(Editor’s note: From time to time, The Snider Files will present some of Todd Snider’s unpublished writings, including the forthcoming 11-part “The Rules for Bored Game USA.” Today, it gives us great pleasure to present the first of these pieces, “When People Say They Want the Truth.”)
By Todd Snider
when people say they just want the truth
what they mean is they want to know what happens when they die
so there isn’t a truth
nevertheless, we have created one here
if only to finally have some satisfaction
in at least finding a truth
if we can’t find the truth
and it works
people are satisfied pretending that the truth they seek
is from people and is related to our language
or is from organizations and related to our lives
or the lives of our children
ultimately, we seeks these earthly truths
in the hopes that they will prolong our survival here
as long as we can seek them, and memorize them,
and spread them, and correct people who don’t speak them
we stay pretty distracted from the reality
that they don’t exist in nature
or help us at all
in the state of a human condition
naming the myriad of things was humanity’s idea
they thought it would help in the seeking of “the truth”
it’s why we’ve weighed, counted, measured and studied every last thing we found here
but when we created a language,
we create truth and deceit
deceit doesn’t exist in nature
what exists in nature is
the unspeakable truth and the unknown
© 2023 Todd Snider
but when we created a language,
we create truth and deceit
deceit doesn’t exist in nature
Right there folks. Y'all realize that Todd is a genius right? Communication, symbolic interaction, is the challenge confronting humanity. If we are honest we admit we just don't know, becasue we can't. All we know is what we've been told. And that could all be BS, even the stuff I believe is true. I choose to believe love is the only thing that is real. All else, illusion. But am i telling the truth? It is impossible to tell the whole truth, because you can never say all there is to say about something, so we are always leaving stuff out (like it's microscopic chemical and atomic makeup). Words can point to, represent, and help us understand stuff, but they ain't Truth. Umberto Eco called his theory of communication the Theory of the Lie. Todd was much easier read than Eco. I'll take wisdom where I find it.
The pursuit of truth often becomes a journey to create and embrace constructs that provide comfort and a sense of control. It reminds us that our quest for knowledge and understanding are often intertwined with our existential fears and hopes.
Thanks for sharing this!