a big deal and as long as an individual did his job, lying should not matter. Do most people believe that? Perhaps I am an idealist, but I suspect that most of my friends do not believe that. Kouzes and Posner, well known writers and researchers on leadership, state that integrity is consistently the leading trait that people expect from their leaders. That includes a large number of other nations as well as the USA. Unless I’m wrong, truthfulness is part of integrity and a large part to boot. If you can’t believe what a person says, then what difference does it matter what he says?
The American people have not had a high opinion of our congress for quite some time and it continues to decline as more and more of these esteemed individuals can’t seem to tell the truth about almost anything. We are constantly told that the spending spree by government is the only way to move the nation out of this recession and yet our common sense screams, “That is stupid and makes no sense.” We are told that a health care bill will add millions of new people to the rolls and it will not cost more. Again we scream, “That is stupid and makes no sense.”
When we try to ask serious questions to our elected officials we are treated like dunces and in some cases almost told that. Is it wrong to expect a direct answer to a direct question? Unfortunately too many politicians attend instructions about how to present an issue without being specific. Typically, they go into their stump speeches. I do not want or need an elected official to recite campaign rhetoric. I want answers to specific questions, not postures. I am totally upset about blowhards preaching about things that they know nothing about.
What do we do when times are difficult? Our own economies have also taken hits during the last two years, but most sane individuals are not spending like there is no tomorrow. In many many cases families are doing what they have always done in this country- they are helping each other. We are demanding that this government also do its part and stop the spending but so far our demands are falling on deaf ears. In addition to not telling the truth, our elected officials think that we will continue to be complacent and that we will continue to support them no matter what happens. They are living in a dream world within the Washington beltway and have little or no appreciation about the rest of the country. The representatives all go home to their states or districts throughout the year, but their aides who truly write the legislation remain in Washington and continue to believe that they know what is good for the country and influence their bosses.
A tidal wave of concerned and patriotic citizens is developing throughout the country and our elected officials are ignorant of it. Those individuals who do not face reelection this coming November are not concerned, and many of those who are up for reelection are in safe seats no matter what they do. November 2010 will be a revolution that makes 1994 look like a small wave. I believe that several safe seat holders also will be surprised. We are tired of officials moving this great nation into an abyss and will stop it. We want the truth and we can handle it.








