“Our society finds truth too strong a medicine to digest undiluted. In its purest form, truth is not a polite tap on the shoulder. It is a howling reproach.” —Ted Koppel
Editor-In-Chief, Chester “Trip” Buckenmaier III, MD, COL (ret.), MC, USA
It has been a bumpy start for 2022, as the country begins the year with high monetary inflation, the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and a resurgence of COVID infections via the new omicron variant. I have entered the year experiencing that same feeling I often felt just before an Army physical training test, exhausted before even getting started. I found the comment concerning truth from Ted Koppel particularly poignant as we begin 2022, because the three major issues I mentioned (of course, there are numerous others) are all related to how our society processes and digests truth.
Merriam-Webster defines truth as “the real facts about something.” To understand this definition, we must further have a clear understanding of what constitutes a “fact.” The same dictionary defines fact as “a truth known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true.” This may seem to be a linguistic paradox since the definitions of these two words involve the other word in question. Fortunately, the definition of truth is defined by facts that are determined “by actual experience or observation.” This is essentially empiricism or information obtained through the senses and experience. Interestingly, this is the foundation of science and the scientific method: the process of testing a theory regarding a particular phenomenon through observations in the physical world.
Perhaps I have lost you, dear reader, with the previous linguistic wordplay, but I feel defining my position on truth is vital to understanding my comments going forward in this editorial. As a boy, I think I had no problem understanding the difference between things that were true and things that were not true. I clearly understood when I was speaking the truth and when I was not. Today, as an adult, I am not nearly so confident in my clarity regarding truth in the era of “alternative facts.”
For example, I am experiencing increasing monetary costs in every aspect of my life. At the same time, my salary has remained relatively static. The government utilizes the Consumer Price Index (CPI), produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the most widely used measure of inflation. Interestingly, the CPI represents a basket of consumable items the government tracks the cost to determine the inflation rate. While the CPI is based on facts that can be measured, it might not represent the actual inflation you are experiencing as an individual, if the basket of items used in the CPI does not represent your personal consumption or buying patterns. Some suggest real inflation is significantly higher than the CPI measurement. I do not mind this too much, because I understand the limitations of the CPI in defining inflation, just like I know the limits of the medical data I use in treating a patient. In short, the CPI is a truth built on empirical facts regarding costs. The CPI may not be accurate in all cases, but it certainly is not a lie. It is a version of truth (not an alternative truth) regarding inflation that can be valuable if its limitations (namely, what is being measured) are considered.
On the other extreme would be the alternative facts (as a boy, I defined these as lies) that, sadly, many Americans used to justify an assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2020. For example, unscrupulous politicians and news organizations repeatedly pushed the “big lie,” suggesting the 2020 national election for president was fraudulent. This lie, defined as fact by influential people seeking more power and personal gain, was pushed despite no empirical evidence to support fraud in the election. On the contrary, numerous election re-counts and court challenges found the election had the lowest level of fraud in American history. I feel this is perhaps the best example in recent times demonstrating the danger of ignoring or misrepresenting facts in favor of lies for personal gain. I was severely punished whenever I was foolish enough to make this mistake as a child.
More recently, I have witnessed the use of alternative facts to attack a federal medicine leader, Anthony S. Fauci, MD, the chief medical adviser to the president. Dr. Fauci has attempted to lead the country through this unprecedented medical crisis using the best medical evidence available as it becomes available. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous political leaders in congress and supporting news organizations (they know who they are) suggested Dr. Fauci was somehow financially benefiting from the pandemic. At a recent congressional hearing, Dr. Fauci noted how these politically motivated lies (to hell with the idea of “alternative facts” —the truth of the matter is, these are lies) are subjecting him and his family to threats of bodily harm. One congressional moron (Fauci’s expression, not mine) even went so far as to suggest, Dr. Fauci was hiding his financial statements. Like most senior government officials, including myself, my financial statements are, by law, a matter of public record. I am astonished that this congressional leader would have the audacity to suggest the financial malfeasance of a government healthcare leader without a shred of evidence. I am further amazed that this individual would expose the incompetence of his office in not being able to access public record financial information. Apparently, it is now OK to lie when the facts do not support your political position. This is not what I learned from my parents or as an Eagle Scout or a military officer or a federal physician. Furthermore, I do not believe the framers of the U.S. Constitution considered future politicians would be so debased in character as to consider complete misrepresentation of publicly available facts an acceptable political strategy. We do not allow our physicians—or our bankers, teachers or lawyers. So why would this be acceptable in certain politicians and newscasters?
Truth is hard, hence the saying, “Cold hard truth.” Some of my most difficult moments in medicine and life involve the truth of my patient’s condition or of my personal errors. Truth does not take sides or a political position. It just is. I am convinced that deviating from truth and fact-during my career would have utterly destroyed me personally. I fail to understand how others use lies as effective weapons and somehow their careers survive. Perhaps I am naive, but I still expect the politicians I support to speak the truth. In fact, I believe what success I have enjoyed in the military and generally in life resulted from my steadfast promotion of the truth, even when it was inconvenient, nobody was watching, or it was not popular with the group. Like all humans, I am not perfect in my understanding of truth, and I am limited in that understanding by what I can measure.
As federal healthcare providers, our relationship with the truth must be unimpeachable. Our colleagues depend on it, and our patients deserve it. Perhaps this is not news to any of my readers. Still, considering the present state of our nation, a reminder seems appropriate and probably could not hurt.