The Truth, the whole truth …

“Billy, this note from the teacher says that you didn’t turn in your
homework today. Why didn’t you do your homework?”

“The dog ate my homework.”

“Billy, how did that happen?”

“I stayed up late last night. I really worked hard, but I guess it
fell off my desk and, this morning, old Spot was sitting by my bed with
all these scraps of paper all over the place. It was awful!”

This excuse has been tried on many moms and will be tried on many
more. Notice the kid never really said he did his homework. He may have
worked really hard on a model airplane or some other amusement. A paper
on his desk may have fallen on the floor and the dog may have chewed
around the edge, but there was no work on the page. If Billy had turned
in the result of his homework, it would have been an empty page. It
could have been that empty page, so there was a shred of truth to his
remarks. However, this wasn’t the truth; the whole truth and nothing but
the truth.

Little Billy attempted to mislead his mom. It was dishonest. It was
wrong. If Billy’s mom doesn’t punish him, he will try this again, and
again, and again. Billy is not the only one that will be hurt by this
little charade. His younger brother will learn this lesson all too well.
Some of his companions will try it.

Big Bill is a master of the artful dodge, the half truth, the
redefinition of truth. He was not anxious to tell the truth, as he
wanted us to believe, but he does want to put this thing behind him so
there was a shred of truth to these remarks.

This truth telling — if we can use that term — was a result of
being backed into a corner. All the dodging and weaving — the seven
month charade — has been a disgrace. The attacks on the character of
the independent counsel, the blaming, the alibis, the excuses, the
claiming of privileges has cost the country and many innocent
individuals more than we may ever know.

The truth hurts. However, only the truth can set us free. Bill is
sorry, but is he sorry because he got caught? We will know by his
actions. Richard Nixon stepped aside and the country was better for it.
Now it’s Bill’s turn.