They say that truth is the first casualty in any war, and I have no doubt it is true. First is the deliberate lie, the counterfeit. Adolf Hitler and his gang started lying long before they used murder and lies to get to power. Then there is the confused lie. War and battle generate a lot of confusion and the confusion generates its own set of lies. Then there is the frightened lie. Fear of disclosure, fear of loss—these things take a terrible toll on the truth. Then there is the tactical lie, and the counter lie. Who do you believe?

Then, after all the lies told by the adversaries and their accomplices, there is the media: television, radio, newspapers, etc. Not that the media deliberately lie, but they contribute mightily to the fog of battle. And getting the truth (and getting it right) may take a little time. Problem is, the media have to get it for the six o’clock news, and they have to beat the other media outlets to the punch. They also have to sell advertising. Do you suppose the media would hype a story to keep us tuned in for their commercials? And hyping a story is a kind of lie.

So let’s all agree that the truth is something rather beyond what we are getting. The real truth could be more frightening…or it could be less frightening. How on earth could we know?