National Speaking Truth to Power Week

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Dr. Malcolm Cross

Two weeks ago on Martin Luther King Day Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, was sworn in as 47th President of the United States as well.  Given who and what we celebrated, as well as certain events held later on throughout the week, the week itself could have been called “National Speaking Truth to Power Week.”  And however much we may disagree with those who speak their truths to whomever has the power to potentially suppress them, we must recognize that in doing so the would-be truth speakers set examples and precedents we can follow should we ever wish to speak our truths to the powers that be too.

“We all have truths,” sang Pontius Pilate in his duet with Jesus in Jesus Christ, Superstar.  “Are mine the same as yours?”

Speaking truth to power can be tricky, and not only because of what those with power could do to those who (think they’re) speaking truth.  Actually identifying “the truth” so they can speak of it can sometimes be daunting as well.  To know THE TRUTH requires two gifts in short supply:  Total knowledge, and perfect reasoning power.  Not even Jesus as a human on earth possessed these.  His prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane reveal far more doubt about His mission on earth than many might care to admit.  Besides, He freely admitted that not even He knew exactly when the Kingdom of God would come to earth (We’re still waiting).  And if Jesus did not possess a perfect grasp of Absolute Truth, it might be understandable that those who claim to speak truth to power, or who are perceived as others as doing so, can better be described as speaking their truths to power—a somewhat different proposition.  Nonetheless, men and women of reason, good will, and integrity can discern some reasonable semblance of truth and speak it to power. And if one examines the events of the first week of Donald Trump’s reclaimed presidency, one may discern a pattern possibly worthy of examination.

Consider, first of all, Donald Trump himself.  He has persistently, consistently, and successfully presented himself to the voters as a truth-teller to power—the power of the Deep State, the Liberal/Progressive Intelligentsia, the Hollywood Glitterati, the Establishment, of all those who think of his followers as “deplorables” and “garbage.”  Whether you believe him, and whether he believes himself, the fact remains that his appeal has won him two trips to the White House as well as the first popular vote victory for the GOP in twenty years.

Among those whom President Trump and his supporters would consider part of The Establishment is the Episcopal Bishop of Washington DC, The Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, who publicly asked President Trump to treat with “mercy” the marginalized in society—illegal immigrants and their children, transexuals, and others. I’m politically to the right of Bishop Budde, but as a practicing Episcopalian myself, I found the sermon in which she made her plea to be well within the norms of mainstream Protestantism and consistent with those interpretations of Christianity which fueled opposition to slavery, racism, racial oppression, and war.  President Trump reacted with perhaps uncharacteristic restraint to the Bishop’s remarks, but the same cannot be said for many of his followers, both religious and secular.  For her sermon, as well as for participation in various anti-Trump demonstrations and for leading the 2024 Democratic National Convention in prayer, she has been denounced as hypocritical and even “satanic.”  No doubt the respective supporters of the Bishop and the President each see their respective leaders as speaking truth to power—the Bishop speaking to the President while the President speaks to the Establishment of which his followers consider the Bishop to be emblematic.  Whether anyone sees the irony of the situation is unknown, but doubtful.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, former Vice President Mike Pence emerged from the obscurity to which former vice presidents are normally consigned—has anyone heard from or about Dan Quayle, or Al Gore, or Dick Cheney lately?—to speak his truth to power on behalf of another activist, Jimmy Lai, who faces a long prison sentence imposed by the Communist Chinese government for agitating for freedom, democracy, and human rights in Hong Kong.  According to the Wall Street Journal, Pence was attending the sort of business conference in Hong Kong which the Chinese government likes to convene to help foster the illusion that Hong Kong remains free and business-friendly, where western business executives go to speak meaningless blather and pocket big speakers’ fees.  But Pence decided to depart from the script.  Denouncing false charges made by the Chinese government that Jimmy Lai had conspired with Pence while Vice President to have the U. S. Government impose anti-Chinese trading measures, Pence spoke of Lai’s innocence and courage, as well as of the Chinese government’s oppressiveness and villainy.

To survey the personages and events of National Speaking Truth to Power Week is to see the different truths being spoken by different speakers, as well as the different fates—some perhaps trivial–those speakers met.  No doubt Mike Pence has only been scratched from the list of guests to future Hong Kong business conferences and must return to retired vice presidential oblivion, but Jimmy Lai must face years in prison.  Donald Trump, as noted earlier, got a return trip to the White House.  Bishop Mariann Budde has earned, perhaps in equal measure, both support and vilification for her pleas for mercy for the marginalized.  Martin Luther King, Jr., and the ultimate truth speaker, Jesus Himself, were put to death. 

 But however much we might love or hate the truths that were spoken or those who spoke them, we should be thankful for the examples they set.  After all, we all have truths we may one day want to speak, and those who speak truths to power—especially if they survive the effort to do so—set examples and precedents we can follow.  This assumes, of course, that it is better to be able to speak one’s truth—with the provisos that one must always take responsibility for one’s words and recognize the right of others to disagree—than to be unable to speak anything at all.


Malcolm L. Cross has lived in Stephenville since 1987 and taught politics and government at Tarleton for 36 years, retiring in 2023. His political and civic activities include service on the Stephenville City Council (2000-2014) and on the Erath County Republican Executive Committee (1990-2024).  He was Mayor pro-tem of Stephenville from 2008 to 2014.  He has served on the Board of Directors of the Stephenville
Economic Development Authority since 2018 and as chair of the Erath County Appraisal District’s Appraisal Review Board since 2015.  He is also a member of the Stephenville Rotary Club, the Board of Vestry of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, and the Executive Committee of the Boy Scouts’ Pecan Valley District.  Views expressed in this column are his and do not reflect those of The Flash as a whole.

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