Our Need to Know

Can you keep a secret?
the question that tests the character
of small children likely to tell
the contents of birthday gift boxes.
How we must confuse the little dears,
when they discover the startling extent
of our rationalized white lies,
mythical holiday characters, and
awkward silences to probing questions.

Eventually, like us, they learn
to accept the secrecies of life,
though soon they join us in losing
dependable discernment of the truth
and accepting inevitable falsehoods–
our collective need to know (everything!)
replaced by our need to sleep at night.

Lately, even everyday facts have given way
to withheld information, misinformation,
and, worst of all, disinformation and outright lies.
Still, we teach our children the righteous totem:
the truth will set us free.
Oh, the irony– even as we speak,
we have let ourselves be deceived!

written by Anne McCrady, March 2024

NEWSLINKS: TIME, New York Times, AP, USA Today, The Economist

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