Relativity

"The truth is a matter of perception." --William Ginsburg (Monica Lewinsky's lawyer)

The relativity expressed in the nostrum, “it all depends upon whose Ox is being gored” is not a revelation about the malleability of truth, but rather a profound observation about the inflexibility of the inner chimp’s need to be “right,” to win the argument.

Situational ethics, rationalizations and euphemisms do not alter deeper realities of human existence, nor empirical reality, which might be what Don Quixote meant when he said, “facts are the enemy of truth.”

“Facts” are often confused with belief, honesty with cruelty, dogmatism with logical reasoning, and laziness with minimalism. Such is our weakness – we often need to be “right” in order to validate our existence.

So, who gets to decide what is "right?" Who, or what, is the final arbiter?