Truth

By Hilbert Haar

What is truth? If you take the definition from the Merriam Webster dictionary as gospel, it could mean: “a judgment, proposition or idea that is true or accepted as true.”

In my mind, truth is simply this: a fact supported by undeniable evidence. But in this Trumpian world this is not how it works anymore. The President of the United States lies like there is no tomorrow and his supporters are eating it up. They still believe that Joe Biden stole the 2020 election. An overwhelming majority of Trump-supporters (89 percent) believes that gun ownership does more to increase than to decrease safety. That there is no evidence to support these beliefs does not bother the Trumpians. Lies and unsubstantiated assumptions have become the new truth. It is almost like a religion and, as everybody knows, it is impossible to shake people’s faith with irrefutable evidence that what they believe is actually impossible.

Did the water of the Red Sea really part when Moses stretched out his staff to enable the fleeing Israelites to escape from the Egyptians? I would not like to offend the people who think this is true. But again: where is the evidence?

It is not possible to use words – spoken or written – as evidence that something is true. It just does not work that way, until you tell so many lies that people become unable to separate truth and fiction.

We now have a case on our hands in St. Maarten that is testing the credibility of certain statements. MP Ardwell Irion, a member of the National Alliance faction in parliament and a former minister of finance, has accused the government of what I would call financial shenanigans. Hey, hey, wait a minute, the Party for Progress responded to his accusations. We are playing by the rules. We are transparent and we’ve got nothing to hide.

One thing is for damn sure: these two statements – the allegations by Irion and the denials by the PfP – cannot both be true. It is simply one or the other, but who is telling the truth and who is lying? That is a damn good question to which my answer at this moment has to be: I do not know, due to a lack of information.

For sure, if MP Irion is right, our government is guilty of some very serious wrongdoing. Unacceptable. But what if these allegations are nothing more than an attempt to embarrass the government? What if the PfP – with its Minister of VROMI Patrice Gumbs and its founder Melissa Gumbs – are speaking the truth? In that scenario Irion’s allegations will go up in a puff of smoke.

MP Irion wants to bring this case to the floor of parliament and hold the government accountable. Nothing wrong with that. In a worst case scenario, the MP will bring a motion of no confidence against the government. That initiative will have little chance of success because the opposition – National Alliance and the United People’s party – has seven seats, one short of a majority.

In the meantime, those who take an interest in politics are left wondering: is the government up to no good or is MP Irion blowing hot air?

It is obviously in the interest of everyone to clear this matter up – one way or the other. The outcome is in itself irrelevant. What matters is the concept that has become so elusive: the truth.

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Related articles:
Column Terrance Rey: “Budgetperikelen”
MP Ardwell Irion: Government Breaking Laws with Unapproved Budget Expenditures
Selective Governance: Coalition’s Double Standards on Public Funds

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