The convenience of truth

I intend to present my case. I do not profess ethics or morals but simply intend to base my argument on logic and rationale. ‘Why should you tell the truth’, ‘Why be honest’, ‘Why not screw the next person for personal gain’? One word answer – ‘its convenient’ and here is why. Disorder and chaos appear to be ingrained in the genetic code of the universe. But if you look closer you will find order out of chaos. Nature and universe orients itself in ordered systems (planets orbiting around the sun, the four season cycle, the nice pattern of petals in flowers, etc) not because ‘God intended it that way’, but because it’s energy efficient and treads a path of mathematical simplicity. Putting in laymen terms, its ‘uncomplicated’. 200 years from today if we find a mathematical equation for human behavior and try to find the most ‘energy’ efficient domains then I bet my ass that it would have to be the domain of truthful, ethical behavior. This domain may or may not be locally optimal but it would definitely be a globally optimal solution. In laymen terms, being truthful and honest would not necessarily bring you short term gains but it would be better for you in the long run. The term ‘energy’ needs a reasonable definition with a logical argument, but you get the idea. And already, I can think of 5.9999999 billion sets of curves that would fit that equation. Take yourself for instance, how many times in your life have you told a lie or been dishonest or knowingly screwed some innocent creature and felt good about it. Mind you, when I speak of ‘feeling good’, its not instant gratification or excitement of the moment that I speak of, but a gradual steady state feeling that sets in permanently in retrospect of your action. And this steady state feeling would be in direct correlation with the ‘energy’ I spoke of. Let me clear it out with an example. If you score a job over another candidate through unfair means knowing it perfectly well that the other guy was a more deserving candidate, then how would you feel about it 5 years later. A shred of guilt will always haunt you, even if you keep the details to yourself and not tell another soul. Add all these shreds from the sum total of your existence till date and there you have it – your ‘energy’ level. Living with guilt is a funny feeling. It never harms you, it never interferes with your routine but it never leaves you as well. It’s like that ‘weird old lady’ that keeps staring at you in the subway. And when you get off at your stop, there is a small sense of relief that overwhelms you before you move ahead. Except, in this case, your stop is your death which won’t come along for a long time and the old lady is making you more and more uncomfortable as the years go by. You may scorn at my argument that I have it all wrong. What about material pleasures. What if telling a lie buys me a Mercedes or screwing someone over gets me a plum house? And I ask you again – Is there any correlation between ‘energy’ efficiency (that I speak off here) and materialistic pleasure? If you say yes then I ask you do a simple experiment. Measure and compare the stress levels during a day of a beggar and a millionaire. Get ready to be surprised !

Many people, in fact most people, go on with their lives with a big baggage of guilt without realizing that they are carrying an unnecessary weight. They take it for granted and the reminiscence of their actions makes them miserable from time to time. And the funny thing is that they don’t even know the reason for being unhappy. If you ask me to give a plausible proof of my argument then I implore you to wait 200 years. Let the biologists and sociologists (they would have to work together on this) come up with the equation. Of course, we all will be dead by then. But the inscription on my grave would start to make sense - ‘I TOLD YOU SO’

Sarabjeet Singh