Fighting Mendacity

By Rabbi Mark Borovitz

Mendacity, Mendacity, Mendacity— the world worships at the feet of Mendacity! I am enraged and frustrated by the Mendacity that is in our world today. I read the papers, listen to people speak and I am struck by the love people have for living and speaking lies. While I understand the powerful pull of this way of living, I am frustrated by the inability of people to rise above these lies.

The government is calling for “Medicated-Assisted” treatment of addiction, especially to opiates and heroin. What a joke! Big Pharm has convinced government officials that more medications will stop the deaths of people through prescription drugs. Does anyone remember Methadone? We are in the same situation now with Vivitrol, Naltraxone, etc. The government is buying into old lies that are promoted by the same people who have caused the problem—doctors, Big Pharm and managed care. We, the people, are like sheep led to slaughter by believing that there is a pill that will bring us to happiness and wholeness. It is an inside job!

I am not saying that these interventions are not helpful in some cases. AND, Recovery is about going through the pain that caused us to escape in the first place. Addiction is an attempt to escape the psychic pain of human existence as well as the emotional and spiritual pain of trauma. THERE IS NO PILL THAT CAN CURE THIS. Yet, we, the people, continue to look for easy solutions to the complex problem of living life as whole human beings. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel teaches us that anyone who believes that all of our problems can be solved or that there are “easy” answers is an IDIOT! Yet, in promoting the Mendacity that is rampant in our society, many people believe these lies. I am calling on the government to talk to the millions of us who are living a life of recovery without “Medicated-Assisted” treatment.

There are so many lies perpetrated today, especially with the help of the Internet, that it seems impossible to know what is true and what is falsehood disguised as Truth. This has to stop!!  Albert Einstein said, “Great Spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” This is what is still happening. Yet, most of us are too exhausted to fight the mendacity, too poor to get the truth out and too defeated to believe things can change.

I am Addicted to Redemption precisely because I know that everything changes. I know that Mendacity can be defeated. I know that “Great Spirits” can prevail. How? By acting as a kinsman towards ourselves and others, by remembering that we are created with a Divine Spark and we can bring Godliness into our daily actions. I know that we can discern Truth from the mendacity that is being spread by using our Spirit and Intuition to discern the difference. I know that we can “Change the things we should,” as Reinhold Niebuhr prayed. I know that all of us can “erase the margins” that divide us as Father Greg Boyle teaches and lives. I know that we can all see and appreciate “something sacred in every event” as Rabbi Heschel teaches. I know we all are capable of Redemption, I know we all need Redemption and I know we can all help each other be Redeemed. Will you join me?