This past election season was brutal ✊. Absolutely brutal 👊. It is the culmination of American politics for the past 15+ years. The Left 👈 is getting more liberal. The Right 👉 is getting more conservative. These two sides have become so entrenched in their ideology that they have produced candidates for office that were detestable for the American public.

Donald J. Trump is the president elect of the United States 🇺🇸. That's what we're left with. But I don't really want to write a political post. My interest is in one ☝️ small slice 🍕 of this topic.

Truth

I've heard 👂 more than a few times the idea 💡 that we now live in a post-truth society. A society that does not value veracity and only wants to hear confirmation of their own opinion. Hence, we construct echo chambers out of both our real and cyber friendships.

Consider that Mr. 👖 on 🔥 Trump will soon be called President 👖 on 🔥 Trump. And he continues to fight 👊 the news media for holding him accountable. That's really troubling.

Consider that his opponent, Hilary R. Clinton also had problems with her truthiness. Her only shot at looking good 😊 is by comparing her singed pants 👖 with her opponent's enflamed 🔥 ones.

Truth doesn't seem to matter any more. Fact checkers appear to operate in vain. Fake news goes viral. Post-Modernists now have their way, there is no absolute truth.

Brothers & Sisters, Proverbs 3:3 is more important than ever:

Kindness

When was the last time a political race 🏁 was marked by kindness? Where the big takeaway was, "Wow, that was civil and nobody's character was defamed." I do not remember a single one ☝️.

Usually, the candidates aren't the ones to blame. It's their supporters 🙌. The people who feel they have the most to gain / lose by getting someone else a job for the next four years.

I know you feel it. I won't talk politics around him. Why? Because he's just going to go on and on about how we need to vote Republican. Shh.. She just left her office and is coming this way. Why? She's with Her. We walk on eggshells ( and taco 🌮 shells 🐚) every leap year. I'd hate to be the conversation 🗣 killer. Shouldn't we practice kindness?

It happens at church ⛪️ too. I remember big fights over election guides in the foyer. People hurt 😭 each other over which liar/politician to employ for the next term. (God forbid you decide not to vote.) Shouldn't we practice kindness?

Probably the worst of all is our social media platform. How many hateful things are said in the name of truth on a daily basis? Social Media is great 👍 for some things. But it has the unfortunate downside of giving everyone greater reach for their ideology (myself, sadly 😞 included). There are real people on the other side of that computer 💻, be careful what you say 🗣 and how you say it. Shouldn't we practice kindness?

Truth

I hear 👂 ya. Chris, what about truth, huh? Telling it like it is!

Correct. The passage tells us to bind the truth around our necks and etch them onto the tablet 📱 of our hearts 💕. Truth and the pursuit of wisdom (context of Proverbs 3) are critical.

Veracity, facts, data, evidence... all these things come into play. All these things are needed. Truth cannot be relative. Abstraction is anathema to science 🔬.

It is sad 😭 that Peter Kreeft's thoughts 💭 on trans-modernism do not seem to be taking hold. Trans-Modernism, BTW is the questioning of tradition as a means of reintegration into the fabric of society. Brief ⌚️ history:

• Modernism - Question everything
• Post-Modernism - Reject everything
• Trans-Modernism - Interrogate everything and pick the best parts to un-reject

We need to move away from a post-modern, post-truth mindset. We need some objectivity. We need to hold our leaders, cops 🚓 , teachers 🤓, and businesses 🏦 accountable. We especially need to hold ourselves accountable to the truth.

As a librarian 👓, this topic is near and dear to my heart ❤️. It's what I went to school 🏛 for. All my colleagues are going bananas 🍌 over this election and the results are worse than simply a President 👖 🔥. What this election shows about our society is far worse. We need to hold ourselves accountable to the truth.

There are way to many lies to correct in my little post. All I can say is this: we need to be careful about what we accept as truth. Think 💭 critically as you abide in the Truth of Christ.

Know also that you are not truth. You don't have all the answers. We are all on the quest for truth, continually composing on our heart ❤️ tablets 📱, never confidently publishing our posts (a little blogger metaphor). That's why it is important to really listen 👂 to each other.

Kindness & Truth

I love that kindness and truth are joined at the hip in this verse, don't you?

Kindness without truth is unstable. It says up 👆to please you, but says down 👇 to please her. It calls the animal a dog 🐶 for Charles but calls the same animal a cat 🐱 for James. It's favorite vacation spot for Jenny is the mountains ⛰, but when Karen comes around it loves the beach 🏖.

There's no consistency for kindness. It seeks the pleasure of others. It is a contrast to hard & fast 💨 truth.

The truth can be unkind. What goes up 👆absolutely must come back down 👇. It calls a spade ♠️ a ♠️ every time it sees one. And it's stance is unmovable once it has vetted and confirmed a position.

That's why it's so awesome 👏 that the empathy of kindness is set in contrast with the rigidity of truth in this verse. You can have the truth and not be a jerk about it, you are commanded to.

Do not be discouraged by what you see and hear 👂 about our post-truth society. Responsibility has always rested on the individual to make informed choices for themselves and their loved ones. You have that responsibility.

Exercise your responsibility wisely. Go out and pursue the truth in kindness.