Shadows Of Truth

Dear lovely people,

“The most important thing my grandfather taught me was that the most noble way to use your skills, intellect and energy is to defend the marginalized against those with the greatest power - and that the resulting animosity from those in power is a badge of honor.” Says Glenn Greenwald

Vickson was inconsolable, he was devastated and completely washed-out for days. How on earth was he going to face it? What explanations would he give? He has celebrated his father as a heroic figure, his father has been the protagonist in his dreams, the many essays and poems he has written that made him popular. His father was his role model, his idol and he had been invited everywhere to encourage his peer and even elderly people to celebrate their loved ones while they were alive.

Vickson would tell the world how wonderful his father is, a man of his words, a man who will do just what is right consistently and stop at nothing to be lend a helping hand to the suffering masses. His father took time off to teach him the history of his country, the inner secretes of how the country came into existence pointing out those values and strengths that should be promoted and preserved. Vickson grew up to love his country and its rich historical background. To Vickson, his father was a living saint.

This is the same Vickson who has gone speechless for days. What became of his father, his hero? What became of all the stories his father told him that made him love every bit of his country? What happened to his heart, his conscience? Suddenly, it dawned on Vickson that the love of his motherland, the preservation of unity, the beauty of diversity and equity as well as the rich cultural heritage of his country was gradually being flushed down the drain and out of his father’s system the day he was appointed a Minister. Hardly had he taken office before Vickson noticed that his father’s language on public stage and about the essential things he upheld were increasingly changing and eroding the very essence of his being.

Vickson will watch is father tell atrocious lies on national television in the name of politics, he accompanied him back to the village and many other communities where he would mount the podium to deceive the people during political campaigns, promising them things he knew would hardly ever materialize. It got to a point where Vickson went to his mother for answers and could get none, he visited his Pastor and still could not come to terms with the person his once beloved father had suddenly turned into.

He was particularly down beaten that morning not really due to the atrocious lies his father told as Minister but much more because it downed on him that he will NEVER ever believe his own father again.

Just like Sue Monk Kidd, Vickson told himself that “Knowing can be a curse on a person's life. I'd traded in a pack of lies for a pack of truth, and I didn't know which one was heavier. Which one took the most strength to carry around? It was a ridiculous question, though, because once you know the truth, you can't ever go back and pick up your suitcase of lies. Heavier or not, the truth is yours now.”