Bearing False Witness

Silence in an Era of Disinformation

I grew up under the belt buckle of the Bible Belt, but I am not a theologian, even though I was subjected to church twice on Sundays and on Wednesday nights for a while. So with that disclaimer, I have been pondering the King James Version’s lyrical prohibition by the Ninth Commandment “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” The translator might have said “Thou shalt not lie” or “Do not tell falsehoods.”

And certainly, that is a major connotation. Don’t lie. Don’t deceive.

But the translator of KJV Bible used the word “bear.” The verb “bear,” as in what we will accept or support or sustain the weight of, elevates the Biblical prohibition beyond the act of lying. The extension is to accepting a lie, supporting a lie, standing for it even without speaking. Maybe especially without speaking out.

“Not bearing false witness” is a prohibition to silence while someone else lies, slanders, or deceives. There may be a lot of bearing false witness going on these days.

“Not bearing false witness” does not allow willful ignorance of the real facts, ignoring facts that do not match our beliefs. It would include the failure to investigate what the facts are. And when the falsehoods come from persistent liars, perhaps the imperative is all the stronger to seek the truth actively.

The great statesman Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote in an op-ed in the Washington Post in 1983, “First, get your facts straight. Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. Second, decide to live with the facts.”

Facts and truth matter. As Dr. Ira Hyman, as psychologist, as said, ”We may make decisions based on things we want to be true rather than the real state of the world. When truth is buried under a mountain of misrepresentations, we cannot make wise decisions.”

When we allow misrepresentations to bury truth by not pointing them out, by not investigating them, we are bearing false witness that leads to critically unwise decisions and actions.

And we cannot trust someone who lies. John Locke, greatly admired by our Founders, said, “Who lies for you will lie against you.” Some are having a real-time experience with that now.

My father, who was a judge, a man who valued evidence, used to read or quote this poem to me from the 19^th Century poet Charles Mackay:

You Have No Enemies

You have no enemies, you say?

Alas! my friend, the boast is poor;

He who has mingled in the fray

Of duty, that the brave endure,

Must have made foes! If you have none,

Small is the work that you have done.

You’ve hit no traitor on the hip,

You’ve dashed no cup from perjured lip,

You’ve never turned the wrong to right,

You’ve been a coward in the fight.

I reject the reference to violence and even rudeness in the poem, but the call to action is nevertheless clear. Not calling out perjury, not speaking up about lies, not seeking the truth, is a form of cowardice.

Rather than dashing cups from perjured lips, I think we must at the very least say “that is not true.” We must not repeat it, and merely referencing who said it is no better than hearsay or gossip.

We must not bear it.